The Revolutionary Power of ‘We’

As we approach America’s 250th birthday, I’m thinking a lot about the power of “we.”

It’s the first word in the Constitution: “We the people…” And it signals the great promise of a democracy in which government’s authority stems from its citizens.

When the founders wrote the Constitution, “we” largely meant white male property owners, the descendants of settlers who had displaced and destroyed Indigenous communities and enslaved thousands of people. Their vision for a government by and for the people was revolutionary, but their view of which people counted was appallingly narrow.

Over time, however, a great many others began to see themselves in that “we” — and to demand the liberties and responsibilities laid out in the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights be applied to them, too.

Each advance took far too long. But slowly, steadily, the “we” expanded.

Enslaved people. Women. Immigrants. LGBTQ+ people. Communities of color. People with disabilities. Religious minorities. An underappreciated genius of our founding documents turned out to be their power to inspire historically oppressed and marginalized communities to fight for inclusion in that “we” — to assert their inalienable rights to freedom, opportunity, dignity, and the equal protection of the law.

This journey is nowhere near complete. But there has been real and meaningful progress. For 250 years, to the immense benefit of our nation, our “we” has steadily expanded.

Until now.

A regressive authoritarian movement led by President Trump is working furiously to shrink our “we.” They seek to cut out entire groups, bent on denying them fundamental rights, restricting their autonomy, and writing them out of the American story. It’s shameful and profoundly destructive.

How do we resist? The answer is in that opening line of the Constitution.

The first mass mobilization of Trump’s second administration, the Hands Off rallies in the winter of 2025, drew 1 million people nationwide. The No Kings event a few months later drew 5 million.

The most recent No Kings, at the end of March, drew more than 8 million. On that day, there were protests in every single Congressional district across the nation. There were more than 150 events in Massachusetts alone.

“We the people” were out in force, reminding our elected leaders that they work for us and are accountable to us.

And protests are far from the only marker of resistance. Over the past 18 months, I’ve been incredibly heartened to see people from all walks of life finding creative ways to show up for their neighbors, for their values, and for our democracy.

For some, it’s about calling elected officials—and then calling them again, and again. For others, it’s about bringing groceries to an immigrant family afraid to leave their home. Still others have filmed ICE mobilizations, often at great personal risk.

The good news is, there are so many ways to show up: Start a civil rights book club. Train as a nonpartisan election monitor. Boost pro-democracy posts on social media.

Volunteer. Donate. Run for office. Host a neighborhood potluck. Attend a Know Your Rights training. Create protest art. Invite a friend to join you at a Mass Humanities event reflecting on the lessons of history.

However you choose to build community and show up for democracy, know that it matters.

Each such action pushes back against the forces that seek to divide, discourage, and disenfranchise.

Each builds power for We the People.

Let’s return for a moment to the opening line of the Constitution: “We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union….”

I love the phrase “more perfect union.” Our nation is not perfect. It has never been. But the impulse to come together to improve it is woven deep into our collective DNA.

It’s critical that we reclaim that spirit now, as we mark America’s 250th.

The president talks a great deal about restoring past greatness. But there is so much that was not great in our past and that is not great in our present.

I believe that nothing could be more patriotic than working to improve our nation, to usher in a future with more freedom, equality, and justice—with a more expansive “we”— than ever before.

My organization, the ACLU of Massachusetts, hopes to kick-start that conversation with an initiative we call “Beyond 250: Dare to Create.”

Over the coming months, we’ll take a community art project to cities across the Commonwealth, soliciting your ideas on the future of our democracy. We’ll share a toolkit to make your 4th of July barbecue a bit more meaningful (and, we hope, more fun!). We’ll publish blogs that take a critical look at our nation’s history and videos that explore how we can build a more inclusive future. In all of this, we invite you to join us.

For more than 100 years, the ACLU has brought litigation to defend civil rights and the rule of law. For more than 100 years, we have worked in legislatures and city halls to protect the vulnerable and expand opportunities.

I’m proud of that work — and I also know that our lawyers and our policy advocates cannot do this work alone. It takes innumerable allies.

Above all, it takes We the People.

That’s what is so revolutionary about our nation. And it’s why I remain hopeful.

Two hundred and fifty years ago, our founders designed a country by the people and for the people. If we hold onto that vision, I truly believe we can build an America that works for all of us.

I believe in the revolutionary power of “we,” and I see that power stirring now.

We the People can do this.

We the Powerful.