Get out there and make yourself be heard. For some that is getting out there in a vocal “march”, hindering commerce, etc. (think Code Pink in Berkley, or the protestors and vandals in Olympia). For others, it is a well organized event like Rolling Thunder…
For the past 21 years, Rolling Thunder has gathered in the Pentagon parking lot on the Sunday before Memorial Day and ridden across the Memorial Bridge, down the Mall, to the Vietnam Wall and the Lincoln Memorial to remind us all of the soldiers who are POW-MIA. Once there, they have a concert and speeches. These are those who have fought for us – who have kept us free.
Today – you can take a small step in your own way and drop the following note to your congressional representatives.
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.
We, the little people want you, our elected leadership to do just that, and only that.
form a more perfect union.
establish Justice.
insure domestic tranquility. *
provide for the common defense.
promote the general welfare.
secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves** and our posterityThose are the things that are charged in the preamble to the constitution, from which you derive your authority to legislate.
We don’t want you wasting your time, or our money making proclamations which do not serve us–for example, things like recognizing “Cuba solidarity day,” Honoring Arnold Palmer for his distinguished career in the sport of golf and his commitment to excellence and sportsmanship, Recognizing the importance of bicycling in transportation and recreation, National Day of the American Cowboy, Congratulating Albania and Croatia on Talks with NATO, et cetera. If you come across a resolution or proclamation that sounds good, but has no real impact on our lives, don’t bother with it.
We, the little people, are paying you for a service. The service you provide as a member of the legislative branch is to work as hard as you can to make our lives just a little bit better, within the bounds of the constitution. We don’t want you to use the money we give to the government to “create” jobs, as a capitalist democracy, we want you to encourage the free market to create jobs.
We, the little people, don’t want anyone in our nation to be denied basic needs of food, water, shelter, and clothing. We would rather donate our monies to charities that can assist those less fortunate, than to an enlarged government bureaucracy that does the same thing, just not as effectively.
We, the little people, are sick and tired of our elected leaders playing shell games with the budget, by attaching riders to bills to fund pet projects. If you are unwilling to introduce a bill for a specific project, because it is unpopular or fiscally irresponsible, then you shouldn’t do it.
We, the little people, realize that their are functions of the government that must remain secret, because to publicly air every function of our security would leave it vulnerable to attack. We trust that you will oversee these security measures with us, your constituents, our lives and our freedom, in mind, and not the effect on “global opinions” of other nations.
We, the little people, could give a rat’s ass about steroids in sports, spying between sports teams, and all the other entertainment-related minutiae you continue to hold hearings on. Sports and recreation are entertainment, you should only get involved if through their actions, we, the little people, get screwed.
We, the little people, simply ask that the roads don’t have many potholes, the lights come on when we flip the switch, we can afford to fuel our cars to take us to work and back without needing a second mortgage, that our food, water and air are healthy, that our borders are secure from foreign invaders, that we are as secure as possible from terrorism, that we are able, at all times to defend ourselves from violence, that criminals are punished commensurate with their crimes, that our military is the best trained and equipped military in the world at all times, and that our elected leaders maintain transparency in their actions.
We, the little people, simply wish to live our lives as we see fit, deciding for ourselves what is best for us, and not what is best for our neighbor. We want our government to impede on our lives, liberty, and property as little as possible. We ask only that our government stay within its constitutional boundaries and only do the work they are required by our constitution to do, without seeking to expand their powers.
Finally, we, the little people, want our government to realize that our rights are not “granted” by the constitution, our rights are inherent in us, inalienable, and not for debate. Our constitution tells our government what they can do, and that first and foremost, they cannot do anything to abnegate those rights. We, the little people, paid for our freedom for generations with our lives, and we will do so again, against any foreign or domestic enemy who chooses to try and limit our freedom. We, the little people, want our government to fear us, and not because we could vote you out of office. We want you to fear us because you know that if you don’t do the job you are supposed to do, we are likely to decorate the trees in the mall with you.
Respectfully,
Joe A. Citizen
American Lumber and Rope Company
USA*”Insure” is to take out a policy. “Ensure” is to make sure something happens. This means our laws should quell public discourse, not encourage it.
**secure the blessings… to ourselves means we, the little people want to enjoy the blessings of liberty; not that we exist to provide the means for you to do so.
Tip of the Hat to Chuck Z. and Flag Gazer