#Preamble to the Constitution

[paulpingminho]

[hillpoet-blog-blog]

Thar She Blows!

Letter to the Editor. 2 February 24. Dear Editor, The Saturday paper listed The Wager as the current #1 non-fiction bestseller non-fiction bestseller, and I’m enjoying the true story, a frightening account of life at sea in the 1700s.  Ironically, it mirrors current U.S. politics. Each sailor crewing an English man-of-war had a purpose; if that purpose went unfulfilled, people died. To become a…

[nocternalrandomness]

"We The People"

[sooorma]

Arre arre jaldi se Instagram pe constitution ke preamble ki story laga deta hu "COOL aur MODERN" lagunga

[businesstiramisu]

We the purple... in order to form a more purple color

[dropped-stitches]

THE CONSTIUTION OF INDIA

PREAMBLE

WE, THE PEOPLE OF INDIA,

having solemnly resolved to constitute India into a

SOVEREIGN SOCIALIST

SECULAR DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC

and to secure to all its citizens:

JUSTICE, social, economic and political;

LIBERTY of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship;

EQUALITY of status and of opportunity; and to promote among them all

FRATERNITY assuring the dignity of the individual and the unity and integrity of the Nation;

IN OUR CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY this twenty-sixth day of November, 1949, do HEREBY ADOPT, ENACT AND GIVE TO OURSELVES THIS CONSTITUTION.

[achingly-shy]

weee the peopleeee 🕺🏼🕺🏼 in order to form a more perfect unionnn establish justice ensure domestic tranquilityyyyyyy 🪕🪕🪕🪕🪕🪕 provide for the common defense promote the general welfare aaand secure the blessings of libertyyy to ourselves and our posterity do ordaaain and estaaaablish thiiiis constitutioooon 🕺🏼🕺🏼 fooor theeee united states of aamericaaaa

[blahblahblaw18]

Grammar of Anarchy in Modern India

“...it is quite possible in a country like India – where democracy from its long disuse must be regarded as something quite new – there is danger of democracy giving place to dictatorship. It is quite possible for this newborn democracy to retain its form but give place to dictatorship in fact.” These lines are excerpted from Dr Ambedkar’s famous speech “The Grammar of Anarchy”, delivered on November 25th 1949, the eve of the adoption of the Indian Constitution. In this address, Babasaheb defined the difference between a real democracy and a facile one and laid down certain principles that he expected the future generations to adhere to, if they wished for the Indian constitutional democracy to coincide in form and in fact.

It was indeed amid much pomp and publicity that in 2015, the 125th birth anniversary of Dr Ambedkar, the current government decided to attest the tag of National Constitution Day to November 26th. It was just one of the many ways in which governments, over the years, have tried to appropriate the idea of Ambedkar for their vested interests without giving any thought to his ideals. Seen in this context, it becomes important to analyse whether today’s democratic India has lived up to the expectations of the architect of its constitution.

The first principle that Ambedkar mentioned in his speech was that in a real democracy, progress should be brought about only through constitutional methods. He sought an end to methods of Non-Cooperation and Civil Disobedience which, unless restricted, could paralyze development and saw protests as a symbol of facile democracies. Today’s India is far from realising that goal. We are a country that protests at the drop of a hat. However, more often than not, these protests, far from stifling development, have been used to coerce those in power to take the right step. Be it the 2011 anti-corruption dharnas pushing for passage of appropriate legislations or the CAA-NRC protests or the more recent anti-farm law sit-ins appealing for retraction of unpopular legislations, agitations against the ruling dispensations have been the guiding light of our democracy, seeking adherence to the constitution. So does this mean Ambedkar was wrong in his assessment of protests? No. In his speech, Babasaheb, while advocating for an end to unconstitutional protests, specifically spelled out that when there is no possibility of achieving change through constitutional means, resorting to unconstitutional methods was the only way forward. When constitutionally elected governments show apathy towards the needs or worse, go against the wishes of the very people who put them in power and constitutionally established courts and politically established opposition also leave people in the lurch, the only recourse left for the people is to mobilise and swerve those in power in the right direction. Thus, the very fact that today mass mobilisations and protests are needed to exhort governments to do what they’re elected to do, points towards the disuse and misuse of constitutional machinery.

His second prescription of eschewing the deification of leaders, is perhaps also the most pertinent advice in contemporary times. Today we have downgraded ourselves into a nation of hero-worshipping fanatics, divinizing our political leaders to the point where we fail to accept that they can ever err and ignore them when they actually do so. Living in times when being anti-Modi is routinely equated to being anti-India, Babasaheb’s warning that in politics Bhakti is a sure road to eventual dictatorship rings truer than ever.

Finally, Ambedkar in his speech, recommends us to evolve into a social democracy i.e., we mustn’t be content with the mere political sanction of liberty, equality and fraternity, but should strive to make these ideals, a way of life. Acknowledging the chasm between ‘constitutional guarantees’ and ‘social realities’, Babasaheb had famously remarked that India would, on January 26th 1950, enter into a life of contradictions where political equality would stand in contrast with socioeconomic inequalities. In calling for a social democracy, it was this gap that he sought to bridge. However, it is the sad reality of our times that, even in this aspect we have failed him. 70 more 26th Januarys have passed since that observation was made and still, we find ourselves stuck in the same quagmire. Obdurate lines of caste, class and religious inequalities have been redrawn by politically motivated leaders who find benefit in refusing to let these lines fade; Sectarian affiliations continue to override national unity, crumpling up the ideal of fraternity. And liberty, attacked by both state and non-state actors, has become a mere chimaera.

Thus, our country’s current socio-political standing is far from what the creator of our constitution had hoped it would be. It’s indeed impossible for a country as vast and diverse as ours to embody an ideal democracy, but that shouldn’t mean that we retrograde into becoming a facile democracy. Superficially celebrating the Constitution Day or Mahaparinirvan Diwas will only amount to lip service unless we reinstate adherence to these principles which add life into the soul of India’s democracy, principles prescribed by the father of the constitution himself and principles which will otherwise end up being mere quixotic embellishments for a bleak reality.

[livvyofthelake]

i don’t know what kensington palace is or how it’s different than buckingham palace and to be honest i truly don’t care.

[penguicorns-are-cool]

a lot of my frustration in the US government comes from the fact that I've grown up learning this

"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." - the Preamble of the Constitution

in which the government promises me and EVERYONE else in the US that they will do their best to "establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity"

and yet the gov has ONLY succeeded in providing for the common defense and even then there's an argument to be had that they don't since they only provide for the defense of the rich because the cops do fuck all for majority of the population.

Based on this preamble, you'd assume that it would be in our best interest to have universal healthcare, and to actively prevent poverty as much as possible, and to actually do things to help prevent hunger, and to overturn our justice system making sure it's actually effective for everyone, and to be sustainable because posterity means for future generations.

But NOOOOO

We can't possibly expect to just be given the necessities for life, actual justice, and any effort to achieve actual freedom in the country that has been promising us that since the very beginning.

Why would you ever expect any of these things, that's just silly.

[gothboudreaux]

uhm hi so my real birthday is in january,, but it’s kind of a running gag that something inevitably is gonna go wrong to ruin the day for me so my family a few years ago created a second birthday for me on the 4th of july as a kind of “do-over” redemption type thing so basically hello it’s my second birthday today :) i’m not making a cake this year but if i did my wish when i blew out my candles would be for everyone here to have a happy and safe life like y’all deserve <3 luv you guys always <3

[dweemeister]

January 31, 2023

By James Poniewozik

(The New York Times) -- When I was in second grade, my teacher held a contest: The first students to memorize their multiplication tables would get dinner at McDonald’s. I was one of them. I’d like to credit hard work or the motivation of those golden fries, but in truth it was easy. I learned it from “Schoolhouse Rock.”

It was not the last time that watching too much TV would pay off for me, but it was perhaps the sweetest.

If you were an American kid around when I was (nineteen-seventy-cough), you probably have “Schoolhouse Rock” hard-wired into your brain too. The musical shorts, which began airing on ABC in 1973, taught Generation X multiplication, grammar, history and, eventually, nostalgia...

... But whatever its limits, “Schoolhouse Rock” at least told us we were equal: We counted with the same numbers, our hearts pumped the same blood, we were entitled to the same inalienable rights.

And it operated in a period when people saw the same media and accepted the same facts. Months after its premiere, the Watergate hearings also aired on national TV. They were able eventually to turn even many Republicans against President Nixon, in part because Americans watched the same story together, without a partisan cable and internet ecosystem to spin the investigation as a witch hunt.

It’s tempting to say that you couldn’t make “Schoolhouse Rock” again today. But I’m sure you could, even if it would be slightly different. Current kids’ shows like Netflix’s “We the People” are in a way exactly that. What you couldn’t create again today is the mass audience, or the context in which we assembled, one nation, sitting cross-legged in front of our cathode-ray teacher.

Us ‘90s kids (late Milennials and early Gen Z) as well!

[skyward-floored]

Lilac, Fern, Mint

Lilac: YOU TOO <333333

Fern: again with the big brain guys please—

Mint: thank you but also what about the lefts???

[nocternalrandomness]

Artwork by Roberto Montalvo

[shamballalin]

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