What are YOU?

Today most politics somehow seem to revolve around the parties involved.  The Republicans and the Democrats.  The Conservatives and the Liberals.  Right-wing, Left-wing.  But should all issues be separated into those categories?  Should we have to vote with a particular party just because "that's how we registered," even if we don't fully agree with certain items on a politician's platform?

I am not registered as a Democrat, nor as a Republican.  I am currently registered as Independent.  Why?  Because I don't want to be pressured to fill out a ballot in a certain way just to be in line with my "party affiliation."  It's not that I don't believe in small government, like the Republicans do  It's just that I believe in merely holding my government accountable.  For using my vote to demand accountability from my government.

My friend asked me today if I believed that the forefathers of our nation knew what they were doing when they wrote and signed the Constitution, setting the plans for their new nation.  My answer: To some extent.  They thought things out well.  They accomplished what they set out to do; they set the groundwork for a government limited by...itself.  Checks and balances.  Her opinion?  "I think they gave us a perfect blueprint for a successful government."  The kicker? The club of our forefathers eventually formed a political party (to go against Hamilton's bank nationalization plan, no doubt) called the "Democratic-Republicans."  And over the last 200 or so years, we have separated from that unity which formed our country, and, well...look at us now!

Are we better off now than we were then?  I'd say yes and no.  "Yes," because we have progressed in defining our Constitution in so many ways.  Has it been easy? NO!  But now women can vote.  People of colored skin can go to the same restaurants and the same schools and use the same water fountains as the whites (they can even be President!).  I have the freedom of speech to write blogs about whatever I want.  We are all entitled to a fair trial process.  And much, much, more!  But on the contrary, a country that was founded by immigrants and prisoners (including murderers, thieves, those declaring bankruptcy) is now trying to close its doors to foreign nationals.  A country that was formed because we didn't agree with another country's government is now trying to impose our democratic beliefs upon other nations.  Here in the "land of the free and the home of the brave," we still don't have marriage equality.  Here in the "land of opportunity," the unemployment rate is at 9% or so.

So what can we do about it?  Does it depend on your party affiliation, whether you coincide with the President or not?  Does it depend on whether your state is red or blue on the political map? NO!  It starts with one voice, speaking up for what is believed to be right.  I guarantee you're not alone!

Insuring Domestic Tranquility

Do you have health insurance?  Car insurance?  Renter's insurance?  Homeowner's insurance?  What about Domestic Tranquility Insurance?  As the second item on Jefferson's list of demands from the ideal country, I'm assuming this is a pretty big one.  (The first is to establish Justice, which we're going to come back to.)


Now, I'm not 100% sure if they just spelled "ensure" as "insure" back in the 1700s, but I'm going to say no, for my sake, and presume that TJ (Thomas Jefferson) knew what he was doing and used "insure" for a reason.  Let's refer once again to my dear friends at Merriam-Webster.  Their definition of "insure" is "to make certain especially by taking necessary measures and precautions."   Let's pause for a moment and take that in.  If you'll remember from my last post, a state of Tranquility involves freedom.  Freedom from agitations of mind or spirit.   Be honest with me.  When you watch the news, or take your children to school, or push a shopping cart through Publix (or your grocery store of choice), do you feel that freedom?   No agitations.  A tranquil mind, a tranquil spirit.  We are talking about something so seemingly basic, but in the 21st century in which we live, we are still battling for basic civil rights in our "first world country!"   


Let's look at it from a slightly different angle.  If you look up "insurance" in the dictionary, it's defined as "coverage by contract whereby one party undertakes to indemnify or guarantee another against loss by a specified contingency or peril."  I consider the U.S. Constitution as a contract between We the People and our government.  So if we all qualify for this Domestic Tranquility Insurance simply by being citizens, then we should ALL be covered!  And honestly, in most areas of my life I have been guaranteed against loss.  But I'm not allowed to marry the person I love.  And that, to me, is a contingency..  A failure to indemnify me against peril.  I saw today where a recent study has shown that the human brain registers heartbreak and being burned in the same manner.  Being burned is a peril, wouldn't you say?  


What, in your opinion, is a recurring infraction upon your domestic Tranquility?  Do you feel like our government is doing all they can to uphold this part of the Constitution?   What would TJ say if he were alive today?  

We the People

Welcome to A More Perfect Union, my new blog about the political and somewhat social atmosphere surrounding the basic rights and responsibilities that we possess as U.S. citizens.  My goal is for this blog to serve as a channel for thought-provoking debate.  All questions, comments, and opinions are welcome, as long as they are all written with all due respect.  

Mr. Jefferson had a great thing going when he first penned the Preamble to the United States Constitution:

"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"

Let's dissect that while reading it again.

"We the People" (refers to a collective, including all citizens) "of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union," (does that mean that they admitted that it wasn't perfect?) "establish Justice," (defined by Merriam-Webster as "the quality of being just, impartial, or fair") "insure domestic Tranquility," (I like this definition of tranquil: "free from agitation of mind or spirit") "provide for the common defence," (the old-school spelling to say we're all protected) "promote the general Welfare," (I don't think they meant food stamps) "and secure the Blessings of Liberty" (this envelopes all of the other freedoms included in being a free nation) "to ourselves and our Posterity," (all future generations - so we're covered, too!) "do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America."

Thomas Jefferson and his associates had a pretty good idea, if you ask me!  Over the next few posts, I am going to further explore my interpretation of the Preamble to our nation's Constitution, and then any and all worthy ponderings of the role "We the People" should take in order to continue to strive for "a more perfect Union."