Comment E-mail Print Bio Archives

The objectives for the United States Constitution are outlined in its preamble. Read it putting emphasis on the action verbs.

"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..."

All the objectives for the Constitution were chosen carefully and reflect the concerns which surfaced around The Articles of Confederation, this country's first Constitution.

Read this again, but with a renewed emphasis on certain elements.

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.

This exercise, done in a variety of ways, can be quite useful in analyzing the document. Officials elected to serve in the federal government should read these words carefully, meditate on them, and think about whether their actions in the name of "we the people" are aligned to these objectives. It helps if the words of the preamble are studied in the context of the time period in which they were written.

Public officials need to take seriously their oath to uphold the Constitution. Just as important, the people of the United States, charged with electing these officials to public office, should spend time on this exercise. After giving the Constitution proper consideration, we should ponder an important question. We should give serious thought to whether public apathy or indifference to the workings of the government has played a role in allowing heretofore acknowledged 1st Amendment Rights under the Constitution to become abridged.

Think for a moment about the 1st Amendment.

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."

"In the United States, of course, displays of the Ten Commandments or Christian symbols are relentlessly hounded out of public spaces by the ACLU and similar groups, while Muslims are granted prayer rooms, foot baths, and all the other accoutrements of their faith wherever they demand them." -- Creeping Sharia

...or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press

"'Hate crime' laws work this way: They add penalties to a criminal sentence if the criminal is also convicted of having a 'hateful' intent toward the victim based on the victim's real or perceived group identity. Crime victims who don't fit into certain categories see their assailants face lesser penalties. Ultimately, 'hate crime' laws punish only beliefs or thoughts." -- 'Hate Crime' Laws

>> Continued -- Page 1 2 3