The Vision.
Our Countries Mission Statement.
The founding fathers provided our mission statement in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.
The Declaration of Independence. “We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal.”
The preamble of the constitution expands on this mission statement.
“We the People of the United States, in order to for a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Prosperity, do ordain and establish this Constitution of the United States of America.”
I believe the founding fathers, with these bold statements provided a prism which can be used as guidance for future decisions.
As the Prosperity…
We as citizens of this country, in order to proceed, must understand what these great words mean. The Articles, Amendments, and laws which follow were all passed to support this vision.
The meaning of Men.
Historically the use of a male pronoun often included the female gender as well. While it is debatable that our founding fathers were using the term that way, by granting women the right to vote, our ancestors clarified that oversight.
The next question which must be answered is race, ethnicity, and sexual orientation. Again the founding fathers were clear and again our country clarified the answer by freeing slaves during the civil war. Men includes all races and all ethnicities. We should not argue that point today.
As far as sexual orientation, I personally don’t want laws which infringe on human choices. There is no way that because a individual chooses partners of the same sex, or even chooses to change sex, that those choices diminish that persons status as a human. You may not agree with the choice, but as an individual it is their choice to make.
To act contrary to those terms is to not act as an American.
I often hear statements which conflict with this statement.
Our constitution is clear, the rights of any individual are intact, up to and including conviction. Why do I bring this up.
The Subway Incident in New York.
The dead man was wrong. He had no valid justification for his obnoxious behavior. I applaud the man who intervened to subdue the dead man. I have heard the man called a hero. While applaud him for intervening, I must question his use of a choke hold.
The Constitution is clear that we will not administer cruel and unusual punishment. The culprit was not given his right to a jury trial. The man by continually applying a choke hold made himself the judge, jury, and executioner. That was not his right.
Abortion.
The conservatives have tried to define life as beginning at conception. They use this argument to justify abortion bans. The define a fetus as a man, giving the fetus control of a woman’s life. As a man, I do not know what it is like to be woman. The hormones and body functions are just plain different.
But I certainly, don’t believe a young fetus and embryo should control a woman’s life. As long as the fetus is unviable outside the womb, it should not be consider a man. Even as the fetus matures if it becomes unviable, this still living life form should not threaten the life of the woman.
So the question becomes who should be making these decisions. My answer is the woman who is supporting this potential man.
So who should decide issues of life for the fetus, my answer is the woman who is providing potential life.
I believe most citizens would agree with me.
Gun Control.
I keep hearing the argument that it is not guns which kill, but the man who pulls the trigger. While there may be some truth, the alternative solutions are hardening the places we gather. I’m sorry but I don’t want to live in a world were I go from fortress to fortress. I enjoy my open spaces and freedom to walk around my neighborhood.
Assault Weapons and the ammunition they use are meant to kill people. The damage the ammunition does to a human body is severe. The founding fathers didn’t write the 2nd Amendment with assault weapons in mind. They just couldn’t imagine the devastation they create.
In order to maintain a more perfect union, we must ban these weapons. The sad part is most Americans would agree with me.
Fiscal Responsibility.
Ronald Reagan preached that as a country would could not continue to create budget with deficit spending. He and the first Bush were elected based on that theme. I agree with that analysis and the Democrats learned there lesson. Every Democratic president since that time has created balance budgets.
The same can not be said for the Republican presidents.
Donald Trump crows consistently about the economy during his presidency. As a learned nation we should know the credit is not deserved. Contrary to Obama who inherited an economy, in recession, Trump inherited an economy which was thriving. While the pandemic hurt the situation, his tax cuts also created a greater deficit.
The Democratic Congress on 3 separate occasions, passed a debt ceiling increase without condition. The Republicans are now trying to use the debt ceiling as a negotiation tactic.
Immigration.
Its time to look at immigration in light of “all Men are created equal” This phrase is not exclusive of non-Americans. Individuals enter our country on a basis of need. As a country it benefits us to treat them with respect and dignity.
A wall is not the answer. States are rightly frustrated by the inaction in Washington. A plan is necessary. The rift between our parties emphasizes the differences, which for the most part are insignificant and ignores the similarities. Failure to advance legislation should be considered a dereliction of duty.
This issue is too important for this country to ignore.
In my opinion, anyone who has lived peacefully in this country for x-number of years should be provided a path to citizenship. While the entry or extended stay in this country may be “illegal”, treating these individuals through the prism of “all men are created equal” requires a respectful and dignified response. Anything less diminishes our mission.
Russian and Ukraine.
Trump now claims that Russia would have never invaded Ukraine on his watch. They may be true. But it was Russia who during 2016 organized and financed a social media campaign to influence the election in Trumps favor.
Throughout his presidency, he refused to acknowledge this foreign intervention in our elections. Why would he? It benefited him. He emboldened Russia by weakening our ties with NATO. He now says the war would not have occurred with him in office and that it will end within a day of his taking office. More meaningless chest pumping.
I personally don’t want Russia or China to be emboldened by a Russian success. In any scenario I believe the mission of the United States will never be restored with a Russian triumph in Ukraine.
January 6, 2021.
As I have discussed often, and the investigation in Arizona at the cost of millions of dollars, fraud significant enough to change the results of the election did not occur. While this was a post insurrection investigation, numerous attempts by Trump supports filed spurious claims in courts around the country. All were thrown out, right up to a highly Trump appointed Supreme Court.
Despite these failures, for the first time in our history a sitting president called a mob to Washington in an attempt to stop the peaceful transition of power. Make no mistake, Jan 6, 2021 was an attempt at insurrection. Far from advancing the mission the writers of our country’s founding documents created, it was an attempt to end our democracy as we know it.
If Trump supporters had been successful, the rights we hold dear would no longer be safe.
I urge those who agree with me, to no longer remain silent.
The threat to our democracy and freedoms is real. My plan is to use the prism of this vision to look at both sides of any argument.
The opinions of Neil L Brackley
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