Carol Wolman / Special to EAW – 2006-03-21 23:20:56
“I hereby declare, on oath, …that I will support and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States of America against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same…
— Naturalization Oath of Allegiance
to the United States of America
(March 19, 2006) — Patriotism means love of one’s country and of the principles for which it stands. The United States Constitution lays out our principles- respect for the individual and safeguarding of rights, separation of powers that are then balanced among three branches of government, ultimate sovereignty resting with “we the people”.
All naturalized citizens promise to support and defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic. It is assumed that people born in the United States will do likewise.
Our precious Constitution is under attack from domestic enemies. The Bush crime syndicate is systematically shredding this inspired document, which has enabled the US to be “the city on the hill”, the shining beacon of hope to the oppressed peoples of the world. Soon Bush may declare it quaint and outmoded, as Gonzales, now Attorney General, did with the Geneva Conventions (which, as a ratified international treaty, are the supreme law of the land under the Constitution).
The right to have one’s vote determine the direction of the country, and the safeguards of individual liberty and conscience enshrined in the US Constitution, make it a holy document.
The people who wrote it were Deists; they believed that God dwells within each of us, and that if we are given the right to govern ourselves, we will do it in accordance with the principles of justice, mercy, respect for the individual, and cooperation with one’s neighbor that all religions consider to be attributes of God or godliness.
The US Constitution is the first document in modern Western history to invest sovereignty in “we the people” rather than in a king or emperor. To win the right of self-governance, our forefathers fought a bloody revolution against King George III.
Their main concern in framing the Constitution was to prevent tyranny, the concentration of power in the hands of one person or a small group. They carefully balanced power among the three branches of federal government, and apportioned it between the federal and state governments.
The Founding Fathers included an ultimate safeguard, should a tyrant somehow get around these precautions and start to oppress the people. This safeguard is IMPEACHMENT, a process by which “we the people” can peacefully fire public servants, members of the executive and judicial branches, who are abusing their high office for private gain and power.
Washington, Jefferson and the rest wanted to spare future generations the agony of another Revolutionary War, and so laid out a legal process to rid us of dictators.
Patriotism, loving America, means loving the US Constitution and the rights and liberties which it has given us. It does not mean loving whoever happens to be in the White House at the moment. If the people in power are subverting the Constitution, then it is our patriotic duty to defend the Constitution against these domestic enemies, by working for impeachment.
We must make it clear to our elected representatives, our Congresspeople, that we expect them to show patriotism by working to rid the government of those who are disregarding the Constitution. Every single member of the House is up for re-election in November. This is our opportunity to let them know that we expect them to defend the Constitution.
The country is in a crisis. The Constitution is under grave attack. We all know about the assaults on the Bill of Rights, but the Bush junta has also refused to honor the separation of powers, by which Congress must oversee the Executive Branch.
Bush basically does what he wants and withholds information that Congress is supposed to have. By packing the Supreme Court with political cronies, he is also undermining the independence of the judiciary branch.
All true patriots must defend the Constitution. Right now, in 2006, this means working for impeachment. We must make impeachment the central issue of the 2006 campaign. We can get rid of Bush and Cheney in 2007 if we elect an impeachment Congress this November.
Impeachment is not a partisan political issue. In fact the Democratic leadership is opposing impeachment, having bought into the Bush machine. This is an issue of “we the people” vs. the politicians who are subverting the Constitution or colluding with its subversion. “We the people” have ultimate authority under the Constitution, and ultimate responsibility to defend it.
Make sure you know where your Representative stands on impeachment. Your Representative is supposed to represent you, especially on the matter of impeachment. If he/she is not in favor, run a candidate who will vigorously support impeachment and make it the focus of all his/her speeches and writing.
Impeachment is peaceful, legal and democratic. It is our patriotic duty.
Posted in accordance with Title 17, US Code, for noncommercial, educational purposes.
