What is the role of government in our lives? We as a people, created this government to establish justice, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and to secure the blessings of liberty for ourselves and our posterity. These powerful words contained within the Preamble of the Constitution, outline pretty well what services and accommodations that the government should supply, so that our peoples live full, free, and happy lives. It seems that in the highly partisan climate, from both political parties, has created a situation in which we have forgotten the reason that this country was created.
The first tenant mentioned in the preamble is to establish justice. Our justice system is in shambles, with new stories of innocent people being sentenced to long prison sentences and only now getting their freedom due to DNA testing. Not to mention the justice atrocities in Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo Bay which not only fall far below our supposed justice standards, but broadcast a sour image to the rest of the world.
Providing for the common defense, indeed this is a very important facet of the constitution. But at what cost to the rest of our unalienable rights are we willing to give for the ‘ultimate’ protection? We have seen many of our rights being trampled on and no one seems to bat an eye at it, our when they do it is not to the level for which it should be taken… and I must admit I am guilty of this as well. We must demand that the government no longer be able to read our emails, listen to our phone calls, and other invasions of our privacy. If we do not I fear that we will lose all of the freedoms we take for granted.
One of the most important facets of the preamble is to promote the general welfare. This is a very broad statement, and one which must be taken as broad in scope as well. The general welfare of any person tends to the basic necessities for survival; food,water, shelter, clothing, and air. The general welfare of a person also includes their health as well. This thus gives the government the express consent to do a variety of things. It allows the government to regulate the food industry to ensure that monopolies don’t form, and there is no price gouging of the goods provided. It gives them permission, with the consent of the people, to ensure that there are no issues with how how food is grown and cultivated to ensure that the spread of disease is minimal. With food, there is also the necessity to educate people about healthy eating habits, and to provide healthy foods, for families and individuals who can’t afford a nutritious meal.
Water and air are extremely important to our survival, and indeed the survival of most organic matter on our planet. It seems logical therefore, to allow the government to monitor the environment and ensure that we have a healthy and clean Earth to live upon. The current EPA regulations that are in place are OK, but the could be radically improved upon.
Since 1976, with help from Jimmy Carter, the Habitat for Humanity organization has been helping providing low income families with a place to call their own. The Salvation Army is also very helpful in providing clothing and other items at a low cost.
Health is a very important issue at this time, with the national debate varying wildly. There are those that feel that the government should not intervene in health care, because of fears instilled in them by the advocates for the insurance companies. They are concerned that a guarantee of health services by the government would mean a decrease in the quality of services provided. This is a strange belief seeing as we are ranked 37th in the world in health care. The number one rank belongs to France, who has a national health care plan. Some people believe that national health care would mean that the government would be able to decide your doctor, your hospital and take all freedom out of the equation. This is not what the governments role in health care should be, their role should be to guarantee all services to citizens when they are in need of it. People who have to deal with the bureaucracies of insurance companies, trying to get treatment when they have provided money month in and out to the company for insurance of their health.
If the founding fathers could see what our country has become today, they would be ashamed that we let the freedoms and personal liberties, and the welfare of the nation decline in such a way that it has. Our country was founded for the people’s interest and we should strive to attain this lofty goal. It is therefore our job to secure the blessings of liberty for ourselves and our posterity before it is too late.
