Remember it’s ‘WE THE PEOPLE’

By Ande Jacobson

As I sit huddled at home as many of us have for almost eight months now, I see the world outside my windows, and I interact virtually with friends and family via phone, via text, and via Zoom (and boy do I look forward to those Zoom sessions). I never thought I would be living through a worldwide pandemic, and yet here we all are. In the US as I write this, we are also only a few days from the end of being able to cast our ballots in the most important election in almost a century. In response to this election, rather than sitting back and waiting, I am heavily engaged in some necessary volunteer work for the Biden campaign as I mentioned in my recent essay, Taking Action! As I read reports of daily happenings, these words are looming large:

WE THE PEOPLE of the United States, in Order to form 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 Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America

Was the time when every American student had to memorize these words and understand what was behind them. Over the last few years, it seems like these words and those that follow them in our Constitution have fallen into a massive void.

I can understand dreaming of brighter futures and using our imaginations to envision how things might be, especially given the stress of our current situation. Still, it’s important to make decisions based on reality, not fantasy. If we learn nothing else from the pandemic we all now face, we should at least be able to agree that healthcare is a critical service we all need. We should also be able to agree that our actions affect more than just ourselves. With respect to the pandemic, doing what we can to stop the spread, like wearing face coverings, keeping our distance, and practicing good hygiene (i.e., hand washing), is not much to ask, and it shouldn’t be a partisan consideration. It is in all of our interest to not put others at risk. When we live in a society, we each have a responsibility to protect that society. Our free space to do what we want as individuals must be bounded to not cause harm to others.

This election is about not only how we address the pandemic. It’s about so much more. It’s about returning our nation’s leadership to one that is based in reality, not whim or fantasy. It’s about ensuring that our nation’s government legitimately represents us all. We can quibble over specific policies, but it’s problematic when our government doesn’t reflect reality or represent the values and needs of the majority of the people in the nation.

We learn about the past from stories, and stories will be written about this era. How do we all want to be remembered by those who come after us? What we do now through this election and its aftermath will be captured for posterity. We can collectively turn this around. We can vote to bring reality back into focus and build a better future based on positive actions, not fear. We can vote for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris to lead this charge. We can vote for leaders throughout our government who honor their oath of office to defend the Constitution against all enemies foreign and domestic. We can and must vote for “WE THE PEOPLE of the United States.”

Additional Reading:
Joe Biden’s Campaign Website
Joe’s Vision (his plan for America)
Volunteer for the campaign
Democratic Platform
Letters From an American
Trouble – when the story matters more than reality
Taking Action!
Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center
Select Committee on Intelligence United States Senate on Russian Active Measures Campaigns and Interference in the 2016 U.S. Election