Introduction: “We the people . . .”
We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, 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.
That’s the Preamble to the Constitution.
Notably, it does not say . . . we the oligarchs.
Or . . . we the plutocrats.
Or . . . we the ruling elite.
Or . . . we the aristocrats.
Or . . . we the CEOs.
Or . . . we the Wall Street speculators.
Or . . . we the war profiteers.
Or . . . we the political class.
Or . . . we the technocrats.
Granted, “the people” has undergone quite a substantial evolution over the 250-year history of our nation.
Originally, some “people” had more say over the affairs of the U.S. than others.
Women weren’t allowed to vote until August 18, 1920, with the ratification of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution.
Slaves were not people at the founding, rather they were property. Until 1863, they were non-citizens and had zero rights. Even for apportioning congressional districts — done by population — a slave was constitutionally deemed as 3/5ths of a person. They were finally freed from bondage when Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation January 1, 1863. The 13th Amendment made that constitutionally binding, the 14th Amendment made former slaves full citizens, and the 15th Amendment gave blacks the right to vote.
There have been other notable shifts toward inclusivity.
Such dramatic changes are not symptomatic of a flawed system. On the contrary, they are signals that our system is flexible, subject to revision and modernization. As we intellectually embrace new norms and a heightened world view, views of government and its relationship to everyone living within our borders evolve. The system adapts.
Recognize, most of the reforms, most conspicuously the freeing of the slaves and women’s suffrage, were not “top down” dictates. As with more recently the civil rights movement, they reflected new values embraced by increasingly large segments of the populace at large. It was “the people” who saw the need and demanded these changes.
Which points to the historically unique promise made to the world by what we colloquially call “democracy”.
Gone were the monarchs, the despots, the authoritarians.
“We the people” would now call the shots.
It is the recognition of the value of every individual on the planet for just being a human being and thus having agency both personally and in terms of the institutions of society, that is the fundamental underpinning of the democratic way. It is this a priori proposition on which American democracy is allegedly built.
Government of the people.
Government by the people.
Government for the people.
WE THE PEOPLE!
[ This is an excerpt from my latest book, The CFAR Electoral Campaign Strategy, now available at fine bookstores everywhere. Look for it! ]
