We the People by Barry Rosenbaum

I participated in last Saturday’s well-attended march and rally at the Federal Building in Los Angeles. As we gathered in Westwood, the distinguished Sheila Kuehl, who served as a member of the California Legislature for 14 years and the LA County Board of Supervisors for 8 years, gave a rousing sendoff speech. She asked rhetorically what the first three words of the United States Constitution are. The crowd immediately shouted back, “We the People!” Sheila seemed taken aback by the immediacy and fervor of this response.

The U.S. Constitution is the world’s longest surviving written charter of government. In its preamble, the Constitution declares that it is enacted by and on behalf the people of the United States to provide “Justice” and to “secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity.”

There can be no doubt that Trump/Musk are in the process of dismantling the Constitution and replacing it with tyrannical rule by an elite few. While slow to develop, it is also now abundantly clear that we the people will not allow our country’s foundational document to be trampled upon and ignored without substantial and concerted push back. We have fought too long and sacrificed too much as a nation to allow them to wrest away our liberty and effectively destroy this sacred document.

That is why Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s Fight The Oligarchy tour drew 34,000 people in Denver, 15,000 people in Tempe, 11,300 in Greeley, Colorado (population 108,000), and 23,260 in Tucson. That’s why there are hundreds gathering outside Tesla showrooms in daily demonstrations across the country while thousands are showing up for town halls in Republican districts hosted by Democrats because the Republican representative is AWOL. That’s why there are marches and rallies like the one in Westwood occurring weekly. That’s why there is a planned nationwide call to action on April 5^th, Hands Off!, with marches and rallies in hundreds of locations across the country. Let’s show what we know to be true — that we are the majority in this country and we will not allow the principles upon which the nation was founded to be eviscerated.

We the People demand the retention of our constitutionally protected freedom of expression.

We the People demand the retention of our constitutionally protected freedom of the press.

We the People demand the retention of our constitutionally protected freedom to assemble.

We the People demand the retention of our constitutionally protected freedom to love whom we choose.

We the People demand the retention of our constitutionally protected freedom to pray as we choose.

We the People demand the retention of our constitutionally protected right to determine when and how we raise a family.

We the People demand the retention of our constitutionally protected right to food, education, work, and health.

These are our inalienable rights and no one — certainly not a gangster posing as a president and his mob — will be allowed to take our rights away.

In this battle for the soul of our nation, we are not at our core Democrats or Republicans, Independents or Libertarians. We are not Muslims or Jews, Catholics or Protestants. We are all constitutionalists — supporters of democracy and defenders of this sacred document. While we may disagree on policy choices pertaining to specific issues of the day, we must put those disagreements aside, for with respect to protecting our constitution, we are united.

Now is the time for us to stand together and proclaim that the Constitution and its fundamental rights and freedoms will not be stripped away. We the People are the stewards of this document, and as to it, we will speak in one voice. We reject Trump/Musk’s disdain for this foundational rule of law and their efforts to deprive us of the protections and rights that it bestows.

We the People say NO! This noble experiment which we call the United States of America, while far from perfect, will once again be restored as a beacon to the world.