It all began with the best of intentions. The Founding Fathers took pains to construct the Constitution in such a way as to ensure, to the extent possible, that the blessings of liberty would extend to all Americans. The words ‘promote the general welfare? along with the construction of the rest of the Constitution had special meaning for them.
They were intent on ending the capriciousness, vagaries and intrigues of a government dominated by a privileged few and managed for their benefit. When the Constitutional Convention completed its work and presented the draft to the states for ratification, James Madison wrote in Federalist Paper Number 45 ?’the public good, the real welfare of the great body of the people, is the supreme object to be pursued??.
Yet today we find ourselves immersed in ourselves. We have re-created a class of royalty which, through various means, ensure their voices are heard in the halls of government, voices that promote their individual agendas. And through those various means, the voices of the few are so loud they drown out the voices of the many.
This division between the haves and the have-nots is a reflection of the ideological divide that is seen in the United States Congress. One need only observe that Republicans sit on one side of the Chamber while Democrats sit on the other, an arrangement that both symbolizes and propagates the practice of working in blocs rather than seeking compromise for the welfare of all. And the people identify with and take their cue from this lack of desire for negotiation.
World War II brought out the best in America. That conflict showed the world the foundation upon which our country was built. Yes, we were attacked at Pearl Harbor, but we were engaged in pushing back tyranny and oppression years prior to that.
We actively joined the fight not because we wanted more land or resources or because we wished to subjugate other peoples. We fought to ensure freedom for our country and to assist other countries in throwing off the yoke of foreign conquest.
A common trait among the men and women who returned from that war was an ongoing desire to serve their country through other means, primarily volunteerism and public service in order to improve society. As they aged, however, that bright light dimmed as subsequent generations took their place in the world.
Since that time there have been attempts to restore in us that earlier sense of caring and promoting the general welfare. All across the country volunteers provide food, shelter, clothing, and assistance in many other forms.
They work with meager resources, making the most of what they receive in donations. At the same time they watch as tens of millions of dollars are paid in bonuses and the cost of being elected President approaches a billion dollars. They must be asking themselves: With those resources at our disposal, how many people could we provide with warm meals, a shelter, education and health care?
James Madison also wrote in Federalist Paper Number 38 ?? the convention must have enjoyed, in a very singular degree, an exemption from the pestilential influence of party animosities ? the disease most incident to deliberative bodies and most apt to contaminate their proceedings.?
He further wrote ?’all the deputations composing the convention were either satisfactorily accommodated by the final act, or were induced to accede to it by a deep conviction of the necessity of sacrificing private opinions and partial interests to the public good, and by a despair of seeing this necessity diminished by delays or by new experiments.? We can do great things ? our Constitution is living proof of that, but we must once again find our way and come together to undertake and accomplish them.
Lawrence Matta is a resident of Clarkston.