The five basic principles set forth in the Preamble to the Constitution

[kentuck]

"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."

(You will note that the very first objective is to "establish Justice". )

[Samrob]

1. What, exactly, is the weight of the Preamble in Constitutional litigations?

Does it carry legal weight?

[mahatmakanejeeves]

2. It's second, following "to form a more perfect Union.' NT

[DFW]

3. Beware of abuse of the second clause

"insure domestic tranquility"

From "Der Rattenfänger" (The Pied Piper) by Hannes Wader

Es geschah was heute noch immer geschieht, wo Ruhe mehr gilt als Recht
Denn wo die Herrschenden Ruhe wollen, geht's den Beherrschten schlecht

It happened like it still happens today, where calm is more important than justice
Because when the rulers want calm, those who are ruled don't do so well

[kentuck]

4. Yes.

That is why the "people" must have control of the military and police forces, so they do not run rampant over the rights of its citizens. (Civilian control)

[DFW]

6. In theory, I agree

And yet, over here, ever since the defeat of the Axis powers, it has been the "People's Republics" that have been the worst offenders of just that. The slogans aren't enough. Benevolent control over the military, and, especially, the police is an absolute necessity.

[ariadne0614]

5. Abuse is unlikely as long as the other principles are maintained.

It seems to me that domestic tranquility flows naturally from the establishment of Justice, promotion of the general Welfare, and provision of the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity.

[DFW]

7. Justice, general welfare, and liberty--three things the Republicans fight against tooth and nail.

All of it must be constantly fought for. The Constitution gives the guideline, but it only works if there is benevolent power that is willing to enforce it. One has only to look at the Trump presidency to see what happens to us when that enforcement is deliberately abandoned.

[ariadne0614]

8. Yes, and the bad actors can only succeed when the electorate is uninformed and disengaged.

Decades of a Republican assault on public education set us up for this moment. If I were queen of America, we would be teaching effective citizenship from K-12. Age-appropriate civics would be imbedded in the core curriculum, and a high school diploma would include automatic voter registration.