Throughout my political journey, I have come to believe calling a Convention of States is the ultimate solution for our nation.
However, many in my demographic have never heard of such an idea, nor are most even on the side of loving liberty. The main problem we see in front of us is how we are going to appeal to the youth? How would we appeal to those on the other side, as well?
As someone who is both a college student and a former socialist (back when I was naive about the world), I may have a few ideas.
I originally heard about the Convention of States project through the Ben Shapiro Show. Although I don't agree with him on everything, he is the most popular conservative figure amongst the youth. He is even partially the reason why I chose to switch sides from one side of the aisle to the other.
I would say a great way to boost our presence amongst the youth is to further have COS promoted by people like Ben Shapiro or even reach out to other figures such as Micheal Knowles and Tucker Carlson.
Furthermore, there are also conservative youth organizations COS has cooperated with before, and some we can work with in the future. One is Turning Point USA, which we have attended their annual Student Action Summit at West Palm Beach. This is the most popular liberty-loving organization, it tends to be a big tent and represents conservatives more broadly, and its leadership more on the populist camp of conservative youth.
Another group that comes to mind is Young Americans for Freedom, which tends to be more representative of Reaganism, Neoconservatism, amongst other mainstream conservative thought. They often host speakers like Ben Shapiro, Micheal Knowles, and Dr. Author Laffler. The organization is the brainchild of Willaim F. Buckley Jr. and they very much follow the philosophy of Ronald Reagan most of all, so appealing to them with the fiscal aspects of COS would be the best approach.
Lastly, there is also Young Americans for Liberty, which lies more on the libertarian side of conservative politics. Newcomers to the scene, YAL have made their presence known, and certainly many students within the organization may be more than eager to hear about ideas such as term limits, reforms on the national government, and a balanced budget.
The main strategy should be to reach out to these groups, and market aspects of COS that matter most to them. This also includes reaching out to local University chapters and sending a District Captain to speak at one of their meetings. Sharing ideas in person does indeed go a long way.
Marketing to youth on our side of the aisle is nothing compared to the difficulty of marketing to those on the left. Maybe it's a son, a nephew, or a grandchild who's been indoctrinated to one side, and one may initially think it would be impossible to convince them to join up with COS. Well, it may be possible if presented in the right way.
The best way to possibly present COS in a nonpartisan fashion is to lead with how it gives multiple solutions to America's problems, beyond just the reforms like term limits (which many on the left do indeed support). COS will take power away from Washington, which does two very important things.
One, it allows left-leaning states to make more laws regarding how they handle themselves without a possible repercussion from any conservative Congress or White House. Secondly, Washington politics no longer is as stressful to participate in. No longer would we as a nation have to worry too much about who is in Washington. It's no longer the metaphorical “gun to the head.”
The best way to approach the youth is with aspects of COS that would matter most to them. On top of this, COS is non-partisan, so it wouldn’t hurt to appeal to those on the left who would be open to a Convention of States.
At the end of the day, most citizens do care about America. The farthest on the left may be too far gone to appeal to, but those left-of-center may be willing to hear out what we have to say.
America was built on various perspectives, and we need youth of different stripes to ensure a Convention of States is called in the long term.