“We the People….”

The first words of our nation’s Constitution. Those words are inspiring, inclusive words… words that bind us together, to act together to “promote the general welfare” (a.k.a. the common good).

The broad, general term “people” includes all people, not just a chosen few of one race, one gender, one national, or one socio-economic class. At the time they were written, these words were radical concepts. Most governments prior to that time were not governments by, for, and of the people.

The United States of America has been slow to recognize the full meaning of “people.” People whose skin was a different color from the majority white population are still fighting for full recognition.

Women have been able to use their right to vote for less than 100 years and are still fighting for the right to make all of their own healthcare decisions. Representative democracy in which elected representatives work together in Town Councils, State Legislatures, and/or our national Congress have been slow to consider “the common good,” seeming to prefer the interests of the wealthy, or corporations, or their cronies, whether personal or influential through “contributions.”

Over the past 120 years our political parties have grown increasingly divided over the concepts of “all the people” and “the common good.”

Republicans of today would not be recognizable by my great grandfather’s neighbor, Abraham Lincoln. Perhaps he would not recognize Democrats either, but the facts of history are clear: the major actions over the last 100 years that were designed to serve all the people and promote the common good were developed and enacted by Democrats.

Now, our local representative to the State Senate thinks that Fountain Hills Democrats should be ashamed of themselves for publicly displaying their gratitude for these progressive actions.

Shame on him!