We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, 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, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

Ah yes, justice. Whether if be spelled with a capital “J” or not, everyone demands justice. But do we, the People of the United States, give justice? Do we actually see that the demand for justice begins with us? To this end, here are some suggestions on how to establish justice:

• Justice begins at home when an individual chooses to take responsibility for her/his own actions. Thus, when filing a lawsuit, don’t look for the deepest pockets to fleece in response to some real (or imagined) wrong that befell you. Let your claim be lawful! Don’t seek out some quack that will testify that your inability to hold down a job is due to the liquor store owner who has the audacity to sell beer en route to your last job, the brewery that is putting together this devil’s brew, and the advertisers who dare to run an ad for the beer. Instead, accept responsibility that you have a drinking problem and join the nearest chapter of AA. The list of frivolous lawsuits is endless, and there is no justice as long as we, the people, continue to file such suits, encourage them, and applaud them!
  
• If you find yourself in a judge’s seat, do your homework and don’t let a convicted child molester roam free because you didn’t know his/her past. If you are an officer of the court, do your homework and don’t let a criminal walk free on a technicality. If you receive that jury summons in your mailbox, quit scoffing and whining about having to take time off from work, instead understand the gravity of the situation and thank your lucky stars that you live in a country that affords justice to its inhabitants and invites its citizens to participate in the process. Quit bellyaching, and for goodness’ sake, don’t go looking for a book deal while the ink on the verdict page is not even quite dry yet! Since when is it in the interest of a more perfect union to make money of others’ misfortunes?
  
• Treat fairly those around you, whatever your circumstances may be, and stop looking with a sense of entitlement at those who are ahead of you in the economic race. Similarly, treat fairly and look after those who are not as wealthy, blessed, lucky, etc. as you are. Don‘t give them a reason to find fault with you, in their minds dividing you from them.

Domestic tranquility is not something that comes easy, and in present day times it is hard to imagine such a state of being. Regardless, don’t close your eyes to the needs of the hour and accuse those whom you believe to disturb this tranquility to be fear mongers, or worse. Instead, pay attention to their words, and --if you can-- help them to regain their own tranquility, and in so doing, you will regain yours. Failure to listen and engage those with whom you disagree with merely serve to jeopardize the union this country’s founders were seeking to establish.

(to) provide for the common defense

Owning a gun may or may not be the way to provide for a common defense, but in the dead of night when you hear screams coming from a dark alley it can be your best friend. Quit this internal wrangling about whether guns are the work of the devil or a birthright. They’re here. They’re legal. And everybody has them. Get over it. And if you own a gun, quit your grandstanding about having it pried “from you cold dead hands.” Someone might try to take you up on the challenge and then many people might get hurt. Similarly, you don’t need cop-killer bullets to protect yourself or to shoot a harmless animal in a forest. And, last but not least, don’t leave your gun(s) where you offspring and his/her friends can find it and use it!