The Dream of America

What is America? What defines the Dream of America? I will list some principles from the Constitution & the declaration of Independence, the mission statement of America. These are the foundation of America, & are the basis for this experiment in human governance. These defining traits are not always practiced perfectly, and sometimes they are lost in the political winds of change, but they remain the defining goals & aspirations for the experiment in human freedom that we call America.

1. The Equality of Man
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.
This is early in the Declaration of Independence, & is the basis for the Nation. 87 years later, a great Civil War was fought, to test whether such a foundation is possible. 
Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. ~Abraham Lincoln
We have been tested, challenged, & weathered through many popular philosophies that are contrary to this fundamental concept in American Liberty. Slavery, Nazism, Eugenics, class warfare, racial bigotry, affirmative action, & many other past, present, & future enemies of this concept have & will threatened this basic part of the American Dream. But it has weathered through the storms of war, division, & the fickle whims of men, & remains a fundamental concept of America.

2. Unalienable Rights, Natural Law
..that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.
This is a view of basic human rights, not granted by imperial power of the state, but INHERENT to each individual. It did not matter if you saw them as guaranteed by God, or nature, these were the basic concepts of American Freedom.
the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them
The American founders saw these 'natural rights' as inherently theirs, not arbitrarily granted by the state. They went on to list & explain these rights in the Constitution.
a. Freedom of thought, expression, & belief
Amendment I: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.
Ideas do not threaten America. It is predicated on the basis of free expression & open debate. Many popular ideologies have come & gone, and have tested the resolve of America to keep its open format.
b. Armed Citizenry
Amendment II: A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.
In a nation of self rule, there is no need to disarm the people. The goal of the govt is to secure the people's freedoms, not mandate compliance. An armed citizenry is a guarantee of this promise, & a warning to the governors to keep it.
"The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government." ~Thomas Jefferson
The goal of America is for Govt to fear & show deference to the people, not the other way around. Govt is to be kept in check, & an armed citizenry is necessary to meet that goal.
c. Due Process
Six of the first 10 Amendments to the constitution (the Bill of Rights) address legal issues of Justice. I will quote 2 of them as examples:
Amendment V: No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the militia, when in actual service in time of war or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.
Amendment VI: In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the state and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the assistance of counsel for his defense.
Justice is the central duty of Govt. They are to provide a defense from human acts of aggression, foreign or domestic. It is a collective action by the people, to protect themselves from the aggressions of man. But in this deterrence of crime, certain rights of the individual are spelled out, to protect him from overly zealous justice providers. Jury of peers, self incrimination, face your accuser, double jeopardy, counsel, & many other basic rights of due process are spelled out to emphasize the goal of Justice. Justice is to be a systematic process, blind to position or privilege, & governed by the overriding mandate to protect the individual. And this justice is blind to power, position, & station. It's basis is in Natural Law, which covers everyone, not just the common man.

3. Govt as Servant
That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed
For all of human history, governments have been a source of oppression & domination. They take the labors of the people, & micro manage them for the ruler's own agendas. America was to be different. Govt was to be a servant, not a lord. It was merely a collective expression of the whole, not a separate, self serving entity.
Every government degenerates when trusted to the rulers of the people alone. The people themselves are its only safe depositories. ~Thomas Jefferson 
"The Constitution is not an instrument for the government to restrain the people, it is an instrument for the people to restrain the government -- lest it come to dominate our lives and interests." ~Patrick Henry
The American system of government places minimal demands on the citizens for the basic duties of govt spelled out in the constitution. These were described as limits, as Amendments 9 & 10 clearly enumerated:
Amendment IX: The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.
Amendment X: The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people.
Govt was to be minimal, to be a minimal burden on the workers, & content itself to the duties spelled out in the constitution. International treaties, coining of currency, national defense, & other such specific duties are clear mandates of their expected duties. Nothing else was wanted or even allowed. The people & their freedom was the overriding goal & responsibility of Govt.

4. Citizen Representatives/self rule
America was founded upon the principle of citizen representatives.. this was a govt of, by & for the people. It was NOT a nation of an elite ruling class, where everyone else was subservient to the edicts of the rulers. The PEOPLE were to rule. To make that possible, the people were to be the ruling board. The intent was for congresspersons to be elected by the people in the individual states, & senators with a short term elected by the state houses, & a president elected for a short term to run the executive branch.
"A government by representatives elected by the people at short periods was our object, and our maxim... was, 'where annual election ends, tyranny begins;' nor have our departures from it been sanctioned by the happiness of their effects." ~Thomas Jefferson

5. E Pluribus Unum
This concept is interwoven in all of the above descriptions. A nation consists of people.. many diverse people, in a nation such as the United States. This concept, 'Out of many, One' is a collective dream of America. Our individual beliefs, opinions, dreams, & goals are protected & secured as our own, but they are also part of the collective expression of the whole. Individual rights & freedoms are sometimes mitigated by the collective needs of society, but they are never negated. Our overriding commitment to the whole trumps selfish considerations. We are free individuals, but we are united as One, for our collective good. We are not a collection of aimless misanthropes, but a united people, devoted to the overriding goal of our collective liberties, property, & prosperity. We are different, but we are united in our superseding goal of working together for the common benefit. This is not a collectivist ideology of social engineering, but a voluntary system of cooperation & consideration to our fellow man. It is a celebration of morality & altruism, while recognizing the tendency of evil in man.

This is the Dream of America. It may end, but it will be forever remembered as the most successful experiment in human freedom.