Dr. Wilmer J. Leon III: We Have Met the Enemy and He Is Us (Truthout)

[marmar]

We Have Met the Enemy and He Is Us
By Dr. Wilmer J. Leon III
t r u t h o u t | Guest Contributor

Tuesday 06 March 2007

When read in the context of the Declaration of Independence, The Constitution of the United States of America (the Constitution) is truly one of the most impressive documents of governance ever written. It contains approximately 4,300 words, was completed in 1787, and 220 years later is the oldest operating constitution in the world. Compare this with the proposed Constitution of the European Union, which is approximately 60,000 words and not yet ratified.

The Constitution in its original form was far from perfect. Written into the document were justifications for oppression and slavery such as Article I, Section 2, known as the three-fifths compromise; Article I, Section 9, allowing the slave trade to exist until 1808, and Article IV, Section 2, allowing the rendition or capture and return of escaped slaves to the "... Party to whom such Service or Labor may be due." In spite of these flaws, at its core are the revolutionary principles of natural law and social contract theory as articulated in the Declaration of Independence. These concepts forever changed how people view themselves in relation to their government. It is not the words that make these documents great; it is America's reverence for these concepts that make the Constitution what it is.

Natural law states that people possess the God-given or natural right to govern themselves, as opposed to the earlier concept of divine justification of a king or monarch. Social contract theory is the idea that people in a civilized society consent to be governed by a set of standards and elect representatives in order to protect these natural rights. Most importantly, as stated in the Declaration of Independence, "... That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government ..." In other words, the People must always hold their elected representatives accountable for their actions.
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Outside of the political realm, as multinational corporations have expanded their reach and influence through globalization, American concepts of fairness and equality as articulated in the Constitution, have been used internationally to address sweat shops, child labor, women's rights, illegal detention and ecological racism in many foreign countries. For many decades, in spite of its imperfections, America, because of the Constitution, has been the stalwart of democracy and the beacon of hope for many people throughout the world.
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This administration has violated its own constitution and the Geneva Conventions. It has invaded a sovereign country, overseen the hanging of its president, instilled fear in the hearts and minds of its own people through lies and misinformation, and demonized an entire ethnic group of people and their religion. How do we ever expect to win in the court of international public opinion and win over the hearts and minds of those who disagree with US action? Are we not engaged in the very actions and activities, both nationally and internationally, that will result in our demise? Based upon the illegal and immoral actions of the current Bush administration, I think Pogo the possum was correct in 1971 when he said, "We have met the enemy, and he is us."

The complete piece is at: http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/030607K.shtml

[Dhalgren]

1. Great piece. And he is dead on right.

But nothing will be done. Martial Law will be enacted. And we will be told to go shopping and we will. Americans, on average, are not only stupid, we are also cowards...

[EST]

2. Excellent, excellent article--should send to everyone.

I have only two tiny quibbles:

1) I wish it were a few paragraphs longer, allowing a bit fuller explication and expanding the indictment and

2)THe following quote:
"On the domestic front, laws that cut at the core of American democracy have been implemented without public debate. According to the New York Times, "The president can now use military troops as a domestic police force in response to a natural disaster, ... terrorist attack or to any "other condition." In October 2006, at the very last minute, the administration slipped into the defense budget bill provisions to undercut posse comitatus and the Insurrection Act of 1807. These two actions now make it easier for the president to declare martial law. It is the undefined "other condition" that should be of greatest concern to the American public. The fact that this was added to the defense bill by the administration and the Democrats did nothing to bring it to the public's attention is reprehensible."

This particular condemnation needs to be narrowed slightly, indicating congressional Democrats.
DU and the blogs I follow and many others were frantically doing every thing we could to bring this to the public awareness, screaming bloody murder and the only wide communication support we had, as it is now, was Keith Olbermann, on MSRNC.

Otherwise, an A+ on all levels.