Human Relations Committee

Laconia Human Relations Regular Monthly Meeting March 29, 2022 10AM – 12:00 City Hall Rm 200A also via Zoom Agenda Welcome and Roll Call Old Business • Community Engagement • Next Meeting Room 200A, Monday April 11, 2022, at 3:30pm also via Zoom Public Comment – The public is invited to offer their opinions. Initially, they will be limited to four minutes until all have had an opportunity to speak. Each person is constrained to their time period or to ask questions of the committee. Everyone is expected to speak respectfully. If on Zoom, the public will be visible but muted until unmuted by the chair. Members of the public wishing to speak will use the “raise hand” option. ------------------------------------------------------ Note: The meeting will also be held online through Zoom and will begin at 3:30pm although people are encouraged check in early. Contact David Stamps, 387-4382 or email at dbstamps@dbstamps.com if you are having trouble connecting. 31TU U 31T You are invited to a Zoom webinar. Topic: Human Relations Commission Please click the link below to join the webinar: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89074084927?pwd=S25aWGJMa2hQbzlkU205VDJacDgzZz09 31T 31T Passcode: 271713 Or One tap mobile : US: +16465588656,,89074084927#,,,,*271713# or +13017158592,,89074084927#,,,,*271713# Or Telephone: Dial(for higher quality, dial a number based on your current location): US: +1 646 558 8656 or +1 301 715 8592 or +1 312 626 6799 or +1 669 900 9128 or +1 253 215 8782 or +1 346 248 7799 Webinar ID: 890 7408 4927 Passcode: 271713 International numbers available: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kecOAl5QC4  Towards A More Perfect Union - Updated The following is the Preamble of the U.S. Constitution: 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 contains five ingredients for developing a more perfect union: • establishing justice, • insuring domestic tranquility, • providing for common defense, • promoting general welfare, and • securing liberty. Too often of late, the talk is all about liberty as though the other four goals were of diminished importance. In fact Liberty requires equal justice for all, domestic tranquility, common defense and support for our general welfare. In addition, in 1789, the United States Constitution was signed by thirty nine people: all white and all male. States retained control of the process of voting and routinely disenfranchised or created barriers to voting by various strategies. People of color were disenfranchised from voting until 1870 with passage of the 15 th amendment. Women P P were disenfranchised from voting until 1920 with passage of the 19 th amendment. Native P P Americans were excluded until 1924 with the passage of the Indian Citizenship Act. Even with this legislation, our Country continues to debate and struggle. In fact, debate and struggle are a crucial process of democracies. With a population over 330 million, the challenges of our social contract keep expanding and growing more complex all the while some are questioning the value of a universal union at all. The Laconia Human Relations Committee has developed this series of short essays, Towards A More Perfect Union, to explore our social contracts, how they are working or not working and how they might be made more perfect. Future series will explore other topics.  A More Perfect Union - Original “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.” – Preamble to the U.S. Constitution The Preamble contains five ingredients for developing a more perfect union: • establishing justice, • insuring domestic tranquility, • providing for common defense, • promoting general welfare, and • securing liberty. Too often of late, the talk is all about liberty as though the other four goals were of diminished importance. In fact Liberty requires equal justice for all, domestic tranquility, common defense and support for our general welfare. The purpose of the Preamble is to set the table for the whole Constitution which establishes the social contract for the United States with rights and obligations of people individually and collectively. This was not the first social contract written by the Europeans settling in the New World. The Mayflower Compact, written and signed on board in 1620, was thought crucial to the survivability of Plymouth Colony. The State of New Hampshire in 1784, adopted its Constitution that is a living social contract. The Laconia Human Relations Committee has developed this series of short essays, A More Perfect Union, to explore our social contracts, how they are working or not working and how they might be made more perfect. Each essay will be followed by several questions to help broaden and deepen the reader’s understanding.