I was involved with government from local to fed for many years. I have been telling people that it is a matter of people’s evil that ruins the intent of/for government. The whole spectrum of humans in government reminds me of basket ball players making intentional fouls to prevent a score by the opposing team. I believe that the Founders knew human behavior very well when they cautioned that the workings of the new Republic was only as durable as the the people of the Nation were dedicated to It’s law/Constitution. The Nation has gone down the path the Founders feared.
You’re absolutely right. The founders intentionally created a system of checks and balances, because they knew—without a doubt—that people are inherently evil. That’s the Christian perspective, too. Sinful man cannot be trusted to wisely use their power over other men, and Christianity tells us that we are all evil, sinful at our core. Sure. We can wage war against those evil feelings, like envy, jealousy, hate, deception, etc., with Christ’s help, but that doesn’t mean the evil nature no longer has any sway over us.
It’s also possible to be a morally decent person without Christ (from a man’s perspective—not God’s), but that takes exceptional self discipline created by proper upbringing and a strong will. A government of moral people can do the right thing, but the problem is simply that evil people are naturally drawn to want power over others, and the more powerful government gets, the less moral the people become.
A moral people don’t even need government.