'We The People' defined

"Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It would be better to live under the robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience." C.S. Lewis

Politicians run on high hopes and glittering campaign promises. Each new administration carries out the same basic platform of the previous administration, while denouncing the policies of their predecessor. Despite the politician’s best intentions, the ultimate goal of an expanding government is to rule, rather than govern, and manage, rather than lead. Government exists for itself, and will go to any length to protect its existence.

Presidential candidates sell themselves as problem solvers. Each one of the politicians vying for the positions of “leaders of the free world” recognizes that worsening the health of a nation’s stability is easy enough, but repairing the problems are near impossible, or at least unfixable in the short term. Any serious attempt to fix what ails the American Government will take generations of dedication, and a true shake up of what has become standard strategies in American politics. In short, there will be no correction in the path of this nation in the near future without a complete house cleaning of Washington DC, which includes stripping the American leadership of its unconstitutional power.

The beltway gang of politicians have long since ceased to be statesmen. Honor, and privilege, are words no longer in their vocabulary. The American politician believes government can solve problems, no matter what it is. Throw a little money at it, and “poof,” resolution achieved. Nothing, however, could be farther from the truth.

In the words of Ronald Reagan during his first inaugural address, “Government is not the solution to our problem, government is the problem.”

Recognizing the causes of what ails the American form of government is a valuable first step to resolving our downward spiraling Governmental system. The standard bearer of what the government should be is in the writings of the founders of this nation. The United States Constitution, if followed using the original intent of the founding fathers, is the roadmap to a prosperous, and successful, nation. If government followed the U.S. Constitution, as it claims it does, the American political scene would be a vastly different one.

“We The People” is the most recognized constitutional phrase. Remind folks of the presence of those first three words of the Preamble, and more often than not, they will recognize them.

Take careful notice that the first three words of the United States Constitution did not turn out to be “We The States,” or “We The Lawyers,” or “We The Politicians.” The founders recognized that government, without checks and balances, is destined to become tyrannical. What better check than giving the people the power to effect change in their own government?

The remainder of the Preamble explains “why” the Constitution was written. The first three words, “We The People,” designate for whom the document was written.

By the people, of the people, and for the people. “The people” is the most important ingredient of the American form of government. The founders recognized that to succeed, the American form of government needed to be answerable to the people. The U.S. Constitution, then, affords power to the citizens to hold government leaders at all levels accountable for their actions.

“We The People,” by being the first three words of the U.S. Constitution, are the most important words. It is for the people that the document was written. In return, the people are instructed by the very responsibility afforded to them to continue to hold their leaders accountable, and to initiate effective civic action intended to compel government officials to obey federal and state constitutions. The responsibility of the nation lies on the shoulders of the people, because politicians are not always honorable, and once power is gained in the form of obtaining public office, the primary goal of the politician ceases to be the betterment of the nation.

Power is an intoxicating drug. Once obtained, the individual will do just about anything to maintain power by securing re-election. This is why the U.S. Constitution divides power extensively, and grants most of the power to the people, for whom the government exists in the first place.

Leaving the government with no power, as The Articles of Confederation essentially did, was dangerous as well. A Democracy, in which the people ruled directly by majority vote, could lead to “mob rule,” and the ultimate instability of a system. Though the wishes of the majority was important, a Direct Democracy would wind up abusing the rights of minority voting groups.

The Founding Fathers chose to craft a Representative Republic, enabling the people to hold ultimate power of the government through an election process. The representatives voted into office by the people are tasked with making policy decisions reflecting the desires of his or her constituency. The elected officials are expected to uphold the will of the people as best as can be done, well knowing that failure to do so will ultimately result in being voted out of office by the people.

Giving the power of election to the people grants sovereignty to the people, and to the states. The U.S. Constitution granted these principles to the people in order to limit the federal government. The U.S. Constitution is specific in the fundamental structure of government, and the limits to the activities granted to the federal government. These limits are intended to prevent government from expanding into a tyrannical entity that makes its political decisions based on the whims or ambitions of politicians, rather than what is in the best interest of the people.

From the very beginning the American form of government was designed to be owned by the people. The Articles of Confederation gave all of the power to the people, and to the states. The Articles of Confederation proved to be unsatisfactory, so limiting the federal government that it had scarcely enough power to act directly in the interest of the American citizens. In 1787, 55 of the founding fathers gathered in Philadelphia to fix the short-comings of The Articles of Confederation. After five months of debate in the sweltering heat, with the windows of Independence Hall closed, they framed, and drafted the United States Constitution.

The Constitution was a marked shift from The Articles of Confederation. The union had been made more perfect, and the framers of the Constitution saw to it that they said so in the Preamble.

-- Political Pistachio Conservative News and Commentary

By Douglas V. Gibbs