Requisites for One Country, With Liberty, and Justice for All

When we vote for someone to represent us in any government body we believe that the individual is at least as intelligent as we. Why would we want to vote for someone who is less intelligent? When we vote we also expect that the individual we select will be as wise as we, otherwise why would we select the individual? Whomever we decide to vote for should be more informed as we on matters that are relevant. Should we ever ever vote for someone who is less informed? When we vote for someone we expect that individual to honor all laws and the U.S. Constitution. Would you do otherwise? When we vote we expect the individual we select to represent all of the people and lead with objective analysis and vision based upon their intelligence and wisdom. Otherwise we could vote for anyone regardless of their leadership qualities and honesty. Would you? We expect that the individuals that we vote for are better educated than we and have the intelligence to apply their knowledge to wisely guide and benefit the people. Otherwise we would become leaderless, or be led into chaos. Would you want "that"? Have we had "that"? Will we prevent that from happening again?

Our form of government, erroneously called a democracy, is a Constitutional Republic governed by a basic set of principles spelled out in our constitution. How many of us have read and studied our Constitution? It is the essence of our legal system and basis of all governance. It also descibes our individual responsibilities. Our Constitution was developed by educated and wise immigrant leaders who engaged in rigorous debate and discussion and compromised to establish our country's bedrock foundation. The foundation that they built was not perfect, and over the two plus centuries that have elapsed since its adoption many amendments have been made to provide more rights for all the people, and to right wrongs. All of us are the beneficiaries of the wise actions of our founders. As beneficiaries we are also obliged to protect and support our constitution. This responsibility is not a passive duty. We must be proactive and demand and vote for leadership that will continue our Constitutional heritage that provides liberty and justice for all. Being proactive means that we must constantly educate ourselves and become fully aware of national and world events. We must actively engage in the political discourse that determines our future. We must dedicate some time every day to self education and study so that we become better informed voters.

Many politicians who we have voted into office lacked the intelligence, wisdom, and vision to provide needed leadership. We, as a society bound together by the easily torn fabric of our Constitution, cannot fall into a state of apathy and ignorance. Instead we must dedicate ourselves to the renewal of faith in the words and inferred actions that our Constitution demands. Read our Constitution again and discuss it with your friends and neighbors. Any reasonably intelligent person can do this. Having a degree in law is not only unnecessary, but also potentially blinding.

Dedicate yourself to spending more time to become better informed and educated. You may be surprised what you can learn and apply, at any age. Consider the questions in the first paragraph of this blog when you vote; again, and again, and again. The requisite for being citizens of a Constitutional Republic are simple yet demanding. We must all apply our intelligence to become better educated and more visionary so that we are better able to  make wise decisions about our Country's future, and to become  responsible citizens of "One Country, With Liberty, and Justice for All".