“We the People…” #SOL22

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.

Preamble to the Constitution of the United States of America

What does freedom mean to you?

I’ll return to that question later.

My first competitive oratory, a form of persuasive speaking, centered on the preamble to the U.S. Constitution. As a naive high school junior in the 1970s; during those high-inflation days; long before the Americans with Disability Act; as I juggled school, my father’s illness, and feelings of displacement and uncertainty; at the height of the OPEC oil embargo; and in the wake of the Watergate scandal and looking to our nation’s bicentennial celebration, I channelled my conviction our nation needed to do more to uphold its stated ideals in a speech.

Each major part of the preamble served as a point in my speech. I didn’t win anything with that speech, but I did learn to think about our stated ideals and our nation’s claimed purpose.

Last week I subbed in sophomore English at a local high school.The students worked on essays focused on the question,

What does freedom mean to you?

Students had several sources they could reference in their essays: an FDR speech, JFK’s inaugural address, and To Kill a Mockingbird. Those in the honors sections could also reference Warriors Don’t Cry or The Help. I’ve real all three books and have taught TKaM and WDC. I reread both the FDR and JFK speeches from the textbook so I could assist students with their essays.

As I read Kennedy’s inaugural address, I noticed a theme, one I have not heard or considered in a long time, a theme antithetical of many in our divided nation. More than any other ideal, Kennedy focuses on giving and service to those who have less, both domestic and foreign:

 If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich.

John F. Kennedy

Soon after his inauguration, Kennedy established The Peace Corp. Although a man born into wealth, Kennedy pledged to help Latin American countries, and others. He didn’t vilify immigrants. He didn’t brag about his riches or his largesse. He called on citizens to ask ourselves what we could do.

Instead of claiming specific freedoms, such as those named in the 1AC and 2AC, Kennedy extrapolates ways of being in the world and puts them into words that serve as a call to action, an exemplifying of what it means to live free in a free country.

Reflecting the idea of domestic tranquility, Kennedy spoke of civility in our foreign relations.

Reflecting the idea of general welfare, Kennedy spoke of security for the poor.

Reflecting on the Cold War and new threats to both world peace and individual security, Kennedy spoke of the struggle against the common enemies of man: tyranny, poverty, disease and war itself, ideals inherent both in the preamble and in the Constitution itself.

When did we lose our unified commitment to

form a more perfect union?

When did we stop caring about insuring

domestic tranquility?

Why do many care more about what they get instead of doing what they can to

promote the general welfare?

How can we find our way to becoming the nation that fancies itself a shining City of a Hill and actually

secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity?

This election day I am nervous and afraid. Have we so lost our way that we can no longer keep this 246 year old democracy?

Tomorrow we will learn the choice and the fate of

We the People.

Tomorrow we will know the answer to the national question

What does freedom mean to you?

*Today I invite you to share an answer to this question of freedom in the comments. Thanks for being here, and don’t forget to vote. Democracy is on the ballot.