The Preamble to the Constitution is one of our most famous and frequently cited pieces of American history. In case you need a refresher (and nowadays, most Americans do), here it is:
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.
A while back, in a post titled "So, How's That Constitution Thing Working Out for You?," I examined the stirring words of the preamble in light of current events and what today passes for civic behavior. Today, I offer a rewrite of the Preamble for an era the Founders would never recognize or accept:
We the Wealthy, White, Christian citizens of the United States, in order to preserve our political power, ensure justice appropriate to the race and economic station of each individual, insure domestic tranquility by militarizing the police and strengthening their qualified immunity, provide for the common defense by fully funding the defense industry, promote the general welfare insofar as such promotion does not create a culture of dependence which turns lazy individuals into public charges or limit the funding available for corporate welfare programs, and secure the blessings of liberty to those belonging to traditionally American racial, economic, and religious groups, do ordain and establish this updated Constitution for the United States of America. If you don’t like it, leave.
The chances of actually updating our entire Constitution to clean up the Founders’ errors and clarify their intent are less than zero, but updating the Preamble to bring it up to date is at least a start.
Have a good day. Be careful how you vote in November, or that change to the Preamble may come sooner than you expect.
More thoughts coming.
Bilbo
2 comments:
Sad but true.
Ouch. Too true...
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