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.
We the People of the United States: Not just the rich, the powerful, the entitled – Everyone!
in Order to form a more perfect Union: We will never reach perfection, it is a work in progress; it should be a work in progress. In this moment it feels like we are standing still or moving backwards. No work. No progress.
establish Justice: The rich, the powerful, the entitled talk a good game, but when the object of the game is to maintain status quo, empathy, compassion, justice are lost in the weeds of their words.
insure domestic Tranquility: Perhaps this originally meant peace among the states giving federal government power to quash rebellion, but today this concept of states has evolved into entrenched factions (which are sometimes partially defined by state borders) and when it is our federal government (all three branches) that perpetuates divisiveness and encourages rebellion, where do we turn? Our lack of domestic tranquility has made us a laughingstock.
provide for the common defence: Who are we defending ourselves against? Who is the enemy? I see the biggest threat to progress, to justice, to domestic tranquility, to our general welfare, to liberty as the rich, the powerful, the entitled. The creation of foreign enemies can be and has been a misdirection, a sleight of hand, meant to distract us from this internal threat. I would go so far as to say that this campaign to maintain status quo is a stealth form of domestic terrorism. Americans are dying every day from injustice, from a lack of empathy and compassion, for the sake of the almighty dollar, for the sake of a misremembered past, to maintain existing wealth, power and entitlement.
promote the general Welfare: Welfare regards the good fortune, health, happiness, prosperity of a defined group or people and General implies “We the People of the United States.” I interpret this phrase to mean equitable opportunity; for Everyone. As a people we lack in this regard.
and secure the Blessings of Liberty: Somehow our government has come to believe it is their job to dictate who is allowed what freedoms. They have it backwards. Our government was created to protect the preexisting freedom of equitable opportunity. Freedom came first. Our government should be subordinate.
to ourselves: (Once again), Everyone.
and our Posterity: Oh! Wow! The Future! Is there a future? Do we care about future generations? Today we certainly do not act as if we do.
do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.
In this moment we do not need a new Constitution. We simply need a proper interpretation; a drastic scaling back of the power of the executive branch, a depoliticization of the judicial branch, and a restoration of civility and interdependence in the legislative branch. Our Constitution is a living, breathing document that must be seen and interpreted in its entirety, taking into consideration how interpretation of one piece may influence protections laid out in another piece. Our Constitution is a healthy, living, breathing document, with the potential for a long life; but it cannot, without us, deliver progress, justice, peace, security, goodness or freedom. Unfortunately, “We the people of the United States” are on life support.