Justly Governed Citizens

Note: recently, I have realized that the U.S. Preamble's proposition is self-discipline more than self-governance. In my view, it proposes 5 public disciplines to encourage responsible human independence to the continuum of living citizens. Please keep this update in mind as you read this essay. PRB, 5/1/2020.

Citizens:  become the majority that is cooperatively autonomous and accommodates every lawful person, as they are and where they are in their quest for psychological maturity, as they perceive it. Support all lawful citizens during their lives, not penalizing liberals during the cycles when conservative interests are served by the majority vote and vice versa. Create, for the first time on earth, Just Civic Governance by Justly Governed Citizens, which is offered by the preamble to the United States Constitution.

Just civic governance is offered by the literal preamble only by serendipity, and it has not been practiced, so far. You might not have imagined civic cooperation, because citizens have been influenced for 225 years to think that most people can only behave under force—under the coercion of theism first then under the force of government. That governance, inculcated during my youth, would have ruined my life without an overriding perception that I have an inborn tendency to behave, low as my behavior may have been when I contradicted myself.  Most infants have the inborn tendency to behave, and they can grow to realize their goodness if they are so coached—not confused by theism and institutional exceptionalism. Evil has to be inculcated by evil example. I think I was coached in my youth by reading--especially Ralph Waldo Emerson and Thomas Paine, both of whom encourage self-reliance.
That's not to say that both theism and government are evil. I do not think so. Theism empowers many people to be morally excellent; however, so many theisms exist and have been rejected by so many persons that it is not a sound basis for just governance. People who are attacking each other's God/disbelief cannot find mutual civic accommodation. Also, persons cannot enjoy just governance without government; when the traffic light is out, progress through the intersection drops to a crawl. For 225 years, we have been governing without moderation offered by the preamble.
As we see in the US Government of 2014, even a government designed for democratic republicanism can become dysfunctional if the citizens vote it into tyranny. In the present circumstance, an arrogant majority of representatives loyal to the Democratic Party, together with a Democratic President, created the situation wherein today, February 15, 2014, journalists are debating the appearance of US law in the hands of President Obama:  Obama acting in places of the Congress. The present dysfunction would not happen if the majority of law abiding citizens were communicating with each other with the intent to accommodate each person's pursuit of life and happiness during their individual eighty years according to their growing personal opinion. By "growing" I mean whatever personal opinion is at any point in time but always seeking wisdom. The preamble would serve as the regulator for justice, if the majority of citizens would adopt the preamble for civic practices.

The signers of the US Constitution vaguely envisioned “Solomon-like” representatives would uphold the Constitution and provide a people’s republic, avoiding the direct vote (the quote is from W. B. Allen, The Federalist Papers, 2000). Democracy has proven so ruinous throughout history; one vote above 50% establishes tyranny if the institutions of governance are not highly distributed as in the State republics and federal republic America has. But political regimes seize power beyond the law, challenging citizens to sue based on the US Constitution. President George W. Bush imagined something like, “Look the First Amendment restricts Congress, not me. I’ll create a faith-based policy and fund it” (usurping Congress). In the latest arrogance against the Constitution, it seems to me President Obama is usurping a dysfunctional Congress, and the Supreme Court is influenced by an ivy-league, liberal clique. Only just citizens can correct the unjust governance we have. Only just citizens’ cooperative fulfillment of just civic purpose, such as the seven goals in the preamble, can preserve each person’s opportunity to pursue the life they want--not for the distant future, but for their brief time on earth.

My tunnel-view is insufficient:  Citizens need to consider how "We the People of the United States" as defined in the preamble could change our governance toward the justice citizens need. For example, just now in Baton Rouge, most heterosexuals want to accommodate homosexuals. However, the expressive homosexuals do not seem to perceive incentives to accommodate heterosexuals. Just this morning Edward Pratt posed the problem succinctly for me:  How do you provide heterosexual football players privacy in a locker room to which admittedly gay players are allowed? I agree with Pratt:  The issue must be faced. Unfortunately, the Jerry Sandusky case paint's my image of gays in a locker room. Maybe gay locker rooms are in order. The Nicole Maines case suggests special bathrooms are in order for public schools in the State of Maine. However, each person, without cooperation or not, should pursue happiness according to their opinion, not as the rest of the population sees it, and governance need to stop trying to force opinion on peaceful citizens; practicing the preamble offers relief from force.
I want to promote Just Civic Governance by Justly Governed Citizens on Saturday, June 21, 2014, in Baton Rouge, perhaps calling it Citizens’ Ratification Day. The objective is to plan how to make celebration of the people and the preamble an annual event. I do not plan to discuss sexual preference yet would not prevent discussion. Please contribute to the planning and register for the meeting.

"We the People” have not created good will, because “we, the people” represents the majority voters, the well known Achilles heel of democracy. Natural and good factions vie for the power to favor their particular interests in a competitive cycle that can continue until it is so weak another country overthrows the democracy; the existing abuse of national debt is so weakening this country. However, "We the People of the United States" as defined in the preamble can effect revolutionary change almost overnight: The preamble's goals, amended for 2014 living, can help citizens establish just civic governance for the first time in 225 years. In the next election, challenge the candidates, “What have you done to fulfill the preamble to the US Constitution, and if elected, what steps will you take to further its fulfillment?”

But don’t let that seem enough; let’s meet annually as just citizens to promote the preamble and amend the Constitution so that it regulates the representatives, both elected and appointed, to serve just citizens. Keeping the citizens divided maintains power: left versus right has existed since it was called Federalists versus Anti-federalists. Let our generation be the one that ends the ruin we are experiencing.

Please comment. Also, please read the earlier posts in this blog and comment on them. If you become enthusiastic to promote the preamble, use your methods to do so. I am not a rapid-media person, but this must be a citizen’s reform, with the objective of upholding the US Constitution and proposing any amendments that would eliminate injustice.

Revised on February 21, 2014.

Copyright©2014 by Phillip R. Beaver. All rights reserved. Permission is hereby granted for the publication of all or portions of this paper as long as this complete copyright notice is included.