For my 10,000th post at DU, I wanted to provide an update on
"We the People ... Have No Clothes". Though I've not been able to find a publisher, the online version has been downloaded and shared with many folk. I've been told of families reading sections of it together and how much reading the words, out loud, of our
Declaration of Independence, our
Constitution has served as an inspirational reminder of what we all aspire to have America be, everyday.
So, I thought I'd just reprint the introductory segment and the link to an online .pdf version and encourage all of you to share it with others. Obviously, many of our fellow citizens are beginning to realize how threatened the Constitution is, and they may find this small pamphlet of use.
http://missionnotaccomplished.us/WTPv17n.pdfIn the spirit of the early days of the formation of our Republic and inspired by the publications of Thomas Paine, this pamphlet attempts to remind each of us of why we have government and the fact that we are America, and that those who occupy our buildings and receive salaries because we pay our taxes are accountable to all of us, all of the time.
Today, we confront a government whose greed and thirst for power has deceived us into war, deserted thousands of us in a time of need knowing the devastation about to happen, and continued to fail us as we pleaded for help.
Today, we confront a government exclusively serving the interests of corporations and enriching the wealthy while willfully destroying our financial, social and environmental infrastructure.
Today, we are misinformed daily by a corporate press that places its shareholder responsibilities well in front of its duty to each of us – the duty to tell the truth about all matters of what our government says and does.
Today, you may wonder what it means to be an American; you may wonder how you, an individual citizen, can counter the undoing of our society and our Constitutional rights.
This pamphlet provides the guidance necessary to assist you in answering those questions by giving you convenient access to our Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, Bill of Rights and the Amendments. This pamphlet further suggests you will find answers to those questions by taking the time to read and ponder the words of America’s founders and the words of a few of our distinguished leaders.
Please realize these are living documents -- they live because of, and through, each of us. We either nurture them, or they will perish because we failed to know their meaning, failed to encourage our brothers and sisters, fathers and mothers, friends and colleagues to know, cherish and protect them.
Through two events, this pamphlet will contrast what each of you has heard from your government with the actual facts. As you study the facts you will be able to reflect on the historical context of why America was created – succinctly outlined for you in the Declaration of Independence.
As you discover that numerous intelligence experts had informed Mr. Bush that Iraq had no weapons of mass destruction, you will want to reflect on the words in our Constitution outlining Congress’ role in matters of war and how both Congress and the President failed to follow Constitutional law.
As you review the actions of the Bush administration in Iraq, you will want to reflect on the deep concerns expressed by President Dwight D. Eisenhower regarding the dangers of militaristic corporate objectives swaying our leaders’ foreign policy.
As you review Congressman Ron Paul’s history of US engagement in Middle Eastern foreign affairs, you will find yourself fully informed as to how the reasons you were given for sending our dedicated Armed Forces into Iraq bear no resemblance to the truth.
As you ponder the devastation of Katrina, you will find our social contract with one another has been shredded, and the words of our Constitution, Bill of Rights and the dream of civil rights were all exposed as mere words, readily discarded by those we entrusted with our lives and those of our fellow citizens.
Finally, this pamphlet seeks to help you understand the words of Abraham Lincoln, spoken at a time when the Republic was gravely divided by civil war. If we are to be as he hoped, “a government of the people, by the people, for the people” then we must each participate. To participate means not pledging allegiance to an icon, but knowing and acting on exactly what our Constitution, Bill of Rights and Constitutional Amendments mean.
Do not be afraid or embarrassed to admit you have never read the documents contained in this pamphlet. Do not hesitate to read the Declaration of Independence at dinner with your family. Turn off the TV and read the Constitution, out loud. Gather all your friends and take turns speaking the words of Lincoln, Eisenhower, Kennedy, and Paul.
Discuss what was known before our troops were sent to die in Iraq. Discuss how our Congress, and our President, failed in their Constitutional duty and know that you understand what happened because you’ve taken the time to become familiar with the facts -- and because you know your Constitution as well as you know your own name.
“Government of the people, by the people, for the people” is the most special societal framework achievable, but it only works when we, as a people, act responsibly. Our responsibility begins by knowing the basics, and this pamphlet provides you with those basics and a solid motivation to never forget them. A potential benefit to each citizen insisting on access to the truth and to each citizen striving to be informed of the facts is the increased likelihood that those we elect will know that their constituency is fully prepared to hold them accountable – that we truly are a ‘government of, by and for the people.’
We all realize the grave threat Bush and his neoconster minions are to the substance of our Constitution and to our very survival as a nation of laws and beacon for those even more oppressed than many of our fellow citizens. Over the years, I've frequently mentioned that many inhabitants of "America" have solid ground for taking exception to whether we really mean - “government of, by and for the people.” I tell them that if they doubt that that they can start by having a conversation with any Native American.
As we begin to bring Bush and his gang to justice for all the crimes they have committed; as we develop a policy of humble, consistent effort to support the needs of the oppressed, wherever they may be; as we take drastic and comprehensive action to preserve our planet, “We the People …” can breath new life into the words of our Constitution, we can be the "America" that our words proclaim, but that many of our actions in the past, have defied.
“We the People …” – as “an Army of Davids” (ref. Glenn Reynolds) can, indeed, earn the respect and trust of humanity, and keep earning and nurturing it, every day. By creating such a living legacy, we can establish a legitimate claim to have rectified the vast evil of the Bush neoconster empire.
Thank you to all the members of DU who have been, and continue to be, generous in your support, in your editing, in your creative graphics, and many other contributions you have made to our collaborative pamphlet –
”We the People … Have No Clothes.”
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