When I was in high school, one of the things students were expected to do was to remember and recite the preamble to the Constitution of the United States.
Remember it? It goes like this:
Preamble
We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, 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.
So how come so many conservative commentators rail against the "welfare state?" Our aspiration that the federal government promote the general welfare is embedded in our most fundamental document.
We can certainly debate how best to accomplish all the actions listed in the preamble, but so long as our Constitution defines who we are, we cannot deny the legitimacy of any of them.
Do students memorize such things any more? Or take them seriously?
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1 comment:
even better: Article I Section 8 gives Congress the explicit power to carry it out: "the Congress shall have Power to ... provide for the common Defence and general Welfare of the United States...."
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