What, indeed, is the proper role of government? Columnist Philip Mella, in an Oct. 10 Courier column titled “The proper role of a government,” claims that according to the U.S. Constitution, it is meant to be limited (whatever that means not stated); is supposed to be balanced between the executive, legislative and judicial branches so as to achieve “separation of powers;” be a republic not a democracy (difference not defined); should not have any safety nets (economic only?) for its citizens; and allow for citizens to “re-establish the primacy of the American people in this superlative example of governance of, by and for the people.” Interestingly enough, most of that is not actually in the Constitution — including Lincoln’s great and oft-quoted phrase, “government of the people, by the people, for the people.”

Those who make too much out of our country being a republic rather than a democracy rarely ever bother defining the terms. Republic is defined as “a form of government in which the supreme power resides in a body of citizens entitled to vote, with that power exercised by elected officials and representatives who are responsible to those citizens, governing according to laws, with an elected or nominated president rather than a monarch.” Democracy is defined as “a government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised by them directly or indirectly through a system of representation usually involving periodically held free elections.”

Which means it is a distinction without significant differences. For, practically, we the people democratically vote (the majority number of votes wins — except for president due to the archaic Electoral College) for representatives and officials to legislate laws and govern on our behalf according to those laws and the Constitution — whether called a republic or a democracy. You never hear anyone talking about spreading republic around the world, but democracy, because it is authentically our democracy (our right to vote) that we value, not some insignificant distinction between the two.

Most significantly the writers and framers of the Constitution saw themselves as representatives of the people, thus wrote that famous preamble: “We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty, do ordain and establish this Constitution of the United States of America.”

There is your authentic proper role of government as envisioned by the writers of the Constitution, which they envisioned as the essential and primary law and guide for the country. It is the best explanation of making decisions for the greater good for the greatest number — so all the people are served by their government as best can possibly be achieved. Elected officials are “public servants” — for that is their proper role — to serve the public — the people. You may disagree with their decisions, but there is nothing in the Constitution that states they cannot decide to legislate “safety nets,” or any other good legislation that serves the people.

Rodney Noel Saunders is a retired United Methodist pastor who lives in Florissant. Submit your guest columns and letters to the editor to hannah.blick@pikespeaknewspapers.com.