Published: July 01, 2008 06:18 pm         

THE WAY I SEE IT: Three words that changed the course of history

The men who wrote the Declaration of Independence and Constitution chose their words with great care. They took every precaution to make certain that their stated purposes were clear and precise. Long before the establishment of government schools, those colonists went to considerable lengths to ensure the clarity of their iconic documents. None of their words were more important than We the People.

With those three carefully chosen words, the history of governance would forever be changed. Those three words laid the groundwork for a government that served at the will of the will of the governed. Until that time, the governed always served at the will of those who held power over them. Such absolutism opened the door to despotism. Whether the Caesars of Rome and kings of Europe or the emperors of the East and tribal leaders of sub-Saharan Africa, their subjects were subjected to every brutality of which humankind is capable. Those three simple words changed everything.

The concept of a government Of the People, By the People and For the People was radical, at best. If such radical thinking was allowed to succeed, no absolute monarch, despot or tyrant would ever sleep well again. If any people were allowed to control the levers of the government, then absolute power was doomed. If any government was controlled by the governed, than every totalitarian state was in jeopardy. Over the last 23 decades, America has been targeted by many of those sleep-deprived dictators. In 1805, our Marines endured their very first baptism by fire on "the shores of Tripoli." This upstart nation refused to be abused by the Mullahs of North Africa. This may have been the first threat to our sovereignty, but it would not be the last.

In more recent times, we have met the threats of tyrants the likes of the Kaiser Wilhelm, Adolph Hitler and Japan's Togo. They all learned, to their regret, that We the People were a force to be reckoned with. North Korea, North Vietnam and China have tested our resolve. Those "People's Republics" could not prevail over the nation that invented the concept of government Of the People, By the People and For the People. For nearly 50 years, we competed with the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. There are some among us who claim we didn't win. Neither they, nor Vladimir Putin, can reconcile themselves to the reality that the USA is alive and well and the USSR is not.

At this very moment, America's resolve to remain self-governed is being tested, again. We are fighting a two-front war. One is against a foreign enemy that is trying to impose its will and belief system upon the entire world. America stands in their way. The other battle is against a domestic enemy that had no confidence in We the People. Their faith is in a dominate government that controls every aspect of our lives. They believe that only big government can make wise decisions and we cannot.

If they win, America will become the mirror image of those totalitarian states we have been defeating for 232 years. Our enemies always believe that America lacks the will to win. I pray that, once again, they are underestimating the will of We the People.

Robert Evans Burnette is a Crossville Chronicle columnist. His column appears on Wednesdays.