The following was written by Gary Smith, Content Writer for Convention of States California.
St. Valentine was a 3rd Century Roman priest. He was known for the love he shared with the Christians in Rome, especially those who faced persecution. He was martyred for his faith and was buried on February 14.
Starting in 496 AD, a tradition of celebrating the Feast of Saint Valentine began. We celebrate St. Valentine's Day, but its original purpose is foggy. It's all about cards and flowers, but what about charity?
Have we lost the essence of self-discipline? Do we know from whence we came?
Consider King George III, his Parliament, and lieutenants. It was obvious to them, as they managed a global empire with colonies in revolt and attacks from other nations, that no nation can do everything. King George demoted the colonies to preserve higher priorities in the Caribbean Sea and Indian Ocean spheres.
With the king out of their hair, the colonies could govern themselves using good sense and powerful self-discipline. A nation based on limited government, fiscal responsibility, and commercial success came into being.
The Founding Fathers constructed a document which both supported the independent, energetic, and self-disciplined citizenry and also prevented the failures of government overreach common among European tyrannies and principalities.
King George III delivers a mixed bag of lessons. His Royal Navy historically trusted superior seamanship, gunnery, and élan to make the difference in contests between fleets equal in numbers. The human factor pervaded their skills. But a nation can get itself into trouble through tightfistedness, over-expansion, and a lack of self-discipline.
Recognizing the King George III problem, our Founding Fathers created within the U.S. Constitution the following: (1) Article I, Section 8, a restricted Congress to some sixteen specific government items of responsibility, and (2) a competitive division of governance responsibilities.
We have long since left that structure of common sense, self-awareness, and self-discipline behind.
The U.S. government is unrestrained. We see uncontrolled spending, the creation of a political professional class, an unmanageable bureaucracy, and non-government entities directing, regulating, and adjudicating.
Do you want...
- Control of the public debt by Congress?
- Congressional Term limits?
- Proper use of the Commerce Clause?
- Congressional over-ride of outrageous over-regulation?
- Only through an Article V Convention of States can the federal government size and scope become reduced, overregulation be restrained, and usurped powers belonging to the states be returned.
- Only through the human factor, as citizens become engaged, aware, and inspired to action through the Article V process offered by our Constitution.
Join the Convention of States. Engaged citizens, informed and dedicated to our nation's founding principles and self-disciplined in the pursuit of those principles, are the key to restoring the respectful balance between the American people and the government designed to serve them.
