Use Constitution to reclaim government for all

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

By J.M. Opal / Special To The Washington Post

The impeachment process calls our attention to the Founders’ fear of government gone wrong. As we start a new year, we remember all their warnings and safeguards against unscrupulous men in high places.

Perhaps their wisdom from 1787 will help us turn the page on Donald Trump in 2020. To fully recover from his abusive reign, however, we’ll also need to recall our pro-government traditions, starting with the pledge in the Constitution’s preamble to “promote the general Welfare.”

This clause has deep roots in European statecraft, according to which the sovereign took care of his subjects in return for their fealty. In the 18th century, the general welfare, or salus populi, took on the more positive spirit of the Enlightenment. The goal of human society was not just survival but also happiness, the Swiss jurist Emer de Vattel noted in 1758, and so governments should positively promote “a true and solid felicity” within their countries.

What the Founders sought: Promoting the general welfare could mean building roads or schools with tax money. It might encourage ingenuity through patents and copyrights or foster public health with quarantines and regulations. And it sometimes required the public to overrule the selfish “rights” of careless or ruthless individuals.

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[Newest Reality]

1. I think we should all...

I think we should all place at the forefront of our political thinking the sacred idea that our government is US and its underlying purpose is to promote and uphold the common will for the common good for us all. Otherwise, you get oligarchy, authoritarianism, fascism, etc. We should be firm that we don't want those and will not accept them.

That is the basic promise and contract of creating, growing and preserving a democracy and we have been seeing that foundation stone being chipped away with sledgehammers, which you would expect from those who do not support or respect that noble and humanitarian ideal.

The reason I am making that point is that you don't build a house on a sand or a poor foundation. All our activities, political or otherwise and what we try to do when we cast our votes ALL rest on that premise. They spring forth from that very well of liberty. Without them being upheld firmly in place with knowledge and vigilance, the rest is up for grabs and may not even matter.

[DavidDvorkin]

2. Sadly, the ideals of the Enlightenment have never appealed to everyone

Perhaps they've always appealed only to a minority. A large part of the American population, just like people in other countries, has always wanted a king, or at least a ruler who will take care of everything or give the impression that he's doing so, and they'll happily surrender their rights to such a man.