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21 September 2009

Live Up To The Legacy

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We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, ensure 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.

We the People

Not YOU. Not ME. Not US against THEM. WE. The people. All of us. Together.

of the United States,

50 States; more than 300,000,000 human beings; bound not by geography, or race, or religion, or origin of birth, but who share the same hopes and dreams; the same legacy of freedom, liberty, and justice.

in Order to form a more perfect Union,

United in common purpose – which is to -

establish Justice,

Justice for all – not degrees of justice based on ability to buy the best lawyer; to buy the best defense. Let us establish justice – once and for all.

ensure domestic Tranquility,

No more fighting among ourselves to the delight of those who hate America; our inner strife validates the criticism from without and weakens our nation from within.

provide for the common defence,

No more wars of aggression; no more wars for oil; no more flag draped coffins for mothers, fathers, daughters, sons, wives and husbands who can not be comforted. Defence. Not aggression.

promote the general Welfare,

The welfare of all the people – the homeless and the housed; employed and unemployed; rich and poor; for the good of all of the PEOPLE – not what is good for corporations and for banks and for oil companies.

and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity,

The blessings of Liberty is MY right; Liberty is YOUR right; Liberty is OUR right – Liberty is our children’s inheritance. It is our duty to secure these blessings for all those who will come after us.

do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.






The Preamble clearly defines the purpose of our Constitution. These are the reasons that America exists. These are the words we should look to and reflect upon when we vote. These words should echo in our minds when we determine what policies and laws would be best for our nation. We should look to this Preamble which begins with “WE, THE PEOPLE. . .” Not YOU the conservative; not ME the liberal; not THEM the centrists; not THOSE PEOPLE the Democrats or Republicans. WE – the people. Us.

Freedom is the absence of interference by the government of an individual’s liberty. Liberty is a concept of political philosophy in which the individual has the right to act according to his or her own will. Justice is a sense of fairness and equality for everyone.

Those of who say “America – love it or leave it” should themselves get on the next plane out of the country, for clearly they do not understand the idea of America. For in America we have freedom, liberty, and are entitled to justice. We have liberty of thought and freedom of action. Every American is entitled to justice.

Anyone who says, “This is a Christian nation,” is mistaken. We are a nation of many religions and no religion. The Christian is no more of an American than the Muslim, or the Jew, or the Agnostic, or the Atheist. There is no religious test for American-ness. Freedom, liberty and justice are not Christian ideas reserved only for Christian Americans. They are human ideas that we continually strive to achieve. Freedom, liberty and justice are the legacy of ever American of every political philosophy, of every race, and of every creed. No where in our Constitution is there mention of the word “Christian.” The United States Constitution, Article VI, section 3, states:

The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the Members of the several State Legislatures, and all executive and judicial Officers, both of the United States and of the several States, shall be bound by Oath or Affirmation, to support this Constitution; but no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States.

For a time, we lost our freedom. Many of us feared to exercise our liberty because we feared the government. We thought those dark days of McCarthyism were behind us forever. The evil fell upon us again in the year 2000 and was perfected by enactment of the Patriot Act and the creation of the Department of Homeland Security. Then in 2008 the light of freedom shone upon us once again, and we breathed a collective sigh of relief. The people may again take to the streets and criticize their government without fear of reprisal. There are those who would revive the House Un-American Committee to harass by investigation those with whom they disagree, or who vote the “wrong way” in Congress. We must not seek to silence the voice of the Right Wing. To do so would compromise the very principles of free expression we seek to protect. We must, however, not succumb to the fear and the hate. We must counter the Right with the constant voice of reason, even as the noise from the Right grows to a raucous cacophony of fearful, hateful screams.

The American Dream is still a just a dream for most of us, but I am a dreamer. Someday “We, the People” just might include me.

Remain steadfast in your dedication to the Constitution and the principles upon which it is founded my friends. I believe that in the end, rationality will win over fear and lies; love over hate; equality over bigotry; justice over injustice; and some day we will all enjoy the benefits of what it means to be an American.

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