“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 to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”
We recognize the preceding words as the preamble to our national Constitution. We’ve heard them in whole or in part throughout our lives, but as I listen to the conversations around me, as I read and answer comments to my own essays, it seems to me as if these ideals have become nothing more than words on a page. We see them. We read them. We say them. Yet we don’t seem to truly grasp what they mean. The intentions of the men who wrote these words so many years ago have been lost in the sea of prosperity and personal gratification so that they no longer hold the same promise that they once did. Or rather, the promise is still there, but the readers no longer believe in it. The importance of understanding these ideals is paramount if our chosen form of government, self-rule, is to endure.
We The People These first three words are the most important words in the entire preamble because it is with these three words that our form of government is established. We the people. Say it out loud and let it roll across your tongue. We the people. It couldn’t be any simpler to understand. We are our government. We are the ones responsible for making the decisions. We are the ones responsible for accountability. The government is us. From a practical standpoint, this is even truer today than when the framers wrote these words, for in their time, women couldn’t vote, non-whites couldn’t vote, often the poor couldn’t even vote. But as we’ve intellectually matured as a group, these inequities have been remedied and today, every adult American citizen has the chance to speak their mind about the workings of government, through their votes and their voices. But we don’t. It is time to quit thinking about government as an entity apart from the people, because in doing so, we establish a rivalry when one should never be.
From the left and from the right and even from the politicians, we hear how we can’t trust the government with this or how we need the government for that or how the government screwed up this or lied about that. We love to trash our elected leaders and advance their cynicism through decisive but utterly trivial matters while turning a blind eye to overt dereliction of political duty and outright corruption. We choose our leaders with one and a half eyes closed, and then keep sending them back regardless of their dedication to serving the citizens of the land. And the really sad part is that those doing the choosing barely represent half of the Americans whose voice should be heard. And the cycle is a self-perpetuating one. Less direct participation means less understanding, leading to less interest, accountability, and trust, which leads to further alienation, completing the circle. Mostly through apathy, We The People have abdicated our self-determination and bemoaned its loss in the same breath, and now we are left in two camps. One camp distrusts all things governmental and won’t have anything to do with it, including voting, except when they somehow personally benefit. The other camp distrusts all things governmental too, but gets out and votes for one side while spewing vileness at the other. With just over half of half of the population deciding which ideology will rule the day, We The People does not live up to its potential.
The other parts of the Preamble provide a course of action for our government to follow. “In order to form a more perfect Union,” implies compromise when necessary to further the goals of society in ways that benefit the greatest number of people. Promoting “justice, domestic tranquility, common defense and general welfare” outlines the established parameters for our government to work within, and “to secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity” instills in us the duty to balance the benefits of today’s decisions with the consequences for tomorrow’s public. But in the light of today’s political environment, compromise is considered a sign of weakness, promoting the common good is passé, and forward thinking is a waste of time. This is what happens when We The People separate ourselves from our government. Without We The People, the whole thing just sort of falls apart.
Sitting around complaining about the failings of government can be a productive thing, but only if it leads to action to fix the problem. Yet in the charged political climate we find ourselves in, new ideas are torn apart without examining their merit while each side accuses the other of stonewalling. We look at this mess from afar, thinking we can’t possibly make a difference, but to think that is wrong. We have a voice. We have to use it. It is preposterous for any political party to lay claim to having a mandate from the people. They could at best claim a slim victory between the most vocal. But imagine if every eligible citizen turned out to vote and let his or her voices be heard. All these previously unheard voices would need someone to represent them and their needs, bringing more variety into the political arena, more opportunity for real representation, more willingness to try new ideas, to fix the status quo when it needs fixing.
By its very nature, politics is powerful. But it should not be about having power. In selecting people to make our collective decisions for us, we entrust them with our daily lives. Such trust should not be taken lightly, but it is because low citizen participation ensures easy reelection and low accountability. It is time for that to end. It is time to let our voices be heard, all of our voices. We hold our election process up to the world as the model which to follow, and brag about mandates with 50% or less of eligible voter turnout. Then we turn around and mock as “banana republics” those countries whose voter turnout is in the 60% range. Am I alone in seeing the hypocrisy of this? As we continue the slide towards apathy, the situation will only get worse, with fewer and fewer people making the decisions that affect us all.
So where do We The People go from here? First, make sure that you vote, especially in federal and state elections. Encourage others to vote or help get people registered. Talk to each other. Think about solutions to our shared problems instead of tearing apart new ideas because “the government can’t be trusted.” If we don’t trust our government, we are really saying that we don’t trust each other or ourselves. Find people you can trust and help get them elected. After all, our elected officials are raised in our communities and are supposed to share our values, values that have guided us for generations even as they continue to evolve. Leave the political party machines that depend on your fears and mistrusts to stay in power. Support people who will truly stand for the values laid out in the Preamble to our Constitution. By putting ourselves back in the driver’s seat, We The People can revive the trust in self-government, tear down the wall we’ve created, and get back to establishing justice, insuring domestic tranquility, providing for the common defense, promoting the general welfare, and securing the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity as we were set out to do.
This entry was posted on Saturday, June 4th, 2005 at 8:14 am and is filed under Common Sense, Democracy, Government, Politics, Reform.
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
June 4th, 2005 at 4:40 pm
“The Preamble to the United States Constitution, which declares that “we the people” wrote this document, is a great deception. The Constitution was written in 1787 by fifty-five rich white men — slave owners, bondholders, merchants — who established a strong central government that would serve their class interests.
That use of government for class purposes, to serve the needs of the wealthy and powerful, has continued throughout American history, down to the present day. It is disguised by language that suggests all of us, rich and poor and middle class, have a common interest.
Thus, the state of the nation is described in universal terms. When the president declares happily that “our economy is sound,” he will not acknowledge that it is not sound for forty or fifty million people who are struggling to survive, although it may be moderately sound for many in the middle class, and extremely sound for the richest 1% of the nation who own 40% of the nation’s wealth.”
[“The Declaration of Independence became an embarrassment to the Founding Fathers almost immediately. Some of George Washington’s soldiers resented the rich in New York, Boston and Philadelphia, profiting from the war. When the Continental Congress in 1781 voted half pay for life to officers of the Revolution and nothing for enlisted men, there was mutiny in the New Jersey and Pennsylvania lines. Washington ordered two young mutineers shot ‘as an example.’ The shovelfuls of earth covering their bodies also smudged the words of the Declaration, five years old and already ignored, that ‘all men are created equal.’
“Black slaves in Boston took those words seriously, too, and, during the Revolution, petitioned the Massachusetts General Court for their freedom. But the Revolution was not fought for them.
“It did not seem to be fought for the poor white farmers either, who, after serving in the war, now faced high taxes, and seizure of homes and livestock for nonpayment. In western Massachusetts, they organized, blocking the doors of courthouses to prevent foreclosures. This was Shays’s Rebellion. The militia finally routed them, and the Founding Fathers hurried to Philadelphia to write the Constitution, to set up a government where such rebellions could be controlled.”]
Howard Zinn
June 4th, 2005 at 9:40 pm
The text cited at the top of this site, of course, spews only blogwash. For Mr. Paine — a man well named — would thereby have you believe that parents have no lawful authority over their own children, even when they are very young.
Such rule as he would most foolishly defy manifestly shows itself most necessary to the proper order and good governance of every society.
June 5th, 2005 at 1:44 am
Interesting post Ken. So, if we critize the government, we indeed are pointing fingers at ourselves. Vote! Better yet, I like acting locally. Truly that is how a small group of like minded people can change the world. If we each reach out to improve our little corner of the world, and then expand from there, a lot of good can be done.
Where we get tangled is that people’s definitions for what is good for others differs and varies as much as we are a diverse society. It’s certainly a sticky wicket.
June 7th, 2005 at 4:28 am
It’s nothing really new. Human tend to be forgetful. They forget about GOD, religion, prophets, teachings, sayings, what they promise others, blah blah. Soon, they will forget to live.
June 7th, 2005 at 11:46 am
People rally behind ideals. Actual results my vary, but nothing occurs if the minds and hearts aren’t engaged in the struggle.
I liked your post, Ken. I fear it’s going to take something really big, and pretty bad, to fire up the popluace. Damnned shame.
June 7th, 2005 at 2:54 pm
I feel the people in our country are so complacent, they are now spewing ignorance. I am not sure if my step-sibilings, currently in highschool, have ever read the constitution. I think we are so hell bent on changing the educational system and making sure everyone has self-estemm, we are no longer focusing on the fundamentals. My generation and those following, are suffering. We need to educate ourselves and like you said, “vote”. Thank you for the insightful post and I hope more people read it.
June 7th, 2005 at 6:35 pm
“Sitting around complaining about the failings of government can be a productive thing, but only if it leads to action to fix the problem.”
You said it, Ken. IMHO, if you have nothing to offer but unmitigated bitching, take your whining elsewhere. Thank you for bringing to light this simple truth with regard to change. Constructive change never occurred merely by gathering the largest number of complainers.
June 8th, 2005 at 5:48 am
(responses)
dav- Thanks for dropping by. Historically speaking, you may be correct, and I allude to the original inequities more obliquely in my post. One of those “read between the lines” things.
And I couldn’t agree more that there is a distinct disconnect between the political class and the “average citizen.” But whose fault is that? I suggest it is our own. For whatever the intentions of the original colonists who wrote the documents we now base our laws around, the fact remains that the words are written and we profess to espouse them from a political standpoint. WE THE PEOPLE, taken literally, without allusion, is just what it says. And if WE THE PEOPLE will get off of our asses long enough to stand for ourselves and make our voices truly heard, then WE THE PEOPLE will have the control all the politicians like to pretend we have.
Ophir- I’ve read several of Mr. Paine’s works, and nowhere do I get the same interpretation as you’ve presented. While he certainly was no saint, his thoughts and ideals helped this country shake the reins of monarchy and inspire a generation to seek self rule. The quote at the head of this blog signifies the notion that adults of today can’t know or be expected to know what tomorrows adults will face in life, and thus should not bind their hands unnecessarily (figment of speech) with long standing debt or legislation. To believe otherwise is nothing short of indentured servitude throughout time.
Thanks, though, for stopping in.
Windspike- Vote! yes, simple as it sounds, if all eligible voters in this country voted in elections, our political make-up would be both different and more representative of the national psyche. Such vociferousness by the citizenry would make it harder for politicians to create false mandates based on half of half of all eligible voters, or less.
Bloghead- Which is why we educate our children, so they do not forget. However, self esteem has become more important the education, and so we lose things like history and civics in favor of new math and history of TV. It could be argued that we’ve forgotten to think for ourselves, after which the will to live becomes more automatic than enjoyable. Drop by again.
Jet- Thanks. Hopefully not something really big and bad, but perhaps recognition of massive amounts of small and bad, equalling enormous long term trouble if not resolved or reversed. Let’s fire up the populace, then find good people to help guide the reins. See you next time.
Katy- Yes we have become complacent, and those in “power” prefer us there. It’s time to wake up and be heard. It’s time to quit complaining about the status quo and let the voice be heard. It’s time to demand good choices in candidates instead of the party favorite based on seniority and cash flow. It’s time to vote “None Of The Above.”
More people will read it if you tell them where to find it! Thanks.
Todd- You are welcome. Now get out there and be heard!
June 8th, 2005 at 9:00 pm
Love your blog. I will be back to read when I have more time. My friends think I’m kidding when I talk about forming a new political party called the Common Sense party. Glad there’s someone else who shares some of the same sentiments.
June 8th, 2005 at 9:22 pm
Ken,
Fairly good post. Please allow me to fill in some gaps.
I think that there are those on the left who put government far above the people and want to use it as a controlling hammer over them. The left wants government to get bigger all the time so people have less say. Most on the right tend to want to control the size of government from getting too big, which it is already. Now with this paradox, what happens is that they start trading blame while neither side takes responsibility for anything. Get it?
In the last election, we saw the biggest turn-out in decades, with the winning party getting 51.3% of the vote to claim a mandate. Clinton never got near 50% of the vote and yet the left claimed they had a mandate.
As I’ve mentioned to you before, the real problem with government are the ones who’ve been there for so long, they’ve lost touch with the way things are today in the nation. Things and people change and need representatives who can keep up
Take the old cronies of Bobby Byrd 87, and Teddy Kennedy who’ve been in government longer than anyone. John Kerry is another has been who is way past his prime and still thinks he’s living the ’60’s.
Term limits are what we need for government to get real again. There are too many in government who want to spend the money on pork for wasteful programs, etc. back home, while they whine and complain about the deficit on TV to make themselves look like they care. They DON’T!
This is why most don’t trust government and don’t vote.
So if we can get some good people in there who are not whiners only out for themselves or their party, then we could get back to the original intention of what it means to be an American, to help each other instead of attacking one another. Otherwise, the divide only deepens.
Ottman
June 8th, 2005 at 10:00 pm
Hey Ken! Found you accidentally, on BLogexplosion, weirdly enough.. I am glad I stumbled back into you after Ran quit blogging on No Religion Now.
I’ve bookmarked you. Great site.
June 8th, 2005 at 10:14 pm
“It is time to quit thinking about government as an entity apart from the people, because in doing so, we establish a rivalry when one should never be.”
Absolutely! Couldn’t agree more, with your whole post, but, there is a huge thing getting in the way of that, the people’s need for “dad” and the way it manifests Oedipally though both politics and religion.
We also tend to wrongly think “God” is an entity apart from the people, whether we believe in that God or not…
What I feel needs to happen is for us to stop doing that, feeling a need for somebody else to take responsibility/blame and just damn well grow up! People are never going to start growing up unless they get this, fundamentally, as a bodily realization, not just an intellectual excercise. WHich it isn’t even that yet, for most people.
Oh crap. We’re screwed.. 😉
June 8th, 2005 at 10:33 pm
Level Headed…..got my interest and kept it. I wish all people would approach government as you do.
June 8th, 2005 at 11:55 pm
Ken, you suggest the idea of “false mandates,” in your earlier reply. This might make an interesting post for the future – By your statement, we know how to begin it, but how to finish the thinking in that area is a difficult one. Convincing others to vote when they see no hope in it is a bigger challenge.
June 9th, 2005 at 1:47 am
Excellent post!I think it says someting about my elected officials e-mail addresses being in my address book in my bio. If we don’t stay in their face they assume we like what they are doing. Contact yours in the morning and let them know what you think, they work for you.
God Bless America, God Save The Republic
June 9th, 2005 at 3:19 am
(responses)
Batts- Thanks. Although I eschew political parties in general, in favor of non-partisanship, I think that in a political party system, representation is hardly served by two main parties. Third, fourth, and even more viable parties would be a better reflection of the populace. Perhaps I could support a Common Sense party, provided of course, that it maintained its common sense! Catch you later.
Ottman- Your generalities may have rung true in the past, but the current “conservative” administration has presided over one of the largest, most sweeping enlargement of government in generations, so neither party can honestly claim to be about smaller government and be believable. Both are to blame.
Despite the “biggest turnout in decades” the number of eligible voters who actually voted is still pitiable. If the truth were to be told, notwithstanding “scientific extrapolation” of non-voter beliefs, there has been no real mandate for some time, save for minor issues here and there.
Term limits are certainly a possibility for maintaining a “fresh” legislative branch, and to some degree I believe they serve a good purpose, but their current applications aren’t necessarily thought through completely. But I’ll get to that later. But you’re 100% right about the pork and the duplicity.
But these problems scream out even more for people to vote rather than throw in the towel and hide their heads in the sand.
Great comments, as always.
Chandira- Welcome back. I miss Ran’s blog too.
Yeah, that Oedipal thing can really foul things up, eh? People only grow up when they have too, and anything that can delay that from happening is embraced as a good thing. Is it laziness? Apprehension? Uncertainty? It is all of those and more, but that, as they say, is the nature of life.
But reliance on an obsequious “dad” can be lessened without total comprehension, sort of a learn as you go program. We need to start by telling the truth and then gently push (or sometimes heartily shove) each other in the right direction.
Hope to hear from you again!
Web_loafer- Drop by again sometime. And spread the word if you’re so inclined.
Windspike- It may be a challange, but it’s when you feel no hope that the massive shout of voices in the ballot box can be effective. What better slap in the face to the corrupt officials of today than a 100% turnout which turns them out. It would seem that it would be easier to increase voter participation in the midst of hopelessness than when things are going great…
David- Good advice for everyone. It really doesn’t take much, since they get so little input. A few hundred voices make them sit up and think a little harder.
June 9th, 2005 at 11:53 pm
I think it’s laziness, that shock at discovering ‘WHAT? Life? I have to DEAL with this shit??’ when we’re first born. Life is an effort, to most of us. We’d rather somebody else took over. I know I would. But, then look what happens!! We only have ourselves to blame. lol
June 11th, 2005 at 5:37 pm
Great conversation Ken. And Chandira is right, we do only have ourselves to blame for what we allow to happen. There are too many examples of that, starting at the top with that “majority” decision last November. Regarding Ottoman’s point about gov’t size, I’m surprised that “the left” are getting bruised for wanting our government to be a working body~ which by the way takes bodies. The right’s idea of smaller gov’t has and always will mean they want to be the only ones in charge. Not that the large head will have any legs. All of us are in this together, but apparently we’re still on the elementary playground. Finding common sense on common ground is the only hope we’ve got. Nice to be back.
June 12th, 2005 at 4:45 am
(responses)
Chandira- Say Hi to Ran back for me. I’d look forward to reading his thoughts again.
Yes- exactly, we finally have to accept that life extends beyond the cradle provided by mom and dad. And it’s true, that if we on;y want someone else to take care of us, we may not like too much how they do it. Which is why we must use our voices.
BonJ- Nice to hear from you again.
Good points too about needing people to run the government, but we still have to work to be more efficient. Efficient AND effective government is the goal, I think, which may be accomplished with a lower total number of government employees, all doing a better job with less red tape.
See you again!
October 2nd, 2005 at 12:47 pm
Nice Blog!!! I thought I’d tell you about a site that will let give you places where
you can make extra cash! I made over $800 last month. Not bad for not doing much. Just put in your
zip code and up will pop up a list of places that are available. I live in a small area and found quite
a few. MAKE MONEY NOW
October 5th, 2005 at 12:11 pm
Hi i am totally blown away with the blogs people have created its so much fun to read alot of good info and you have also one of the best blogs !! Have some time check my link to !!home business resource