WE THE PEOPLE???

Why does the U S Constitution say, “We the people…” when the document really means “We the white land-owning men…”?

You would have to get in your time machine, don your time appropriate garments and head back to 1775 Philadelphia for the answer.

Of course, the real answer lies many years, if not centuries or even millennia earlier when the ‘weaker sex’ relied on the men to bring home the bacon, a beaver, or a buffalo and provide safety.

But before you make like Anne Boleyn, let me assure you this will not be a very long history lesson on the minority rule of men. It will merely be a roundabout way of showing that while ‘the squeaky wheel gets the oil’, ‘might makes right’ is the rule.

There are several more aphorisms that could be used but after a while they may take the reader’s attention away from my purpose, so I’ll stop before it’s too late, and strike while the iron is hot!

In law there is something called, ‘Adverse Possession’ which is generally used with regards to land ownership, but I will stretch it’s use a bit here for reasons which will become painfully clear.

Adverse possession states that if someone owns, or claims to own, or has in his possession, that which he was not originally entitled to, for a prolonged period, without dispute by the original owner, then ownership is given to the usurper.

The idea and practice comes from England, which just so happens to be where the United States came from.

So, where does adverse possession fit into the argument about “We the people”?

White, land-owning men have seemingly owned all other groups of human beings in America ever since arriving here from England. QED!

And since the above has only been disputed a handful of times, albeit successfully, the rule still stands and can be reinstituted at any time!

Two such successful disputes involve squeaky-wheel suffragettes, and equally squeaky-wheeled Civil Rights marching African Americans.

However, it now seems that the people noted in the Constitutionally cited, “We the People”, have decided that enough is enough and have started to rescind the hard-fought for rights of decades past.

Well, not all the “We the People´ have decided the above.

A mere five to four simple-minded; single-minded, simple majority on the Supreme Court of the United States is simply about to do so.

With a stroke of their conservative pen, those five individuals will strike down the first right from a list they hold sacrosanct; that of women being allowed to control their own bodies.

The archaic reason is, after all, they have been possessions of white men since before this Nation even began and were merely on loan.

And once “We the People” have taken care of women’s health issues, their right to vote against their husband’s wishes could be next.

Rescinding the rights of those they consider inferior sects of our citizenry will follow, as all the dominoes will topple and America will finally be ‘taken back’.

But no time machine is needed to stop that which would appear to be inevitable.

No new revolutionary war, or civil war be started, or rather continued.

The first shot heard round the world has been fired.

Now is the time for all good “We - All the People” to stand up and be heard before their voices are heard, like Poe’s Raven said, nevermore!