TRANSFORMING THE WAY WE VOTE
Nancy B. Detweiler
www.pathwaytoascension.com
All Americans need to re-think the ways by which we participate in our constitutional republic with its government of the people, by the people, for the people. (Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address) American citizens are the true governing body of this republic; our elected officials are our employees, paid—by us—to carry out the citizens’ mandates.
In order to maintain a constitutional republic in which all human beings are granted their inalienable rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, every citizen has the responsibility to supervise our government. We must hold our elected officials accountable to us.
With this responsibility in mind, how might we transform the way we vote to reflect acceptance of our constitutional role as members of this nation’s governing body?
Step out of the boxes that categorize us as democrats, republicans, independents, conservative, liberal, … ad infinitum. These boxes separate us and cause us to compete rather than cooperate for the common good. To remain in these boxes is to govern our nation much like a football game is refereed. The political machines/pundits call the shots and we cheer or moan.
Study our federal and state constitutions, Bill of Rights, and the Declaration of Independence to determine both our responsibilities and inalienable rights as citizens of a nation and state. A few examples to be found are:
“We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness—That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just Powers from the Consent of the Governed, 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, laying its Foundation on such Principles, and organizing its Powers in such Form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness … when a long Train of Abuses and Usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object, evinces a Design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their Right, it is their Duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future Security.”
----The Declaration of Independence
“We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, 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.”
----Constitution for the United States of America
NOTE: The Bill of Rights Amendments to the Constitution were created in order to “[extend] the ground of public confidence in the Government [and] best ensure the beneficent ends of its institution.”
“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the rights of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”
----Constitution for the United States, Amendment I
“The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.”
----Constitution for the United States, Amendment IV
NOTE: The Virginia State Constitution served as a guide for the creation of many of the remaining state constitutions, thus the relevance of its words for all American citizens.
“That all men are by nature equally free and independent and have certain inherent rights, of which, when they enter into a state of society, they cannot, by any compact, deprive or divest their posterity; namely, the enjoyment of life and liberty, with the means of acquiring and possessing property, and pursuing and obtaining happiness and safety.”
----Constitution of Virginia, Article I, Section 1
“Of all the various modes and forms of government, that is best which is capable of producing the greatest degree of happiness and safety, and is most effectually secured against the danger of misadministration; and, whenever any government shall be found inadequate or contrary to these purposes, a majority of the community hath an indubitable, inalienable, and indefeasible right to reform, alter, or abolish it, in such manner as shall be judged most conducive to the public weal.”
----Constitution of Virginia, Article I, Section 3
“That no free government nor the blessings of liberty, can be preserved to any people, but by a firm adherence to justice, moderation, temperance, frugality, and virtue; by frequent recurrence to fundamental principles; and by the recognition by all citizens that they have duties as well as rights, and that such rights cannot be enjoyed save in a society where law is respected and due process is observed.”
----Constitution of Virginia, Article I, Section 15
Make note of the importance placed upon every citizen’s inalienable rights to happiness and well-being. We must vote for those persons who have uppermost in their minds the good of all Americans, not just those with power and wealth.
Seek out and vote for those candidates who demonstrate not only a vision for the good of all, but also the techniques to bring that vision into fruition. Many candidates can speak compelling words; few believe them or follow through on them. www.vote-smart.org is an excellent citizens’ operated website providing extensive research on the candidates.
Think outside the box. Our present governmental system is broken. We need in-depth changes based on the systemic causes of our societal and governmental problems, not additional bandages stuck haphazardly onto the status quo. Seek those candidates who have the courage to work for substantive, meaningful changes. Voting a straight party ticket is to vote blindly and irresponsibly. The Constitution of the United States makes no provision for party affiliations.
Seek education toward a better understanding of the true nature of our society and government. Howard Zinn’s A PEOPLE’S HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES could wisely be considered a primer for this type of education.
Be alert to ways by which Americans are manipulated and controlled. Zinn’s book is enlightening in these areas. All 688 pages confirm Zinn’s statement: “The American system is the most ingenious system of control in world history …. There is none that disperses its controls more complexly through the voting system, the work situation, the church, the family, the school, the mass media—none more successful in mollifying opposition with reforms, isolating people from one another, creating patriotic loyalty. One percent of the nation owns a third of the wealth. The rest of the wealth is distributed in such a way as to turn those in the 99 percent against one another; small property owners against the propertyless, black against white, native-born against foreign-born, intellectuals and professionals against the uneducated and unskilled. These groups have resented one another and warred against one another with such vehemence and violence as to obscure their common position as sharers of leftovers in a very wealthy country.”
Wake up, Americans! “All citizens …have duties as well as rights.” We, the governing body of this nation, must fulfill our duties as citizens in order to enjoy our rights.
Wake up, Americans! It is up to us to lift our nation from the ashes heap in which it lies and to rebuild it into a constitutional republic governed “of the people, by the people, for the people.”
