A Primer to The Preamble of Our Constitution

The government of our creation rarely does any of the things it is supposed to do, and spends enormous sums doing that which it is not empowered to do.

The next time you and your smug, liberal in-law get into politics, I have a curveball for you that he is sure to swing at and miss. Since the vast majority of Leftists substitute passion for reason, it is but a small task to put their nonsense to rest, IF we are armed with fundamental knowledge of our Declaration and Constitution.

First, ask him if he believes government exists, as per the Declaration, to secure our unalienable rights. Should he stutter that he has heard of it, bring up the Preamble to our Constitution. It presents fundamental ideas from the Declaration and sets forth the reasons civil society convened and created a government.

Preamble: “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.”

“We the People,” meaning the people acting in their sovereign capacity [links below] through free ratification conventions, established the Constitution. Notice the hierarchy of law giving. When gathered in their sovereign capacity, the people are superior to the Constitution. Their Constitution, which establishes government, is superior to their servants in government. This isn’t to say the will of the sovereign people is boundless, because when drafting or amending Constitutions and enacting statutes, they are, like all men at all times, subject to Natural Law.

Next, “in order to form a more perfect Union” is acknowledgement that the institutions under the Articles of Confederation inadequately secured natural rights. James Madison wrote of this in a pre-convention newspaper column, Vices of the Political System of the United States. As further explained in The Federalist, an overabundance of democracy among the states had proved dangerous to liberty. Unlike progressives, whose efforts to create “The New Man” always ends up with men in gulags, our Framers didn’t attempt to establish Utopia, but rather set upon to improve the Articles of Confederation.

The pledge “to establish justice” reflects the underlying premise of the Constitution to secure natural rights. Accordingly, the most that can be established is a government that prevents injustice. Progressive hijacking of the term and turning it into fuzzy social justice does not secure natural rights and is anathema to natural law.

Closely related is our government’s duty to “insure domestic tranquility.” When there is civil peace and the absence of disorders, we can go about our business and lives secure in personal safety. With peace, we can raise healthy families; children can walk to school without escort or fear of gangs when in school. Without civil order, the circle of liberty can shrink to the point that simple survival becomes one’s primary occupation. In this condition, man is far closer to life in a state of nature than in an ordered society. Protect the law abiding from the criminal and liberty will have a chance.

Looking outward, our natural rights are protected from foreign interference when government “provide(s) for the common defense.” Protect the nation from external threats.

Progressives have long abused the fifth purpose of government, to “promote the general welfare.” The Framers’ term is properly understood as the public good, meaning measures in the permanent and aggregate interests of the community. Beyond safeguarding individual rights, government is to promote the well-being of the society that created the Constitution.

Finally, the new government was to “secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity.” Here was an expression of hope, a hope that the Constitution would succeed where the Articles of Confederation had disappointed. Keeping liberty, that circle of freedom immune from government, best preserved the blessings to be enjoyed by future generations.

So, does the government of America 2016 respect sovereignty in the people, guard unalienable rights, secure domestic peace, defend the nation from external threats, and bolster the societal foundation of our republic? A ruling class so horribly corrupted from its legitimate purposes cannot possibly reform itself. That is up to us, We The People, acting in our sovereign capacity.

We are the many; our oppressors are the few. Be proactive. Be a Re-Founder. Join Convention of States. Sign the COS Petition.

I posted this brief discussion of the Preamble linked to the Declaration of Independence back in 2010. It may be a little "out there" regarding abortion, but I like the rest.

I recently posted the thought that there is a ban on abortion in the Constitution after all. Here are the salient points:
I think there is one bridging phrase to the Declaration of Independence that is in the Constitution, which can be seen as a link to "unalienable rights."

Preamble
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.

Note the use of the phrase "Blessings of Liberty." They didn't say "liberty," they said "blessings of liberty." They also capitalized Blessings and Liberty. Why?
In the Declaration of Independence, the Founders said:

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

Note the use of capitalization for Life, Liberty, and Happiness. Also note that these refer to the rights endowed by the Creator, which would be blessings. By this language, is it possible that Founders meant the Constitution to establish a government that secured the blessing of the unalienable right to Liberty?
Therefore, when they spoke of "securing the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our posterity," wouldn't those referred to as "our posterity" be the unborn children who were also "blessed" with the right to Liberty, and the other unalienable rights in the Declaration of Independence?
How can the Founders believe that they were securing Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness for our unborn future if they were also writing abortion into the Constitution?

-PJ

I posted this brief discussion of the Preamble to discuss the natural born citizen clause in Article II. .

I suggest that the Constitution defines who are natural born citizens at the very beginning of the document.

Preamble
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" are citizens of the United States. "Our Posterity" are the natural born who follow -- the children of the People. The Constitution was "ordained and established" to "secure... Liberty" to its citizens and their children. Whom else was it crafted to secure?
Naturalized citizens can become a part of "We the People," and then their children can become natural born citizens.
It's right there in the first words.

-PJ

"Posterity" is about lineal descendants. But it does not itself define "natural born citizen." One's posterity could emigrate, as for example President Obama's mom.

What is important about the language in the present context is that it defines the purpose of the Constitution. It is obviously to put America first, since it defines the beneficiaries as the future generations of the existing population. (And see "Who We Are?" [Trump Supporters].)

When George W. Bush sought to push amnesty of illegal immigrants in 2006, he deliberately confused the intention of the Founders.

"We the People"

The "Preamble" contains the answer to what you wonder about.

We the People of the United States, blah, blah, blah, and blah, for the United States of America.

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.

This a puzzle for some Americans misled into believing the Constitution is about them; it is not. The Constitution is about how the government is to function within the "herein granted" legislative powers. The Constitution is for the people, not about the people.

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