I didn’t know it at the time, but five years ago today my life changed. I was introduced to the state initiated amendment process in Article V of the U.S. Constitution.
On July 10, 2013, publisher Simon & Schuster announced the title of Mark Levin’s upcoming book, The Liberty Amendments: Restoring the American Republic and pre-orders became available.
More importantly, he was able to publicly discuss the subject of his book. For the first two hours of his radio show that night, I listened as he setup the context, the conflict, and the solution to our nation’s ills, found in Article V.
You can listen to that podcast here.
I wasn’t an immediate believer, but I was intrigued enough to read the book when it became available, and then to search online for any information about a “convention of states.” Ironically, I found a website, conventionofstates.com, introducing a brand new project dedicated to realizing the very arguments that Levin had laid out.
The clincher for me - Michael Farris was heading up the project. As a home-schooler of some 25 years at the time, and a former member of Farris’s Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA), I was well aware of his capabilities in both working with state legislatures and organizing grassroots advocacy. The perfect background and experience for heading up this grand endeavor.
While Constitutional experts like Robert Natelson and Randy Barnett began mining the depths of Article V around 2009, it was Levin who thrust this movement to the forefront in the summer of 2013.
Even more encouraging was the providential relationship between Levin and the Convention of States Project.
If you don’t know that story, here are first hand accounts from Michael Farris and Mark Meckler:
Michael Farris on his relationship with Mark Levin (August, 2014)
Mark Meckler describes God’s Providence in launching Convention of States (December 2016)
In just five years, this movement has accomplished much.
Twelve states have passed our resolution calling for a Convention of States to propose amendments to impose limits on the federal government. Limits on their time (term limits), our money (both spending and taxing), and their power (rebalancing the relationship between the states and the federal government).
Another 35 states have at some point worked the resolution actively in their legislature, many with committee and floor wins. Twenty-four states have been active in 2018.
And the movement just surpassed the 3.5 million grassroots supporters.
Five years ago I grieved for my country. Then, a reasonable, rational, possible solution was provided in the Convention of States.
I dipped my toes into the waters of self-governance, and waded slowly into the Liberty River, with which I was unfamiliar. From local leadership in my house district in Texas, to State Co-Director, and now Regional Director, the real joy, the true inspiration, is all of the amazing patriots I meet as I ride this current.
Patriots lining the banks of the river, some plunging in, others stepping in cautiously, still others sizing up the flow of the water and their ability to safely survive the twists and turns before dipping their toes, just like me.
I am confident the course of the Liberty River has already been charted by One greater than me. I'm unsure where exactly it's going, but I know Who formed its path. The journey is amazing.
Sometimes the current stops, or swirls. At other times it becomes a white-knuckle roaring rapids adventure, accompanied by yelling and screaming. And all the while, more Liberty travelers join our band, our Liberty family, and we traverse the way together in this quest for the cause to restore our nation to its founding principles.
Are you still standing on the bank, watching the Liberty River flow by? Join us here. The water is not always fine, but it is the only peaceful means we have to safely reach our destination.
And the journey... I can't wait to see what the next five years bring!
