Almost inevitably, people who refuse to wear masks, or get vaccinated against COVID, claim personal freedom as their reason and will stridently point to their \u201cconstitutional rights\u201d as justification for their cries of independence from community responsibility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s strange. It\u2019s almost as if these people have never read to the Constitution given that it\u2019s their one-note defense for each of their absurdities. At least they seem to forget the most memorable lines: those of the preamble. Granted, most of the articles in the Constitution can confuse the common man, and it is \u2013 at times \u2013 very dry reading. But the preamble\u2026. It is very well known and easy to understand. There\u2019s even a very catchy Schoolhouse Rock episode about it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
So, let\u2019s look at what the preamble says. The most well-known part of the Constitution and an introduction to the entire treatise, it sets the tone for the entire document. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe the people of the United States\u201d. That\u2019s how the Constitution begins. Not, \u201cme the individual\u201d, but \u201cwe the people\u201d. In its first words, the preamble establishes the Constitution as about the American community, not a collection of individuals. It is an instrument meant to bring us together as a people, not to give us license to divide into anarchy-seeking tribes. Notably, people of the Unites States. Unity. That is the essence of the Constitution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIn order to form a more perfect union\u201d. Union: something that is made one: <\/strong>something formed by a combining or coalition of parts or members (at least according the Merriam-Webster dictionary. If you don\u2019t like that definition, look it up yourself). The purpose of the Constitution was to unite us as Americans, not divide us. \u201cMore perfect\u201d, not perfect. Our Nation is a work in progress. We must strive \u2013 together \u2013 to make it more perfect. When we turn our backs on our common goal by claiming individual freedoms at the expense of the whole, we turn our backs on the very idea of America and what it means to be an American.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cEstablish justice\u201d. It\u2019s hard to establish justice if every individual has their own idea of what is justified. The common good drives what is justifiable. When we choose to define our own standards of right and wrong, we tear at the fabric of a \u201cUnited States\u201d. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cEnsure domestic tranquility\u201d. It seems to me that domestic tranquility would be better served by not fearing that your neighbor is sabotaging the ability of the country to overcome the scourge of the COVID pandemic. Also, the shrill declarations that serve only to politicize the health and lives of our citizens are the antithesis of ensuring tranquility. In fact, they only serve to make us angry, and set us against our fellow Americans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cProvide for the common defense\u201d. A healthy armed force is in the best interest of the common defense. Lies, misinformation, and politicized rhetoric work against the ability to provide for the common defense. Unfortunately, the politization of COVID mitigation measures and of vaccines is making us as a Nation weaker, not stronger. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cPromote the general welfare\u201d. Well, it\u2019s hard to find any other part of the Constitution that is more harmed by anti-vaxxers than this. The general welfare cannot be promoted if the propagation of a deadly disease is encouraged by poorly informed individuals claiming that their right to inflict harm on their neighbors is enshrined in the Constitution. It is not. The Constitution was never meant to be a suicide pact. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAnd secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our posterity\u201d. The blessings of liberty are not a license for every individual to do whatever they wish. Liberty is indivisibly associated with freedom for the nation as a whole. The common welfare, the United States, the liberty of the Nation from foreign influences. That\u2019s what the Constitution is about. Not the presumed ability of every individual to be a sovereign in their own right. And what about our posterity? What about our children and their children? The actions of the selfish are condemning our posterity to sickness and death. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The survival of the Nation is inextricably linked to the duty of American citizens to do what is best for the Union; for the common good; for America. It\u2019s time for those who claim to uphold the values enshrined in the Constitution to recognize their duty to the whole, not the individual.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Almost inevitably, people who refuse to wear masks, or get vaccinated against COVID, claim personal freedom as their reason and will stridently point to their \u201cconstitutional rights\u201d as justification for their cries of independence from community responsibility. It\u2019s strange. It\u2019s almost as if these people have never read to the Constitution given that it\u2019s their one-note […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"default","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"default","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-2209","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":false,"thumbnail":false,"medium":false,"medium_large":false,"large":false,"1536x1536":false,"2048x2048":false},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"scubafuss@aol.com","author_link":"https:\/\/filiipublii.com\/index.php\/author\/scubafussaol-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"Almost inevitably, people who refuse to wear masks, or get vaccinated against COVID, claim personal freedom as their reason and will stridently point to their \u201cconstitutional rights\u201d as justification for their cries of independence from community responsibility. It\u2019s strange. 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