A quick glance through the news, social media and just casual conversation will have people complaining about the current state of our country and the world in general. I will run through a few of these but, stick with me. Let’s connect the dots and arrive at something that’s rarely offered – a solution.
We are in election season and will be electing a new president in a few weeks. The past eight years have called the legitimacy of our elections into question. This is a hot-button issue for many and deservedly so.
Early voting already has begun in some states. The ballot drop-boxes of 2020 have largely been eliminated but still exist in some states. Many states have purged their voter rolls of individuals who’ve moved out of state, passed away or are unable to produce evidence of citizenship. The Justice Department is challenging some of these legitimate actions by suing those states. States like Pennsylvania have decided having absentee voter envelopes signed and submitted in accordance with state law is suddenly important again.
Our education system is in shambles. In most instances this is not the fault of the teachers. This failure falls at the feet of the educational bureaucracy at the state and federal levels. Since education is intended to be a function of the state, we will focus on the federal incursion into education. The largest school district in this state is Springfield Public Schools. According to the Show-Me Institute’s Missouri School Rankings Project, SPS ranks 153 out of 535 Missouri School Districts scoring a 1.9 on a 4.0 scale for the 2022-2023 school year. The number of students proficient in English and Language Arts is 44.8%. Math proficiency is 38.7%. The stats scores are 43.7% and 40.5% respectively. Meanwhile, the graduation rate is 95.7%. Is our educational system really preparing students to be successful citizens?
In America, we have a full-on invasion of our country being permitted across our Southern Border. This is not the result of a “broken immigration system.” These immigration laws have been in place for decades and worked rather well. The difference today is our immigration laws are not being enforced. Americans are not anti-immigrant. We are pro-America. A healthy country must have citizens that are united in a common culture. This culture is forged from a belief in the country’s founding principles, customs and the rule of law. People immigrating to a country must follow the legal process of immigration and be assimilated into that culture. That does not mean they abandon their heritage. It means they adopt the customs, language and respect for the country to which they’ve emigrated. After all, THEY are the ones who chose to move to that country.
Another trait of a healthy country is respect for the rule of law. One of our Founding Principles is an equal application of the to all citizens. Throughout history, our justice system has been mostly consistent in this area. Sure, the courts have made errors and some of them have been egregious and immoral. But, the majority of the time the justice system corrects past errors and arrives at a just outcome. Human beings are flawed individuals and prone to make mistakes. That is what we must work with, so we have to roll with it. Today, we are witnessing something different. The justice system is being weaponized by the federal government against its political rivals. Judges are using their positions to advance political agendas instead of maintaining fidelity to the law. These actions are the things of banana republics.
I could go on to list other concerns, like burdensome regulations (light bulbs, toilets, the clothes you are wearing), fiscal policy, religious freedom and let’s not forget where everything begins – the protection of life. These are all very important issues that have a direct impact on the very survival of our republic. People are rightly concerned and engaged in the fight to right the ship. This works to the benefit of all these republic-ending ailments. The federal Leviathan is very focused. This is why these programs continue to grow no matter who is in the White House or which party has majority control of Congress.
What is the common thread in all these issues?
They all are a result of the federal government sticking its nose where it does not belong. These are all symptoms of government overreach. Convention of States champion and National Advisor the late Dr. Tom Coburn provided sage advice. He said as a physician, he did not focus on the symptoms of an ailment. He was more concerned with the cause of that ailment. I joke that most doctors seem more focused on making sure you live long enough to pay your next co-pay. They treat the symptoms and manage misery. Dr. Coburn’s approach, however, was completely different: Cure the problem and the symptoms disappear.
So, what is the solution then?
The convention of states process is the solution that’s as big as the problems. Every issue listed above and most any other you can think of all have government overreach as the source. They all are caused by government doing too much, spending too much or staying in control for too long. Convention of States Action’s resolution that has passed in 19 states addresses the source of these issues. These constitutional amendments proposed and then ratified by the states strike at the core causes – limiting the size, scope and jurisdiction of the federal government, imposing term limits on federal officials and limiting the ability of the federal government to spend money beyond their constitutional authority.
So, what is the more prudent and effective strategy? Dilute our efforts and possibly make these violations of our liberty a little more palatable or, strike at the heart of the cause of these problems and take our republic back? Convention of States Action is committed to using the tools The Framers gave us unanimously and without debate. Join our team and help us save our country.
In liberty,
Brett
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