A More Perfect Union: What We the People Can Do to Reclaim Our Constitutional Liberties (4 page)

“W
e the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, 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.”

This preamble is the Constitution’s introductory statement and sets forth the general principles and goals of our governmental structure. It reveals the hearts of the founders and lays out their goals. It’s the “why” behind the “what” and “how” of the rest of the Constitution, and without it we would have difficulty understanding why the delegates wrote the Constitution as they did.

Although the entire Constitution, including amendments, is less than twenty pages long, many have written thousands of pages analyzing and explaining it. Some of this commentary is useful, but much of it needlessly complicates what is straightforward. If you accept the Constitution’s words at face value, it is relatively easy to understand. If you want to reinterpret its words in order to make its meaning fit your ideology, you will have to do a lot of explaining. Fortunately, the
preamble helps prevent this kind of misinterpretation and overcomplication by telling us the Constitution’s overarching goals. If we understand the purpose of the Constitution, it will be harder to be fooled by ideologues who want to twist its words. Instead of following their arguments through all of their twists and turns, we can identify the goal of their interpretation, compare it with the Constitution’s goals, and decide whether the two match.

Before you begin any study of the Constitution’s provisions, it is important to meditate on its main goals. What does it mean to be part of “We the People”? What does “a more perfect Union” look like? Who decides what constitutes the “general Welfare”? Most important, how do we preserve the liberty we’ve inherited so that future generations can enjoy it? Only by embracing the founders’ concepts of justice and tranquillity will we be able to uphold the Constitution in the right way and for the right reasons.

Every American should memorize the preamble and keep its principles in mind while voting. If we elect only officials who understand the Constitution and its goals, America’s future will be safe.

WE THE PEOPLE

“Take a lesson from the ants, you lazybones. Learn from their ways and become wise! Though they have no prince or governor or ruler to make them work, they labor hard all summer, gathering food for the winter.”

Proverbs 6:6–8

“W
e the People of the United States” are the first words of the Constitution. These words distinguished our government from the many other governments of the world. Many of those nations allowed—and still allow—small groups of elites or a royal family to control the lives of the common people. Our founders had experienced that kind of tyranny, and their first order of business in the Constitution was to prevent it from creeping into the new government. They decreed that the American government always be controlled by the will of the people, not the people by the will of the government. All of the articles and amendments of the Constitution that follow the preamble are dedicated to keeping “we the People” in charge.

“We the People” includes all citizens, both those by birth and those legalized through the immigration processes. Today, unlike in the early days of America, everyone may
attain citizenship, regardless of their financial status, ethnicity, gender, or heritage. No one is considered superior or inferior to the rest of the population. Every American is part of the body of voters that rules the country, and no vote is unimportant.

This egalitarian approach is one of the hallmarks of fairness in America and must always be maintained. Unfortunately, “we the People” are often quick to give up our liberties. We quickly forget that many people were willing to give their lives and their resources so that future Americans could be free and empowered. Because so much was sacrificed by so many to provide a nation in which we the people are in charge, we must continue to actively combat all attempts to empower the government at the expense of the people. We exercise our power and fight government encroachment by knowing our rights, being vigilant, voting, and speaking up.

Knowing the law can make all the difference in how you are treated, individually or as a society. I saw the truth of this one time when I was a student at Yale and returned home to Michigan during a break. While there, my family attended a special camp meeting in a rural area, and we parked in a nearby grass lot. Upon returning to the car, we noticed that everyone’s license plates had been removed, supposedly by the landowner, who had left a note informing us where we could retrieve them. At the pickup location I found a long line of people paying stiff fines in order to retrieve their
license plates. Since there were no signs prohibiting parking in the lot, I investigated and learned that the people removing the license plates were not the landowners and were not government officials. I informed the collectors that by law they were unauthorized to remove state-issued plates and that I would call the state troopers unless they not only returned the plates immediately but also replaced them on the cars. They quickly complied, because I knew the law and so did they. They had been illegally tampering with the license plates in order to make a profit off people who were ill informed.

Similarly, if the American people and their representatives do not know and understand what is in our Constitution, others will take advantage of them. Only when we understand the law of our land can we effectively hold our representatives accountable. Knowledge is power, and we must refuse to be bullied.

Once we understand the Constitution and our rights, we must be vigilant to make sure our leaders uphold those rights. People who are otherwise reasonable and fair can sometimes be corrupted by power, and the longer they have that power, the more corrupt they become. John Adams put it this way: “There is danger from all men. The only Maxim of a free government ought to be to trust no man living with power to endanger the public liberty.”
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We must carefully monitor the actions of anyone we empower through the ballot box, because the power might corrupt them. Sometimes a
mere gentle reminder of what abuse of power looks like will be enough to rein in an official. In other cases it might be necessary to recall a representative or vote them out of office in the next election cycle.

It is important to remember that it is a natural human tendency to accrue power and try to dominate others. When we realize this, we will be less likely to demonize those who engage in such activities. On the other hand, we should in no way condone power grabs or manipulation of our Constitution by anyone, regardless of their political affiliation. This is where American values trump partisan politics, and this must always be the case if we are to maintain rule by the people. As soon as we begin overlooking abuse of power by an official who is a member of our own party, we become part of the problem.

Because of our current representatives’ corruption, many Americans no longer trust the federal government. Some refuse to analyze the reasons for this distrust and prefer to think about other things, like sports, entertainment, and lifestyles of the rich and famous. We have the choice of continuing to be distracted by trivialities or of faithfully watching for and responding to abuse of the Constitution. If we choose the former option, our descendants will be faced with much less pleasant options.

When we the people do our job, we pay attention to how our representatives vote. We compare what they say with what they do. We hold people of both parties accountable. We refuse to succumb to apathy or trust others to monitor for us. And we turn that vigilance into action.

American citizens need to remember that members of Congress serve at our pleasure and can be voted out of office anytime the electorate becomes dissatisfied with their performance. The founders anticipated that the federal government would have to be reined in by average American citizens who were willing to educate themselves and vote intelligently.

“We the People” of America are actually at the pinnacle of power. We need not feel like victims or that things are out of our hands. America can become a land characterized by despotism only if the people relinquish their power as voters. Apathy has destroyed other nations before ours, and it can destroy this nation as well if we neglect to involve ourselves in elections.

Our power resides in informed voting. Informed voting isn’t voting the party line or voting based on what political pundits say or on what friends and family tell you to do, but rather voting based on your own values and principles. It means actually taking the time to think about what you believe and what is important to you. It means knowing who your congressional representatives are and how they have voted. Not how they claim they have voted, but how they have actually voted. (There are excellent resources available to obtain this information, including free online resources in my book
One Vote.
)

We must remember that freedom is not free. We have to regard it as a prized possession that must be fought for and protected every day. If preserving freedom means spending
time researching politicians, so be it. If it means remembering to vote in local elections, do what it takes to remind yourself. If it means going to the nursing home and getting your bedridden grandmother registered to vote by absentee ballot, so be it. If you need to help her fill it out, help her fill it out. If we are lazy, fearful, or uncaring, all that so many have fought for will be lost, and our children and grandchildren will suffer the consequences.

Finally, we the people exercise power by speaking our minds. Many of the early patriots in our nation had experienced tyranny that prevented them from expressing their opinions. They could not speak against the king or against the established church. They knew that America’s citizens would need to be free to express themselves if they were to rule. Thus they set in place the Constitution’s First Amendment, guaranteeing the freedom of speech and expression.

We’ve preserved this freedom so that our government doesn’t usually try to prevent the people from speaking. Recognizing this achievement, many assert that there is no restriction of speech in the United States and that everyone is completely free to express themselves. Unfortunately, this is a naive claim. Today the political correctness (PC) police are the biggest threat to America’s freedom of speech, and they are doing their best to squelch the opinions of “we the People.”

There is not an officially established PC police force, but its members exist in government, throughout the media, in educational institutions, etc. Members of the PC police are those
who carefully monitor the speech and behavior of anyone they consider to be a threat to their leftist ideological domination. The PC police do not care that people disagree with them, as long as those people remain silent. But if someone openly disagrees with them, they demonize that person with ridicule and infantile name-calling. This kind of speech policing has created fear in a large portion of our populace, causing them to remain silent rather than face the repercussions of expressing themselves honestly.

When people become reluctant to express themselves because they may be persecuted or ostracized, they almost might as well be living under a tyrannical government. This repression can be stopped only if large portions of the American population are committed to speaking out against attempts to shut down freedom of expression. For instance, when we hear about a local school trying to take the words “under God” out of the Pledge of Allegiance, we should personally get involved in voicing our opposition to such censorship.

Recently, teachers in Lincoln, Nebraska, were told not to refer to pupils as “boys” or “girls” because it is bad to teach students gender disparity.
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I believe this is taking political correctness to another level of absurdity, and I have loudly voiced my opposition to such foolishness. The vast majority of Americans understand that there is a difference between male and female—and long live the difference, which adds to the spice of life. It is eminently possible to recognize that there is a difference between boys and girls without introducing sexism or any other type of unfairness. It is much better to deal with these issues logically and with respect for tradition than through the emotional lens of the politically
correct ideology of the moment. Introducing a speech code or stifling traditionalists—or failing to speak up when others do—is not the way to go.

Whatever the dangers, remaining silent is a huge mistake on the part of those desirous of freedom. Ayn Rand put it this way: “Do not keep silent when your own ideas and values are being attacked. . . . If a dictatorship ever comes to this country, it will be by the default of those who keep silent. We are still free enough to speak. Do we have time? No one can tell.”
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If we allow ourselves to be cowed by the PC police, we are the ones to blame for the bad policies that result.

It is not just the fear of speaking one’s opinion that is eroding freedom in our nation, but also the fear of retaliation for contributing to organizations that are targeted by government agencies like the Internal Revenue Service. In 2013 the IRS finally admitted that it screened organizations’ tax-exemption applications for terms like “tea party” and “patriotic,” targeting groups using those words for closer scrutiny. The IRS claimed that this type of targeting was evenhanded and only coincidentally appeared to be aimed at conservative groups. The media tried to make the scandal into a political issue between Democrats and Republicans, but it should be offensive to anyone in favor of freedom in America. Even though politicians and portions of the media will attempt to sweep this dark episode in American history under the rug, the American people must be vigilant and make certain that this affront to freedom is never forgotten. Justice dictates that we get to the bottom of this illegal action and make sure that it never occurs again.

Although the First Amendment protects us from the PC
police in government, it does not give us a way to rid ourselves of their influence in other sectors. Fortunately, their only real weapon is intimidation, so we can gain enormous freedom by simply ignoring them and expressing ourselves with the same kind of courage that characterized our ancestors. Courage begets courage, and a few brave citizens can inspire others to stand up and join civil conversations about tough issues. It is these discussions that will result in societal advancement, particularly when both sides can speak without fear of intimidation or reprisals. On the other hand, guarded conversations between people with different opinions severely limit the likelihood of progress being made.

Many will completely agree with all of the preceding statements but will fear there is nothing they can do as individual concerned citizens. This fear is misguided. You can make a difference if you stop being afraid to speak up. Speak with the full knowledge that our Constitution protects your speech. If there are repercussions, seek legal recourse and voice your complaints. If enough people begin to do this, it will have a chilling effect on the PC police and eventually these people will begin to reform their ways. You can also make your congressional representatives aware of the oppression of free speech you have observed. When they see a pattern, they will be encouraged to take up the fight on your behalf. This is the way our representative government was designed, but it only works when there is active participation by the people.

Protecting the rule of the people means having open and frank discussions with people in your sphere of influence about what kind of nation we want to pass on to the next
generation and what we are willing to do to preserve it. This is exactly what our ancestors did in the prerevolutionary days of America. By speaking with one another about the tyranny they were experiencing under the British, they gained the courage to act against King George III and his overwhelming forces.