About OCPA

A church will thrive if people choose to attend and contribute. Businesses succeed when people choose to buy their products or services. Community organizations are as good as those who show up and engage. These institutions rely on continuing consent among the people who make them possible. All of them, in various ways, compete; all can and do sometimes fail and simply go away. Government is different.

Government is force and monopoly. Governments can and often do exist without consent. And even governments with periodic elections sometimes do horrible things. After all, what does consent really mean, and what does it allow? Can an elected government legitimately oppress a minority group? Of course not ... but why?

The Declaration of Independence offers one explanation: The rights of the people--individual human rights--always come first. No government is legitimate without the consent of the governed, but the powers of such a government only exist for legitimate purposes. The Declaration says these are “to secure [equal human] rights,” including “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

Government power must always be limited, controlled, and directed toward protecting--and not infringing--basic human rights. The structures of government, from school boards to state agencies to the legislative budget process, should always have built-in checks and balances that allow for meaningful debate and public participation. Government processes must be transparent and subject to accountability to ensure meaningful and continuing consent of the governed.