I put forth this document as an articulation of the New Covenant that attempts to convey the rights, duties and responsibilities of America in the 21st Century.
We, Americans of the 21st Century, honoring our founding fathers and mothers, set forth herein a New Covenant as we continue to embrace wholeheartedly the contract drafted by our forebears nearly two-hundred-fifty years ago.
America has changed since our founding but we are still true to the values of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. We steadfastly reaffirm that all men and women are created equal. This equality is the guiding principle of the American experience.
We all possess unalienable rights, today these rights extend to universal health care, an environment that is not under treat from the ravishes of global-warming, an educational system that provides all of our children a chance to achieve personal and economic fulfillment, a retirement system that offers dignity, and a role in the world based on mutual understanding, negotiation, diplomacy and not war.
We hold that these are birthrights of every American that spring forth from our Creator and the ethical precepts that underpin America’s experience with Democracy.
Today, we affirm that our elected officials are delegated their power through us. We and they by accepting this Covenant affirm that they will represent the will of the people, and not those of special interest groups whose objectives are against the public interest, the public good.
We also know that for the public interest to be adhered to, we, the people, must be forever vigilant and we must work in our communities to ensure a better quality of life for our brothers and sisters. We need not be selfish in America when all of us are given the tools to succeed.
Our economic system must become a wealth production mechanism for the many as opposed to the few. Our institutions of commerce must become jointly owned by those whose hard work amasses profit and those whose capital spurs innovation.
There must be a new openness in America. We, those of us who enjoy its promise, must offer hope to those struggling masses from other lands who wish to share in our dream and our future. They will add to our national strength and honor our institutions and our sacred Union. We should look to forge alliances with other countries in our own hemisphere on an equal footing and we must look to become a beacon of freedom rather than specter of repression.
America neither condones terrorism nor torture. We steadfastly understand the right of self-determination is a sacred privilege enjoyed by all peoples. However, we similarly abhor genocide and we will use our power to ensure that the systematic annihilation of one people by another never occurs.
Similarly, we hold up the example of America for the entire world to see and through our words and actions we challenge every nation to accord the human rights set forth in our own Bill of Rights.
We as a nation must also reaffirm the Amendments added to our most sacred document, our divine Constitution. A right to the free exercise of religion, speech, press and to be safe in our homes from involuntary search or seizure cannot be abrogated. We must also accord to citizen and non-citizen alike the protections extended to those accused of criminal conduct. All deserve to know what charge are leveled against them, receive competent legal advice, and be advised of these charges by a magistrate in open court.
Again, it is we the people who empower our executive, legislative and judicial branches, with this delegation flow the solemn obligation to defend and protect us from the misuse of government authority or abrogation of our constitutional rights.
These are the testaments of the new first chapter of the American experience. It wholeheartedly reaffirms our founding principles while it seeks to extend the American promise to future generations of Americans, with health, education and retirement opportunities that afford all the recognition of their humanity, an earth for our progeny that is as clean and beautiful as it was bequeath to us, a world at peace with all nations attempting to emulate and adopt the fundamental rights of America to all who do and will in the future populate our wondrous planet.
This in God we trust.
(Spanish translation available upon request)
Si se Puede!