We The People

It has become increasingly evident that “We the People” have become negligent in understanding the foundations that this great country of ours was built upon.  In doing so, we have let the few abrogate the unalienable freedoms and liberties that were granted to us by our Creator.  Those rights are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.

“We  The People” are the only ones with whom blame falls upon for the abrogation of our unalienable rights by the few in our Government.  We have facilitated this over decades by abdicating the Founding Fathers’ cornerstone of creating a limited government.  Once this cornerstone is removed then the structure of freedom and liberty for each citizen is put in perilous jeopardy. Citizens of the United States – Your freedoms and liberties are in perilous jeopardy.

It is my fervent wish, through this post, to remind the citizens of this great United States of America what they have lost and that only they have the power to regain their freedoms, their liberties, yes their very lives back from the few in Government who have sought power and control over “We The People”.

Let us begin with the definition of preamble: “an introductory fact or circumstance; especially : one indicating what is to follow.” Now let us be reminded of the Preamble of the U.S. Consitution:

“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.”

It is important to note that it is “We the people of the United States, … do ordain and establish this Constitution of the United States of America”.  As a preamble we’ve just introduced the fact the we have created the Government for ourselves. This is an indication of what’s to follow.  I’d like you to pay particular attention to “promote the general welfare”.

Article 1, Section 8 of the U. S. Constitution:

“The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts and excises, to pay the debts and provide for the common defense and general welfare of the United States; but all duties, imposts and excises shall be uniform throughout the United States;

To borrow money on the credit of the United States;

To regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among the several states, and with the Indian tribes;

To establish a uniform rule of naturalization, and uniform laws on the subject of bankruptcies throughout the United States;

To coin money, regulate the value thereof, and of foreign coin, and fix the standard of weights and measures;

To provide for the punishment of counterfeiting the securities and current coin of the United States;

To establish post offices and post roads;

To promote the progress of science and useful arts, by securing for limited times to authors and inventors the exclusive right to their respective writings and discoveries;

To constitute tribunals inferior to the Supreme Court;

To define and punish piracies and felonies committed on the high seas, and offenses against the law of nations;

To declare war, grant letters of marque and reprisal, and make rules concerning captures on land and water;

To raise and support armies, but no appropriation of money to that use shall be for a longer term than two years;

To provide and maintain a navy;

To make rules for the government and regulation of the land and naval forces;

To provide for calling forth the militia to execute the laws of the union, suppress insurrections and repel invasions;

To provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining, the militia, and for governing such part of them as may be employed in the service of the United States, reserving to the states respectively, the appointment of the officers, and the authority of training the militia according to the discipline prescribed by Congress;

To exercise exclusive legislation in all cases whatsoever, over such District (not exceeding ten miles square) as may, by cession of particular states, and the acceptance of Congress, become the seat of the government of the United States, and to exercise like authority over all places purchased by the consent of the legislature of the state in which the same shall be, for the erection of forts, magazines, arsenals, dockyards, and other needful buildings;–And

To make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into execution the foregoing powers, and all other powers vested by this Constitution in the government of the United States, or in any department or officer thereof.”

We can see clearly that the beginning paragraph of Article 1, Section 8 is an introduction to what follows and what follows is the specific enumeration of powers granted to Congress. The powers other than the ones dealing with the common defense are the powers specifically enumerated as providing for the general welfare of the United States.

Do you see enumerated powers dealing with health care, bailing out foreign and domestic financial institutions, or providing cash for clunkers? Are there instructions for creating debt that current and future generations shall be oppressively burdened with?

The answer is no and for good reason. The powers that we the people give to Congress are designed to limit the Federal Government.  These are instructions by us to Congress on how to provide for the general welfare of the United States. Nothing more, nothing less.

This is what is meant by providing for the general welfare of the United States.  In doing so, our unalienable rights are not abrogated or oppressed by the few in Government who lust for power and control over the many citizens of this great country.

The Founding Fathers of this great country not only enumerated specifically the powers of Congress, they also specifically enumerated to the Federal Government what powers laid with the States and “We The People” not granted to the Federal Government.

The 10^th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution

“The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people.”

We The People created the Federal Government to be our agent for specific enumerated purposes.

Quoting the Tenth Amendment Center:

“Tragically, the Tenth Amendment has become almost a nullity at this point in our history, but there are a great many reasons to bring it to the forefront.  Most importantly, though, we must keep in mind that the Founders envisioned a loose confederation of states – not a one-size-fits-all solution for everything that could arise.  Why?  The simple answer lies in the fact that they had just escaped the tyranny of a king who thought he knew best how to govern everything – including local colonies from across an ocean.”

Hmmm “the tyranny of a king who thought he knew best how to govern everything”.  Now who does that currently remind you of?

Citizens of this great United States, I will leave you with the wise words of our Founding Fathers reminding us of our duties:

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.

The question for every citizen of America to ask themselves right now is:

“With what I have been just reminded, do I wish to continue actively allowing the abrogation and oppression of my freedoms and liberties by the few who lust for power and control over me?”

The answer for me is firmly planted: “No. Not one more second.”

Related posts:

1. America The Beautiful
2. Original Intent – Instructive Then and Now
3. The Freedom of the Individual
4. Health Care Is Your Unalienable Personal Duty
5. An Open Letter to the GOP