Life Between 0 and 1

Having read the weekends blogs I follow, I’m reminded of the fact that its likely most Americans have not taken the time to read the Declaration of Independence or the United States Constitution and Amendments (Bill of Rights). Having read both of them multiple times, I took the time again to read them just now and am still just as inspired now as I was when I read them the first time. The language is powerful considering that it is what started this great country we are currently living in despite recent negativity. I’m still optimistic that we can, as a people, fix the problems and get back to a government we can trust again.

From the Declaration of Independence:

Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States.

I submit for discussion that the “King of Great Britain” could be our current oligarchy of corporations growing ever wealthier on the backs of the non-elite. In addition to “the establishment of an absolute Tyranny” being their control over a non-elite debt choked people, these wealthy corporations have instituted a modern form of slavery. This isn’t the first time I’ve written about this and probably not the last time. For most of us, the path to removing our debt is all but impossible. While some of the responsibility of that debt belongs with us, the corporations that granted that credit in the first place are also responsible for making it too easy to obtain that credit, and subsequent debt. What do you think happens when you grant money to a consumer driven capitalist market?

From the U.S. 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.

The preamble, exquisitely written, is a single sentence that defined our Republic for the last 200+ years. No where in this sentence do I see anything other than domestic focus for defense, general welfare, and the blessing of liberty to us and our children. Justice and domestic tranquility is the base ideology for the entire document from 1791 to present day. There have only been 17 additional Amendments added to the Bill of Rights, a fact that underscores this documents ability to govern appropriately and completely. Our Founders understood the importance of the law in the proper governing of its people and put a system in place that helped keep that all in balance.

We would be missing something important, something great, if we didn’t all take the time to read both of these documents in their entirety. We the People of the United States should demand better governance from the people we’ve elected into office. We the People of the United States should reject the current system of wealthy oligarchs that have no regard for anyone outside of their circle for the sake of amassing additional wealth. We the People of the United States should learn our history, understand our documents of government, and question the status quo that has lulled us into complacency. We the People of the United States, if we’re not careful, will quickly be part of an Empire.

The lack of knowledge most have about our own system of government is frightening to me. The country you live in should be a staple subject in schools across the country, yet, social studies takes a backseat to reading, math, and science. I’m not downplaying any of those subject areas, however social studies has had the greatest impact to my adult life since leaving school over 20 years ago. The current generation graduating in the next decade has not had the same opportunity, which will only further compound the problem that Americans don’t understand their own system of government. In a time when we have access to so much information, how we’re less informed now than 50 years ago is insane. A new idea I’m a part of with some fellow bloggers I hope will change that, more on that in a few weeks.

Have you read either the Declaration of Independence and/or the U.S. Constitution?