Rachel Itabashi-Campbell is a Ph.D. holder, a CPL holder, and a proud American. Born in Japan to Japanese parents, Itabashi-Campbell spent her early years traveling the globe, living in Belgium, Japan, and finally, the U.S. Eventually, she became an American citizen and began working in the automotive industry, later earning her Ph.D. in Industrial and Systems Engineering in 2013. She has seen America through both the eyes of an immigrant and the eyes of a citizen, lending her a unique perspective on the issues facing the country today.
When asked about America’s future, Itabashi-Campbell stated, 
I have grave, grave concerns for America. When I first came to this country 45 years ago, I marveled at its greatness in every aspect. Fast forward to today, this greatest and most benevolent nation in the world is spiraling down into God knows where! The culture of self-governance, the bedrock of the American foundation, has degenerated considerably since I first set foot here. On one hand, we have “snowflakes,” who haven’t done a day’s work, denouncing American values in support of socialism. On the other, there is widespread civic ignorance of the U.S. Constitution and what is going on in politics at all levels (of which I must count myself guilty until recently). Immorality is rampant. I call these things “the real pandemic.”
This “culture of self-governance” is exactly what the Convention of States (COS) organization aims to restore and is part of what drew Itabashi-Campbell to COS. She initially learned about the organization through a course she was taking via the Patriot Academy; she got involved by signing the COS petition and offering her time as a volunteer for Michigan COS. In order to fully restore self-governance to the states, the COS organization encourages the state legislatures to call a convention of states under Article V of the U.S. Constitution. This convention would allow the states to propose and ratify new amendments to the Constitution, but not without limits—34 state legislatures must adopt an identical resolution in order to even hold the convention, and delegates from 38 states must agree on any proposed amendments.
COS encourages the states to focus on three main goals: 1) curbing runaway federal spending; 2) imposing term limits on federal officials; 3) decentralizing power away from the federal government. Like many Americans and COS petition signers, Itabashi-Campbell recognizes that Washington, D.C. desperately needs a fundamental overhaul, not just a “red wave” or a “blue wave” politically. She elegantly frames her attraction to COS in terms of her occupation:
From a system engineer’s perspective, the COS solution is akin to fixing the “hardware” side of the system's problem. Software running on an inadequate hardware configuration does not produce good system outputs. In this analogy, political candidates are the software. They can perform as well as the hardware allows them to. Washington has become a habitat for self-serving politicians who are preying on the weak and rotting system. Feeding good people into this broken structure will only result in suboptimal outcomes – at best.
In Itabashi-Campbell’s opinion, passively voting for good candidates will not fix the critical system error festering in D.C. The solution is an active overhaul that restores the careful balance of power between the state and federal governments intended by the Framers of the Constitution. The hardware—which has been out-of-date for many years—totally broke in 2020. Itabashi-Campbell, a long-time CPL holder and a former member of Armed Women of America, was aware of gross federal overreach prior to 2020, especially when it came to the Second Amendment, but she didn’t yet engage with the details. It was the lockdowns and the 2020 Election that called her to really consider what was going on in the country. Reflecting back, she stated, “having witnessed governmental abuse of power, political lies, and lawlessness, I found myself becoming more and more critical of the political developments around me.”
The course Biblical Citizenship through the Patriot Academy provided the impetus for Itabashi-Campbell to truly get involved, leading her to COS and educating herself about the issues and the solutions. She highly recommends taking the course, as it may just inspire you to become a part of the solution.
Show your support for America's much-needed "hardware upgrade" through a Convention of States by signing the petition below!
