What is the most honorific title in our Constitutional Republic? If you answered President or Governor, then you may have no understanding of why you are voting. Citizen is the highest title of honor in our Constitutional Republic, and your vote is an act of consent!
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“The people…hereby solemnly and mutually agree with each other, to form themselves into a free, sovereign and independent Body-Politic, or State, by the name of the State of New Hampshire.” [Part Second, Article 1, NH Constitution].
Article 7 of Part First of the New Hampshire Constitution establishes the same, as a Right, “The people of this State have the sole and exclusive right of governing themselves as a free, sovereign, and independent State…”.
We can clearly conclude that the people, jointly as a body politic, are sovereign. Sovereign means we hold supreme political power, that we exercise supreme authority, and that we are the acknowledged leader.
King George III claimed he was the sovereign of New Hampshire and the United States until we introduced a revolutionary idea; no single person is sovereign, instead, the people as a body politic are sovereign. We call this popular sovereignty.
Individual members of our body politic are citizens who are equal to one another, each citizen is protected against momentary bouts of insanity from the sovereign by their God-given unalienable Rights, and each has an opportunity to speak when the body politic meets in assembly to make its ‘decrees’. We decisively assemble at the polls to make our final declaration of consent via our ballot, by voting!
When the people vote we are, as the sovereign, expressing consent for a form of government. “…Therefore, all government of right originates from the people, is founded in the consent…” [Part First, Article 1, NH Constitution].
However, dot not confuse the government with the sovereign. The people are still the sovereign, but just like any wise sovereign, we delegate the details of running our ‘kingdom’ to our magistrates, the government. Read Article 8, “All power residing originally in, and being derived from, the people, all magistrates…are their substitutes and agents, and at all times accountable to them”.
Ultimately, the government is not responsible for our failings as a body politic. We, the citizens, as stakeholders in our popular sovereignty are responsible for the failings of the body politic by virtue of the government for which we consent or withhold consent.
Regardless of your party, be a citizen and member of the body politic of which we are all solemnly and mutually a member, first and foremost! Research our candidates, and where the choices are principally incompatible, consider withholding consent by leaving that section blank, or write-in someone eligible.
