"Only a virtuous people are capable of freedom. As nations become corrupt and vicious, they have more need of masters." -- Benjamin Franklin
When Alexis de Tocqueville visited the United States in the 1830s, the scene the European encountered was confusing to him. The politicians prayed, the pastors were willing to preach on politics from a Biblical viewpoint, and neither group tried to exert control over the other. They were symbiotic, and as a result, the nation was good. The people were virtuous, and the standards of society, and in the body politic, were largely followed.
