America has been sliding left for a little over a hundred years now and in such a quiet, subtle manner that we hardly noticed how much. Oh, we knew it was happening, but only enough to cause an occasional outburst of frustration and hope that if we voted correctly, it would get fixed. The 2007-08 economic collapse coupled with Obama promising to “fundamentally transform America” focused a bright light on just how broken Washington DC has really become. Those two occurrences have culminated in highlighting the expanding federal governments three branches and the resultant loss of liberties.
Our basic freedoms have been eroding so quietly that we didn’t see them slipping out of sight. Freedoms allow individuals to make decisions that fulfill our own self-interest without interference from an outside coercive force. We mutually agree on a price and trade our labor and income for our sustenance with which to live, raise our families, and create wealth. We make the decisions in the free market.
We also understand that government is inherently inefficient and mostly ineffective, but necessary and even at one time, trusted. It has typically not been politically partisan. But Obama’s “transformation” has moved the federal bureaucracy to become openly partisan, attacking conservatives, rewriting Congresses laws and rules, misinterpreting the Constitution, and enforcing laws selectively. Against the intent of the Founders, the Supreme Court’s rulings on major issues concerned the commerce and welfare clauses and have favored government over the states and people. All of this has resulted in Americans loss of liberty.
Randy Barnett explains in his book, Our Republican Constitution: Securing the Liberty and Sovereignty of We the People, that the Founders intended our natural, God given rights to come before government. It is we the people who have given our states the power to form the government of our republic. That the Declaration and Constitution grant all the rights to the people and protect us from the government. The question then becomes, who decides?
For example, under our republic, the free market, composed of you and I, decide the winners and losers, not the government. Then where did the government get the power to decree the switch from incandescent to florescent light bulbs, regardless of their perceived benefit? How about ethanol in our fuel? Who decided we needed a minimum wage while removing citizens freedom to choose the price system of the existing free market?
Additionally, free speech has been attacked, increased firearm regulations, the internet administration handed to the UN, states forced to accept federal Common Core mandates, the impact of Obamacare regulations forced on us and codified by the Supreme Court. Or massive increases in bureaucratic regulations that have stifled the economic recovery with nearly a third of Americans out of work. Marriage has been redefined, bathroom co-habitation is protected, and racial issues have deteriorated to their lowest level since the sixties. Immigration laxity allows cities to give sanction to illegals. Crony capitalism has reached new heights in the new “transformed” Washington DC culture where special interests and bureaucrats are more powerful than Congress.
None of these results were initiated by we the people. All of this is driven by elite statists in or associated with the federal government. The election in November won’t solve these problems because they are systemic and structural in nature and not policy driven.
So the bottom line for freedom loving people is: do we allow the elite statists to continue eroding Americans freedoms through abuse and misuse of the Constitution or do we rise up by calling for an Article V amending convention to stop the bleeding and begin the healing? The answer does not lie with our representatives in the US Congress, President, or state Governor. It is entirely up to us and our state legislators. Article V authorizes us to end the tyranny occurring in DC today.
The COS convention held in Colonial Williamsburg a week ago resulted in amendments that, had this been the real deal rather than a simulated event, would begin solving many of our problems and saving our country from certain destruction. Go to the ConventionOfStates.com/cossim and see the six amendments and then watch the recorded convention. It was professional, passionate, and for a practice event, quite intense with a lot of engaged debate and creative input.
Tell your neighbors, family, co-workers that there is a solution and that we need all of you to help in passing the application in the 2017 session beginning in January. We need phone calls, emails, and legislator visits to get this across the threshold. We need concerned Americans to stand up, speak up, and show up.
