Hello everyone, my name is Bill Parks, aka The Texas Minuteman. This is my first post of what I hope will be many on a variety of topics. I am a new volunteer for the Convention of States as a Content Writer, and I want to tell you why I decided to volunteer.
But before I do that, let me give you a little background on me so you will have a little better understanding of who I am and how I think.
My first exposure to our political system was in 1956 when I was five years old in Kindergarten. It was during the presidential election between President Dwight D. Eisenhower (Republican) and Adlai Stevenson (Democrat).
Of course, we didn’t know
anything about them, or the election, or the differences between Republicans and Democrats, but our teacher wanted us to learn about the election process. To keep it simple, she had us vote for either a red elephant or a blue donkey. Since I knew elephants were smart and never forgot and donkeys were stubborn and made a lot of hee-haw noises, I voted for the elephant.
Something must have stuck with me about that election, because I’ve been a Republican ever since, although I now consider myself to be more of a constitutional conservative. I've even been known to vote for an Independent or a Democrat when the Republican candidate wasn't conservative enough for my tastes. By the way, the elephant won 12 to 9.
The first election where I actually cast a real vote was in 1972, and I have voted in every election since then. I believed it was my patriotic duty as an American to vote and I made sure I did so, even while living overseas for several years.
Unfortunately, that was the extent of my involvement in politics, until 2008 when I came to realize that our political system had not only become corrupt but that I was part of the problem for letting it happen. So after sitting on the sidelines for most of my adult life, I finally decided to become more involved in the hope that I could make a difference.
I began calling and writing my congressman and senators. I attended town halls. I joined the Tea Party and went to rallies. I subscribed to political websites and sent “blast” faxes and signed petitions whenever requested.
But it still wasn’t enough. Things were getting worse instead of better. I wanted to - no, I needed to - do more.
So, about a month ago I was visiting the Convention of States website and saw that COS was actively seeking volunteers. I had been on the COS e-mail list for a number of years and am a strong supporter of a Convention of States. I looked at the various positions that COS needed volunteers to fill and decided to volunteer as a Content Writer, although I wasn’t exactly sure what a Content Writer did. I had some spare time on my hands, I enjoy writing, and I felt like this was something I could do that could make a real difference.
However, my real goal and my reason for volunteering, is to help you learn more about Convention of States and how important it is to the future of our country. I want to encourage you to become actively engaged in supporting Convention of States.
It is going to take a lot of work, but I am confident that, with your support, our goal is achievable. I look forward to posting many more blogs and hope that you will enjoy reading them as much as I enjoy writing them and find them both beneficial and enjoyable.
I welcome your feedback and hope that we become both friends and compatriots in working toward a common goal of a Convention of States.
