Why does this iconic phrase have such a pull on us?

In the beginning, when he created mankind to be in relationship with Him, God gave us

freedom of choice so we would have the free will to choose Him—or not—so we would

not have a coerced relationship with Him. To this day, each individual has to make the

choice to accept God; no one can do it for you. That is true freedom. He hardwired it

into us. Freedom of our will is a longing in the deepest parts of us.

Down through the ages, we see that ‘governments’ have been organized around the

ones who wanted to tell everyone what to do, how to behave, and be sure they knew

he/she was in charge. They would be called ‘a natural leader’. They would also be

called a monarch or a dictator. And that’s what the world looked like until a group of men

who had settled on the east coast said, “enough is enough” to the king of England,

who wanted to tax the fruits of their labor and anything else he could get his hands on.

Considered to be the first written constitution was the Orders of Connecticut, which

created a governing political entity in 1638. The first constitution to use the term

“constitution” was Virginia’s Constitution in 1776, leading up to the US Constitution

which “has profoundly shaped the development of constitutional governance

worldwide.” Today, there are 188 countries with a constitution, although they all have

individual provisions for their own country and may not look like ours at all.

That brings us to Why We The People?

Constitutional government is defined as a system where authority derives from

the consent of the governed—that’s us—and is limited by fundamental laws to protect

individual liberties.  The founders were the first We The People, and they left us the

Constitution as an inheritance. Every citizen afterward has become a member of We

The People. The founders were wise in the ways of men who have power and control

issues, so they wrote the first amendments to the Constitution, which we know as the

Bill of Rights. They were designed to thwart government overreach.

The United States Constitution, drafted in 1787, was the first written constitution to

create a central government based on popular sovereignty. The opening phrase, "We

the People," explicitly declares that the government’s legitimacy comes from you and

yours and your neighbors and friends rather than the individual states.

So, when you have a rogue state like California, what do you do?

Your Republic can only endure when you, the citizens, actively participate in it.