Election Day

Every election day always gets me thinking about politics.  And not just the big questions--which party is going to control the House?  Which races are going to be big upsets?--but also the littler and ultimately more important question about my own politics--What is most important to me about our democratic process?  What do I want my vote to stand for?

Although I hate saying I'm with a certain party, I'll admit that my political tendencies often lean left.  I am a self-acknowledged perfectionist, idealist, and optimist.  So shoot me.  But even more so than that, I've come to the realization that above all, when it comes right down to it, I'm a Constitutionalist.  I have no idea if this term actually means something--I think I'm being wonderfully creative and clever, although I'm sure I'm not the first person to use it--but that's what I'll label myself as.

What I mean by the phrase "I'm a Constitutionalist," is that I firmly believe--100%--in our rights as stated by the constitution.  I find our Constitution and the Bill of Rights to be one of the greatest documents on social justice that our country has ever produced. But unlike so many who pick and choose the "freedoms" and "liberties" they want when it's convenient, I try and appreciate all for their inherent worth as social equalizers.

• Free speech?  Absolutely.  Even if I hate it (i.e., Glenn Beck), if I am a Constitutionalist, I must admit that he has the right to say what he wants.  I prefer to have tact and decorum when I do it, but to each his/her own.
• Right to bear arms?  Absolutely.  Our country wouldn't be here without it!  And I've benefited from years of yummy venison from family members who own guns and hunt.  Do I think we need to be smart about it?  Sure.  It's not guns that kill people--people kill people--so let's try and make sure that guns don't end up in the hands of those people who don't know how to properly operate them safely and for the benefit of their community. 
• Freedom of religion?  Absolutely.  Once again, our country wouldn't exist without it.  The Puritans came over to the New World so they could practice their religion in peace.  Unfortunately, even today, there's sects of every religion who are at the outer edges who seem to ruin it for those who want to practice peacefully.  We musn't think that those few reflect the many.  Now if only those people who choose NOT to have a religion at all could be as accepted as those who do practice a religion...
• Search and Seizure?  Absolutely.  Which is why the Patriot Act scares me so much because it denies "probable cause" for the seizure of your personal "effects," like your phone records, emails, etc.  If liberty is what we promote, "Big Brother" does not reflect this.
• Trial by peers?  Absolutely. Even if I wouldn't trust some of my peers to wash my car, I still trust the process.
• Power of the states? Absolutely.  Our country is very very large and very very diverse.  We do not operate in the same way that a smaller European country can because of those two factors.  It makes sense that we have another level of government to intercede on behalf of their citizens.  I do wonder, though, in the ever globalizing economy, how the tension between little scope (states) and big picture (U.S. and world) will pan out.  We can talk about the power of the states, but ultimately, we do not represent individual states to the rest of the world--we are the United States of America. 

While that's not all of the amendments, you get the idea. What does the Constitution have to do with simple living, though?  Well, just about everything.  It was born to give us what we need, not what we want.  It grew out of a desire that we all deserve to start with the same foundation in order to reach our fullest potential as individuals, whatever that potential might be.  And what's so great about our country is that it guarantees these "inalienable rights--the rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" (okay, I'm paraphrasing the Declaration of Independence here, but it also holds true) to not just the rich, not just the men (at least nowadays), not just the white (at least nowadays...okay, this Constitution has clearly been a work in progress), not just those who could read it, BUT EVERYONE.  Although in practice it appears sometimes very different, it's a beautiful, simple thing in theory, something I will continue to strive for--one vote at a time.