To the editor:

The United States Constitution is the basic law of the land.

Article II of the Constitution states that it the incoming president must take an oath or affirmation to “preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States.” The Preamble to the Constitution states that its purpose is to, among other things, promote the general welfare as well as to establish justice, ensure domestic tranquility and provide for the common defense.

The main body of the Constitution provides not only a framework for government; it was and is supposed to provide for those goals established in the preamble.

The amendments expanded the original Constitution to ensure that citizen’s rights are guaranteed to protect against government oppression and to deliver the freedom to behave as responsible members of the nation. Such rights and freedoms include, but are not limited to, speech, religion and the press (First Amendment); security against government violations of personal property rights (Fourth Amendment); protection against cruel and unusual punishments (Eighth Amendment); and equal protection of the laws (14th Amendment).

And yet, we have to ask today, is justice being established equally, is the common defense being provided for, and is the general welfare being promoted for the many and not just for the few? It’s difficult to tell.

If we are not careful, we could confront a crisis as dire as the Great Depression. Now, admittedly, there are legal safeguards in place that should prevent such a thing from happening. However, given recent events in the economy and elsewhere it is becoming more and more evident that those who are supposed to preserve, protect and defend have not done so, or are doing so poorly. It was just such poor governance that led several of my relatives; rock solid Republicans during the 1920s, to become just as rock-solid Democrats during the depression and after.

We need to elect those who would govern us with empathy, strength and compassion. We must elect those who would govern in ways that ensure that we are protected from those who would do us harm, both economically and militarily, both domestic and foreign. It is in our interest to elect such people. And we are obligated to protect our interests and those of our communities.

During the Civil War, the majority who fought on the Confederate side were not slaveholders and yet they fought to protect that “peculiar” institution, which did them no good, and clearly benefited only a select few. One could conclude that it was not in their interest to do so.

In a different way, we face a similar problem today. It is difficult to believe that the general welfare is being promoted when we allow a few non-elected people to advertently or inadvertently decide the fate of the many. It is not in our interest to allow ourselves to be led to believe that the interests of the few represent the interests of the many.

To truly promote our general welfare and “secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity” (Preamble) we all must work to preserve and protect our economic, civil and political rights.

To protect and preserve our nation’s promise we must vote for leaders who will work with us to change course and tell us the truth about what’s really happening in our nation and the world. Such leaders can only do so if they understand and act on the principal that our goal is to reach a more perfect union by truly having a government of, by and for us, the people. It is in our interest to elect such people.

George H. Westergaard

Clinton