One of the most straightforward explanations of our Founding Principles was provided by a Revolutionary War hero you may never heard of. His name is Levi Preston. He was a Captain who fought in the Battle of Lexington and Concord.
In 1843, a journalist named Mellon Chamberlain interviewed Captain Preston about his service in the War. Chamberlain wanted to know why Levi left his farm to fight in the Revolution. Chamberlain was a well-schooled Dartmouth graduate and thought he knew Preston’s reasoning. It went something like this.
Chamberlain: Did you fight in the War because of the Tea Tax?
Preston: Never drank the stuff. We heard the boys threw some in Boston Harbor.
Chamberlain: Did you fight to protest the Stamp Act?
Preston: Never bought one of them. The governor locked them in the Armory.
Chamberlain: You must have read Locke, Harrington and Sydney on liberty?
Preston: Never heard of them. We read the Almanac, Catechism and the Bible.
Chamberlain: Well, why did you leave your farm to fight in the war?
Preston: We had always governed ourselves. We always intended to govern ourselves. Those Redcoats intended we should not.
What a contrast to what we currently see today. Far too many people are all too willing to hand over their individual liberty to their government. They do not understand or appreciate what Captain Preston did. They obediently follow instructions our government provides and ignore the encroachment on their civil rights.
I was thinking recently about how much life has changed since 2020. We were told by “the experts” that our children could not play on playground equipment. We were told by “the experts” that in-person fellowship in church was dangerous, but bars and nightclubs could stay open. We were told that mom and pop stores had to close while big-box retailers could stay open. We were told for the first-time that transmission of an airborne respiratory virus could be stopped by a piece of cloth purchased at a department store. A new term was introduced into our lexicon that still makes my blood boil – “non-essential worker.”
Virtually every encroachment on our civil rights that we’re experiencing today is a direct result of the COVID pandemic and our government’s response. There are over 10,000 small businesses that do not exist today. The 2020 election would not have been compromised by the widespread mail-in voting and unsecured ballot drop boxes. We would likely still be energy independent today and fuel costs would be low. Prices would likely not have increased 17%+ in two and a half years. Mortgage interest rates would probably not be over 8%. The average mortgage payment would not be $1,000 a month higher today than three years ago because of housing inflation and interest rates. Many of our friends and loved ones would not have died alone without their family present to comfort them. Donald Trump likely would still be our President. As a result, Putin probably would not have invaded Ukraine; Hamas would not have attacked Israel and peace would continue to expand through the Abraham Accords.
As of today, nobody responsible for this carnage has been held accountable and brought to justice. It seems that people are willing to move on and forget the crimes against humanity that were committed. If justice is not meted out, the federal government will try this again, only worse.
We do not need dictates from the federal government. Our government should provide the information we need and let us decide. We should be self-governing citizens and apply common sense. The Convention of States Project stands on the shoulders of great heroes like Captain Preston. Our great volunteers talk the talk. We also walk the walk. We should act in the spirit of Levi Preston.
Thank you for supporting the Convention of States Project. If you are a volunteer, we thank you and are here to support you. If you are a visitor to our site or have signed our petition showing your support, we thank you and ask you to consider the next step. Regardless of your available time or skill set, there is something you can do to advance the cause of liberty.
Visit our Take Action page to learn about volunteer opportunities with the Convention of States Missouri family. Let us fight in the spirit of Captain Levi Preston to save our republic!
In liberty,
Brett
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