Answer: One of the basic principles of governance is the realization that governments exist to serve the will of the people. The founders of the American republic understood this basic fact when they ratified these words from Thomas Jefferson:
“…Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.”
In one sentence, Jefferson explained these salient points:
Government flows from the consent of those governed
Those governed have the right demand government be responsive to their wishes
If a government is unwilling, unable or incapable of fulfilling the first two points, then the governed have the right to dissolve their current government and replace it with something that will.
To this end, constitutions, which describe the relationship between the governed and the government, must be written with fulfilling the wishes of the governed in mind. Likewise, a constitution that is not approved by the governed and is simply imposed by the government cannot have legitimacy.
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