“We the People”. The first and most important words of the Constitution of the United States of America. Three words, writ larger than all others. Three words that announce the foundational social contract between all the Citizens of the United States.
We 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.
At a time of royal dynasties anointed by bishops, state religion, entrenched aristocracy, and corporations with government-like powers, our forefathers sought something better for the general population of our new country.
This was, and is, the “Great Experiment”. The idea that people could govern themselves through elected representatives and rule of law. No Kings, no Popes, no Lords.
The United States Constitution is not just the instrument that defines the framework of our government, it is the basis of the social contract that we have as citizens. It is the heart of what defines us as a nation. Government ordained and established by the citizens, for their mutual benefit.
Government is our chosen instrument for protecting our lives, our rights, our property, and our liberty. Without our Government, we fall into anarchy and become helpless to oppose the tyranny of others.
There are those who say that the Government is too big, too intrusive, too restrictive, too expensive and wasteful. That it is "in the way". Some of their arguments are perfectly valid, some are hyperbole, some are pure fallacy, and some are deliberate misinformation. It is the responsibility of the Citizen to sort out the true from the false. If you simply embrace the opinions of others, including me, then you have failed in your civic duty to democracy.
But the labyrinth of ideologies and hidden agendas are subjects for other times. The point of this essay is to inspire the individual voters to hop off the political bandwagon and learn to navigate for yourselves. Question what you think you know. Look for evidence, not opinion.
"This conjunction of an immense military establishment and a large arms industry is new in the American experience. The total influence -- economic, political, even spiritual -- is felt in every city, every State house, every office of the Federal government. We recognize the imperative need for this development. Yet we must not fail to comprehend its grave implications. Our toil, resources and livelihood are all involved; so is the very structure of our society.
In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist.
We must never let the weight of this combination endanger our liberties or democratic processes. We should take nothing for granted. Only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial and military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods and goals, so that security and liberty may prosper together."
Dwight D. Eisenhower's Farewell Address to the Nation
Next time someone tells you government is "the problem", keep in mind that the Great Experiment and American Exceptionalism are based on the premise that "societies of men are really capable of establishing good government from reflection and choice" and that "Governments are instituted among {Men}, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed”. Government is officially "the solution", not "the problem". If government seems to be "the problem", then consider that the real problem may lie in who ultimately controls it. Who owns the attention of the elected representatives, and who controls the processes and information used to select them?