Are We Still a Government of We the People?

By Dan

The first three words of the United States Constitution may be the most important in American government: “We the People.” Those words were intentional. The Constitution does not begin with “We the politicians.” It does not say “We the bureaucrats,” “We the judges,” or even “We the government.” It begins with We the People. The Constitution’s Preamble declares that “We the People of the United States” ordained and established the Constitution. Article I then places the federal government’s legislative power in Congress, with members of the House chosen by the people. The structure reflects a central principle of the American system: government receives authority through constitutional institutions ultimately accountable to the people. That idea was revolutionary. Eleven years before the Constitution was signed, the Declaration of Independence stated that human beings possess rights that do not originate with government. It speaks of people being “endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights” and then explains that governments derive their “just powers from the consent of the governed.” Those two ideas belong together. Our rights do not come from government, and legitimate government does not exist independently of the people. Yet nearly 250 years after the Declaration of Independence, Americans should be willing to ask an uncomfortable question: Are we still governing ourselves, or have we gradually surrendered too much authority to institutions increasingly distant from the people?

Government Was Designed to Be Limited:

The Founders understood something about human nature: power has to be restrained. That is why our constitutional system divides authority among different branches of government and between the federal government and the states. Congress writes federal laws. The executive branch executes them. Courts resolve cases and controversies under the law. States retain substantial governing authority of their own. This system can be frustratingly slow. That is partly the point. Government was not designed to allow one individual or institution to exercise unlimited power simply because it believed it was acting for the public good. The Constitution begins Article I by declaring that the legislative powers granted by the Constitution are vested in Congress. That matters. Americans routinely live under thousands of regulations written and administered by executive agencies. Many regulations address highly technical subjects for which specialized expertise is necessary. But there remains a legitimate constitutional and political question about how much policymaking discretion elected lawmakers should delegate to unelected administrators. When regulations can substantially affect businesses, property owners, workers, churches, schools and families, citizens should know who is responsible for those decisions—and how those officials can be held accountable.

 Accountability Is Essential to Self-Government:

Republican government depends upon accountability. If voters disagree with a member of Congress, they can vote against that person. If voters disagree with a president, they can support somebody else. At the state and local levels, citizens can replace governors, legislators, county officials, mayors, and other elected leaders. But what happens when the decisions affecting our lives are made several layers removed from anyone whose name appears on a ballot? That is where accountability becomes more difficult. This is not an argument that every government employee is doing something wrong. Millions of Americans work in government, and many faithfully serve their communities and country. The question is about where decision-making authority belongs. Conservatives have traditionally argued that major political decisions should remain as close to the people as reasonably possible. Why? Because the closer government is to the citizen, the easier it generally is for citizens to understand it, influence it, and hold it accountable. You may never meet the head of a federal agency. But you can attend a city council meeting. You can call your state representative. You can speak at a county board meeting. You can organize your neighbors. And, most importantly, you can vote. That is self-government in action.

The States Still Matter:

America was not created as one enormous centralized government responsible for every decision from Washington. We are the United States of America. That distinction matters. Mississippi is different from California. Texas is different from New York. Florida is different from Oregon. Our populations are different. Our economies are different. Our cultures are different. Our geography is different. Our challenges are different. A policy that works in one state may not work nearly as well in another. Federalism allows states to address many issues according to their own circumstances while remaining united under the Constitution. It also creates another layer of accountability. When Washington becomes the default solution for every problem, Americans risk weakening one of the safeguards built into our constitutional system: divided governmental power.

Elections Must Mean Something:

If we truly believe in “We the People,” elections have to matter. That requires election systems the public can trust, lawful votes being counted accurately, transparent procedures, and legitimate results being respected. Election integrity should never mean automatically believing your side won. And accepting election results should never mean refusing to investigate credible evidence when genuine irregularities are alleged. Both principles can exist at the same time. We should want election laws that make voting reasonably accessible to eligible citizens while maintaining safeguards against unlawful voting and administrative error. When our candidate wins, the rules matter. When our candidate loses, the rules still matter. Our loyalty must ultimately be to the constitutional process rather than to a political personality or party. Self-government cannot survive if Americans only trust elections they win.

Rights Are Not Gifts from Washington or the State Capitol:

Perhaps one of the greatest misunderstandings in modern American politics is the idea that government gives us our fundamental rights. That is not the philosophy expressed in the Declaration of Independence. The Declaration says people are endowed by their Creator with unalienable rights and that governments are instituted to secure those rights. That distinction is enormous. If government gives you your rights, government can theoretically decide when you no longer deserve them. But if rights exist before government, then government itself is restrained by them. Freedom of speech. Freedom of religion. The right to peaceably assemble. Due process. The right to keep and bear arms. These liberties are protected within our constitutional system because government power has limits. The purpose of constitutional government is not to control every aspect of human life. It is to establish a framework in which ordered liberty can survive.

Citizenship Requires Participation:

There is another side to “We the People” that Americans sometimes overlook. Self-government requires something from us. It is easy to complain about Washington. It is easy to complain about politicians. It is easy to complain about Congress, state legislatures, school boards, and city halls. But representative government requires citizens who participate. That means voting. It means understanding the issues. It means knowing who represents you. It means reading legislation rather than relying exclusively on social-media posts telling you what legislation supposedly says. It means attending meetings. It means contacting elected officials. It means supporting candidates. And sometimes it means becoming a candidate yourself. Liberty cannot be maintained by spectators.

We Should Be Americans Before We Are Partisans:

One of the greatest dangers facing representative government is the temptation to treat politics like a team sport. Republicans can become so committed to defeating Democrats that they excuse behavior from Republicans that they would condemn from Democrats. Democrats can do the same thing in reverse. That is dangerous. Conservatives should be willing to hold conservative politicians accountable. Liberals should hold liberal politicians accountable. Christians should especially understand that no political party deserves unquestioned loyalty. Principles have to matter more than personalities. The Constitution has to matter regardless of which party controls the government. Limited government is not limited government only when the other party holds power. Free speech is not free speech only when we agree with the speaker. Religious liberty is not religious liberty only for people who worship as we do. Due process is not due process only for people we like. If constitutional principles change depending upon who holds office, they are no longer principles.

 The Future Is Still Up to “We the People”:

I remain optimistic about America. Not because Washington will solve all of our problems. Not because one politician will save the country. And not because one election will fix everything. I remain optimistic because the fundamental structure of American self-government remains ours to preserve. The National Archives describes the Declaration as expressing principles that continue to inspire people seeking freedom and equality. The document's central claim remains as challenging today as it was in 1776: legitimate governmental power rests upon the consent of the governed. Our responsibility is to take that seriously. We must teach our children the Constitution. We must understand our rights. We must demand transparency from government. We must hold elected officials accountable. We must defend the proper constitutional roles of the federal government, states, and local communities. And we must participate. America does not belong to Washington, D.C. It does not belong to Republicans. It does not belong to Democrats. It does not belong to elected officials. It belongs to We the People. The question is not simply whether our government remembers that. The bigger question may be whether we still remember it ourselves.

Dan Carr | Freedom Frontline