Mountain Views News, Combined Edition Saturday, July 3, 2021

B4B4 
Mountain Views-News Saturday, July 3, 2021 WE THE PEOPLE!WE THE PEOPLE! B4B4 
Mountain Views-News Saturday, July 3, 2021 WE THE PEOPLE!WE THE PEOPLE! 
SUSAN HENDERSON, Editor/Publisher 


“We the People” 

.....that’s how 

our Consitution 

begins. It serves 

as a reminder 

that this 

government

belongs to us, 

we, the people. 

Those words, 

along with those 

contained in 

the Declaration 
of Independence should be embraced and 
remembered every day, not just on the 
nation’s birthday. Unfortunately, most of us 
never seriously think about them until the 
4th of July. 

On the day this nation was ‘born’ Americans 
embrace the ‘birthday’ that we all share 
in common. Problem is, it shouldn’t be 
a one day, celebration. We need to cherish 
this nation every single day and accept our 
responsibility to all work on making this 
a ‘more perfect union’. My dad taught 
me that birthdays are our own ‘personal’ 
holidays! That being said, as a nation, our 
own personal holiday - July 4, 2021 should 
be a great cause of celebration. After all 
we will be 245 years old and formerly the 
beacon of a free and democratic society to 
the world. Instead, regardless of which side 
of the argument you are on, this ‘birthday’is one where we are divided by hate, fear, 
intolerance, alienation and ignorance. We 
have been so derelict in our duties that we 
have turned over our precious nation into 
the hands of too many self serving, hateful 
and spineless individuals whose interest 
is not in the well being of the nation as a 
whole, but rather their interest is in their 
own personal power and wealth. 

Fortunately on this birthday we are 
working on regaining the respect and trust 
in our democracy around the world. We 
have a President, Joe Biden, a real leader, 
who, while you may or may not approve of 
everything he does, you cannot say that his 
love of this country hasn’t been evident in 
his lifetime of public service. You also can’t 
say that he doesn’t put American first in his 
deeds and actions! Those characteristics 
alone distinguishes leaders from dictators. 

However, in order to maintain our 
democracy, the burden doesn’t just fall on 
the shoulders of our elected officials. Too 
many of us still portray ourselves as the 
victims of everything and everybody. Too 
many of us just don’t get it, this is a nation 
that is to be governed by the people and 

for the people. Living in America is not a 
spectator sport. We have a responsibility to 
understand how our country is supposed 
to run; to be familiar with the our great 
Constitution; to recognize that as times 
change, we need to learn from our mistakes; 
to participate in the process and not just sit 
on the sidelines and complain and to send 
responsible people who understand what 
their duties are as they ascend to higher 
office. Their job is not to create division but 
to bring all of our differences to the table 
and work out solutions that are in the best 
interest of everyone involved. 
If they would just read the preamble, 
perhaps with a tutor, they might get a clue. 

“We the People”….that means ALL OF 
US. 

“..form a more perfect union:….” Most 
of us recognize that our country and its 
laws are not perfect and we need to strive to 
improve, not focus on destruction.

“establish justice”…….and that means for 
everyone regardless or race, religion, creed 
or national origin.

“Insure Domestic Tranquility”…….
not poke the bear (my apologies to bears 
worldwide), not stir the pot of divisiveness 
and hate. 

“provide for the common defence” -
defense of all, not some. 

“Promote the general welfare”…….this 
country was not founded on the ‘Friends 
and Family’ plan. The rest of us matter also. 

“Secure the blessings of Liberty for 
ourselves and our Posterity”…. i.e., life, 
liberty and the pursuit of happiness now 
and for future generations.

I’ve been blessed to have traveled much 
of this world and warts and all, I am a proud 
American. My family has a legacy of 
being proud Americans - my father and 
grandfather, WWII and WWI Veterans 
respectively were proud. Both risked their 
lives for a country that did not even respect 
them as men, yet they fought regardless in 
an effort to make things better for all. That 
is what we are all supposed to do, fight to 
make things better for all, together! 

So as we prepare to pay homage to OUR 
COUNTRY on July 4th, let’s all, left and 
right, demand of all elected officials that 
they focus on upholding the tenets of the 
Constitution and restoring America back 
to being a true democracy, a system of 
government by the whole population. If we 
do that, then maybe our 246th birthday will 
truly be a joyous one. 


FYI: WHO SIGNED THE U.S. CONSTITUTION? 

The 38 signers of the U.S. Constitution were delegates from the originalstates who gathered several times and in several places, first drafting theDeclaration of Independence, and then, after the colonists defeated theBritish army and won independence, writing the U.S. Constitution. Thesigners of the two documents have some overlap — Benjamin Franklinsigned both, but John Hancock wrote large only on the Declarationof Independence. The delegates are here grouped by the states theyrepresented: 

Connecticut: William Samuel Johnson, Roger Sherman 

Delaware: George Read, Gunning Bedford Jr., John Dickinson, RichardBassett, Jacob Broom 

Georgia: William Few, Abraham Baldwin 

Maryland: James McHenry, Daniel of St. Thomas Jenifer, Daniel Carroll 

Massachusetts: Nathaniel Gorham, Rufus King 

New Hampshire: John Langdon, Nicholas Gilman 

New Jersey: William Livingston, David Brearley, William Paterson,
Jonathan Dayton 

New York: Alexander Hamilton 

North Carolina: William Blount, Richard Dobbs Spaight, Hugh 
Williamson 

Pennsylvania: Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Mifflin, Robert Morris, GeorgeClymer, Thomas FitzSimons, Jared Ingersoll, James Wilson, GouverneurMorris 

South Carolina: John Rutledge, Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, PierceButler 

Virginia: George Washington (President and deputy), John Blair, JamesMadison Jr. 

We the people of the United States, in order 
to form a more perfect union, establish 
justice, insure domestic tranquility, providefor the common defense, promote the generalwelfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to 
ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and 
establish this Constitution 
for the United States of America. 

Editor’s Note: Just to refresh your memory here is a synopsis of what is in the U.S. 
Constitution. At the end of this list you will find a website where you can read theentire document.) 

The Constitution of the United States of America 

Preamble 
Article I [The Legislative Branch] 
Section 1. [Legislative Power Vested] 
Section 2. [House of Representatives] 
Section 3. [Senate] 
Section 4. [Elections of Senators and Representatives] 
Section 5. [Rules of House and Senate] 
Section 6. [Compensation and Privileges of Members] 
Section 7. [Passage of Bills] 
Section 8. [Scope of Legislative Power] 
Section 9. [Limits on Legislative Power] 
Section 10. [Limits on States] 
Article II [The Presidency] 
Section 1. [Election, Installation, Removal] 
Section 2. [Presidential Power] 
Section 3. [State of the Union, Receive Ambassadors, Laws 
Faithfully Executed, Commission Officers] 
Section 4. [Impeachment] 
Article III [The Judiciary] 
Section 1. [Judicial Power Vested] 
Section 2. [Scope of Judicial Power] 
Section 3. [Treason] 
Article IV [The States] 
Section 1. [Full Faith and Credit] 
Section 2. [Privileges and Immunities, Extradiction, 
Fugitive Slaves] 
Section 3. [Admission of States] 
Section 4. [Guarantees to States] 
Article V [The Amendment Process] 
Article VI [Legal Status of the Constitution] 
Article VII [Ratification] 
Signers (Listed on the left side of this page) 
Amendment I [Religion, Speech, Press, Assembly, Petition (1791)] 
Amendment II [Right to Bear Arms (1791)] 
Amendment III [Quartering of Troops (1791)] 
Amendment IV [Search and Seizure (1791)] 
Amendment V [Grand Jury, Double Jeopardy, Self-Incrimination, 
Due Process (1791)] 
Amendment VI [Criminal Prosecutions - Jury Trial, Right to Confront 
and to Counsel (1791)] 
Amendment VII [Common Law Suits - Jury Trial (1791)] 

Amendment VIII [Excess Bail or Fines, Cruel and Unusual Punishment (1791)] 
Amendment IX [Non-Enumerated Rights (1791)] 
Amendment X [Rights Reserved to States or People (1791)] 
Amendment XI [Suits Against a State (1795)] 
Amendment XII [Election of President and Vice-President (1804)] 
Amendment XIII [Abolition of Slavery (1865)] 
Amendment XIV [Privileges and Immunities, Due Process, Equal Protection,

Apportionment of Representatives, Civil War Disqualification 

and Debt (1868)] 

Amendment XV [Rights Not to Be Denied on Account of Race (1870)] 

Amendment XVI [Income Tax (1913)] 

Amendment XVII [Election of Senators (1913)] 

Amendment XVIII [Prohibition (1919)] 

Amendment XIX [Women's Right to Vote (1920)] 

Amendment XX [Presidential Term and Succession (1933)] 

Amendment XXI [Repeal of Prohibition (1933)] 

Amendment XXII [Two Term Limit on President (1951)] 

Amendment XXIII [Presidential Vote in D.C. (1961)] 

Amendment XXIV [Poll Tax (1964)] 

Amendment XXV [Presidential Succession (1967)] 

Amendment XXVI [Right to Vote at Age 18 (1971)] 

Amendment XXVII [Compensation of Members of Congress (1992)] 

Mountain Views News 80 W Sierra Madre Blvd. No. 327 Sierra Madre, Ca. 91024 Office: 626.355.2737 Fax: 626.609.3285 Email: editor@mtnviewsnews.com Website: www.mtnviewsnews.com