WE THE PEOPLE

Wayne D. Leeper

 

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 to our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution of the United States of America.

Preamble

Constitution of the United States

September 17, 1787

 

   We the people.  That phrase is a common part of our language today and does not stir very much emotion among the general public.  But in 1787 it was extremely radical because it conveyed a concept totally strange to the world of that day and relatively unheard of in the annuals of human history.  In this simple statement of some fifty-three words an entirely new concept of government was born.

   The ultimate power of government was transferred from various types of rulers to the people being ruled.  Ever man woman and child was given the freedom to determine their own destiny. As a child in grade school in the early fifties we were required to memorize the preamble to our Constitution, The Pledge of Allegiance, and the Lords Prayer.  Only the pledge of allegiance remains in our schools today and even that is being challenged in the courts. I fear we have lost something very important and very precious during the past fifty years.

   The founders of this nation understood that it is God’s intent that every human being, no matter how great or how small, have the right to exercise his free moral agency.  He has the right to buy and to sell, to work and to earn, to plan and to dream.  He has the right to love and to be loved, to worship his God, and to raise his children.  In America every individual, even the unbeliever, has right to live according to the dictates of his own conscience and the needs of his soul.  In America we call it freedom.

   There are some words that make a person feel proud, and bring a lump into the throat.  There are some words that lift us above self and selfish interest, directing us to a higher calling; bringing out the best in each of us.  There are words that call us forth to sacrificial service and elevate us to the highest levels of human endeavor. These are words that speak to our innermost soul and touch us at the very heart of our existence.  They are words worth fighting for and worth dying for.

   Freedom is one of those words.

   Freedom says simply, "I have a right to exist."  I have a right to be me.  I have a right to be born, a right to grow, and a right to learn.  I have a right to chose a lifetime mate and to raise my children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.  I have a right to labor and earn; then spend my earnings for the benefit of myself and my family.  I have the right to live with honor, to worship my God with devoutness, and to die with dignity.

   Yes, the nation those men established so long ago was indeed an experiment in government unique from all others.  It was a nation which looked to God for its right to exist, for its protection, and for His guidance in the affairs of state.  What is more, it gave us, as citizens and voters, the ability to demand a government which will uphold those ideals which have made us great. The decision now lies with us.  Either we will remain one nation, under God, or descend into the abyss of immorality that has claimed so many nations that have gone before.

   Like many of you, I am an old man who has enjoyed the blessings of this great nation for many years. Yes, we walk a little slower these days and our hearing and eyesight are not what they once were.  The torch has passed from our generation to a new generation to whom we must look for leadership and protection during our Golden Years.  It is my humble prayer that this new generation will have the wisdom to preserve those values for which the young men of this nation have fought and died over the last two hundred and twenty-eight years.

   A United States Senator who opposed war once stood on the floor of the Senate and made the bold affirmation that “Freedom has never been obtained at the point of a bayonet.”  Another senator arose to ask the simple question, “Sir, how does the good Senator think we got ours?”  America and Americans have understood since our founding that there are some things worth fighting for and even dying for.  The protection of our nation is one of those things.  So whether it was considered necessary by Washington, Lincoln, Wilson, Roosevelt, or Bush, we answered the call.

   Not as heroes but as scared 18 and 19 year old kids.  We didn’t enjoy it and most of us would rather forget about it than talk about it.  The real heroes did not come home.  Those are the ones Lincoln described as having given their “last full measure of devotion.”  For them the bugles are silent and their deeds are buried with their bodies under a small white cross somewhere in France, or an unmarked grave in the jungles of Vietnam, while their spirits have soared like eagles to the arms of a loving God.

   It is my prayer that this nation will never forget the price that has been paid for our freedom, never forget the responsibility that comes with that freedom, and never desert the ideals set forth by our founders which have led us to greatness.

   May God help us to remain vigilant that we may remain free, and may He continue to bless America.