Throughout our 248 year history “We the People” have been confronted with serious differences requiring resolution. In some instances the solution was convulsive (The American Civil War) whereas others were solved through the measured responses of legislation and court decisions (Voting Rights Act and Amendments). In 2024 we face a major fault line pitting big government advocates against anti-federalist adherents. Two recent events illustrate the stark difference between convulsive and measured outcomes.
What Happened?
A simple way of looking at the current political impasse is by way of analogy: Think of a pressure cooker. Adding heat, water and pressure to a closed container allows for faster cooking. If, however, the pressure relief valve fails an explosion follows.
The federal government’s pressure cooker has been robbing Peter to pay Paul for over a century and has, in the process, angered both Peter and Paul, albeit for different reasons. Peter resents confiscation of earnings and Paul feels his entitlement is insufficient. Both feel the federal government is non-responsive to their concerns.
The pressure relief valve intended to appease the have-nots at the expense of the haves is threatening to let loose. The urgent question is: Will the release be gradual or violent?
Convulsive – Attempted Assassination
The rise of principled resistance towards an overreaching federal bureaucracy invited
vilification from a cabal of federal and major media. The vitriol reached epic proportions from 2016 onwards and may have instigated an assassination attempt on the leading presidential candidate. The incessant drumbeat of Nazi, racist, authoritarian and criminal accusations have convinced many that convulsive violence is the only path to salvation. A line has been crossed in how some Americans handle political differences and most citizens do not approve.
Measured – Supreme Court Decisions
On the other hand: In the immediate weeks prior to the assassination attempt the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) ruled on cases that clamped down on federal overreach and intrusion on separation of powers. These cases were brought through the judicial system in an orderly manner outside of the media narratives. Some cases satisfied the Constitutional faithful while some were disappointing. Each case, however, was presented in a measured, and often lengthy, manner before the nation’s highest court.
Can We Avoid a Convulsive Conclusion?
The federal government pressure cooker is endangered primarily due to bloat. Reasonable people can recognize both the need for temporary social safety nets and the right of workers to their earned compensation. When productive citizens and corporations are financially penalized and vilified while slothful, deviant behavior is encouraged, a convulsive confrontation is imminent.
The Constitution of the United States of America was created by men acutely aware of the danger posed by unrestrained passion. The King of England lost his prized colonies in North America because he did not attempt a “measured” address of their grievances. His reward was a “convulsive” response by aggrieved colonists, The American Revolution.
The Framers went to extraordinary lengths to create a system of government resistant to “convulsive” extremes to avoid the circumstances that had brought about the Revolution. States rights, separation of powers and an irrevocable citizens’ “Bill of Rights” were means towards establishing a national government constrained to “measured” actions. The Constitution ensured that all political passions would be subject to legal guardrails agreed to upon the signing.
Article V is the Way!
The Article V Convention of States movement offers a non-partisan and non-ideological way forward under the auspices of the United States Constitution. Calling a Convention of States to discuss and propose amendments limiting government service terms, curbing federal jurisdiction and restoring fiscal balance will have a “measured” effect. It is Constitutional, it is deliberative and it promotes citizen led reforms to circumvent an intransigent federal government. If people are talking, they aren’t fighting.
If you agree that every day American citizens are the only way that “Government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the Earth,” please consider signing the COS Article V petition. The involvement of “We the People” through our state representatives offers each of us a chance to help restore a nation divided.
