We the people

By Becky Nelson
Bramblings
I was thinking about my ancestry here at the farm and with all the family connections this July 4. I was trying to put together the timeline of my forefathers, who started this farm here in Newport in 1780. Four years prior, the newly formed United States declared their independence from Great Britain, prompted by crippling taxes and oppressive governance. Seven years after they came to this little spot in Newport, the Constitution of the United States was adopted. It must have been an interesting, horrifying, exhilarating and strange time of upheaval, turmoil and promise.

My lineal forefathers were then settled in Massachusetts, the hotbed of activity and the host of insurrection at the beginning of the Revolutionary War. The commitment of the families embroiled in warfare and the battle for independence boggles my mind, let alone pulling up roots and heading for parts unknown to rebuild their lives when the battles and wars were over and the new nation was developed. What also boggles my mind is the ability of these same forefathers to work together to form this nation. We the People. This is the greatest commitment, in my estimation. The commitment to remain WE despite political battles and disagreements. The commitment to let each other voice our opinions and thoughts and hopes and dreams without fear of retribution or persecution.

Every once in a while in the nation of WE, there are disruptions and protests that tear at each other. There are some that say they tear at the fabric of the nation, but I rather think these upheavals define us as a nation. We are a resilient bunch, and we are committed both as individuals and as a collective nation to preserving the liberties and freedoms that made our forefathers put their very lives on the line to claim.

Let’s remember this when we disagree in the streets and farmlands of this fantastic nation. Because those before us fought for the freedoms that allow us to squabble, protest and hop atop our soap boxes to convince others that our thoughts are the only legitimate ones, we need to keep our fights as civil as possible and take those battles to the ballot boxes to let our representatives and senators take up our squabbles and come to agreements.

We also need to remember the rules of civility and stop taking every decision made in the halls of justice and the halls of Congress as a personal victory or defeat. The very nature of this great WE is that we can disagree and hammer out compromises without fear of being bullied or terrorized just because of a political affiliation or philosophy. We need to remember that we are a federation, and that our forefathers in their amazing wisdom set up the political process to mitigate any mob mentality or populist movements through the Electoral College when electing our presidents and through the establishment of a Congress that takes elected officials from every separate state to hammer out the details and represent the concerns and needs of every corner of this great united nation of U.S. when decisions are made.

That my individual forefathers fought on the very battlefields that made this nation possible and at the same time carved out a beautiful little corner of New Hampshire as their own is amazing, impressive and inspiring. I only hope that I can continue the struggle in my personal life and at the ballot box to preserve these liberties and freedoms they made possible with even a smidgeon of the heart they had. We owe a lot to our forefathers. Let’s remember them when we take up whatever hot political battle is thrown at us. Happy Independence Day and week, my fellow Americans!

“We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America…” Adopted September 17, 1787