Every day, 365 days out of the year, the Convention of States grassroots set out to accomplish the impossible. And every night, they hang up their hats after a hard day’s work, knowing that, even if they did not get there yet, they’re one step closer. In the morning, they’ll get up and try again.
Critics will tell them that they’re wasting their time. “An Article V convention will never happen. You’re taking too long. Why don’t you just call it quits?” But, as President Theodore Roosevelt reminds us, “It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better.”
No, “The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena.”
Needless to say, our grassroots activists are in the proverbial arena ceaselessly, and they refuse to be drowned out by the naysayers. In that sense, they are fulfilling the American Dream — the wide-eyed determination that here, in this country, mere mortals can accomplish the impossible.
But why is it that so many Americans have become discouraged and disillusioned with the American Dream, writing off projects like the Convention of States movement as futile and impractical? Since when did we let impracticality determine what we can and cannot do?
Many of our fellow countrymen have become cynical, gloom-ridden pragmatists; the bold, intrepid pioneers of yesteryear are a quickly disappearing class. The American entrepreneurial spirit of the adventurer is all but dead.
No wonder we’ve resigned ourselves to embittered defeat. We lost the distinctly American ideal that has animated this great land since the God-enthralled, liberty-obsessed Puritans landed here 400 years ago. And what is that great, abiding principle?
On June 6, 2024, the 80th anniversary of D-Day, I encountered a usually platitudinous word that has stuck with me ever since: “Faith.” Faith is what inspired the great Americans of the past. Pondering how the American boys at Normandy found it within them to face down the Nazi terror and liberate a continent, I discovered my answer within two old speeches, one from President Franklin Roosevelt and the other from President Ronald Reagan.
Forty years ago, the 40th president sought to answer the same questions I would later contemplate. “You were young the day you took these cliffs,” Reagan reminded the survivors, “with the deepest joys of life before you. Yet, you risked everything here. Why? Why did you do it?”
“We look at you,” he continued, “and somehow we know the answer. It was faith and belief; it was loyalty and love. The men of Normandy had faith that what they were doing was right; faith that they fought for all humanity; faith that a just God would grant them mercy on this beachhead or on the next.”
It’s worth noting that Reagan chose to use the word faith to describe our ancestors’ actions on D-Day — not brave, masculine, or daring (although they were certainly all of those things, too). Fundamentally, Reagan knew that even brave, masculine, daring men would retreat from a fight if they did not believe in what they were fighting for. The men of Normandy believed.
The Great Communicator was not the first American statesman to use the word in conjunction with D-Day. Forty years before Reagan delivered his famous speech, President Roosevelt prayed with the American people over the Normandy liberators, “O Lord, give us Faith. Give us Faith in Thee; Faith in our sons; Faith in each other; Faith in our united crusade.”
As simple as it may sound, this revelation stunned me: the Greatest Generation dared to do the impossible because they had faith.
Ever since then, I have encountered this word all across American history.
President Abraham Lincoln often spoke of his “ancient faith.” “According to our ancient faith, the just powers of governments are derived from the consent of the governed.” “If the negro is a man, why then my ancient faith teaches me that ‘all men are created equal,’ and that there can be no moral right in connection with one man’s making a slave of another.”
Frank Capra’s 1939 masterpiece, “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington,” dealt with themes of idealism and love for country, delivering this memorable line: “Odds against [American legends like Abraham Lincoln] didn’t stop those men. They were fools that way. All the good that ever came into this world came from fools with faith…. You can’t quit now.”
Walt Disney, the American pioneer and filmmaker whose legendary theme park, Disneyland, Reagan deemed “a national treasure,” dedicated one of the lands in his park to the courageous men and women who settled the continent. “Here we experience the story of our country’s past,” he said, “the colorful drama of frontier America in the exciting days of the covered wagon and the stagecoach, the advent of the railroad and the romantic riverboat. Frontierland is a tribute to the faith, courage, and ingenuity of the pioneers who blazed the trails across America.”
Speaking of Disney, when addressing a crowd at Disney World in 1983, Reagan encouraged his young audience, “Hang on to the American spirit of adventure as you head into this future. Remember the quote by Thomas Wolfe… ‘To everyone a chance, to all people, regardless of their birth, the right to live, to work, to become whatever their visions can combine to make them.’ This is the promise of America…. And I came here to tell you today that I believe very much in you. I believe in your intelligence and your courage and your determination. And when the time arrives, the people of my generation will be very proud to turn America over to your care” [emphasis added].
One year later, on the campaign trail, the Gipper proclaimed, “We stand together, we Americans, and we’re holding each other’s hands, and we’re walking into the future with pride in each other and a great faith.”
He continued:
“[Our young people] are what this election is all about — you and your future. I’ve seen you all over this country, on campuses, as I said earlier, and universities and in high schools and out in rallies such as this. Your generation really sparkles. Your idealism and love of country are unsurpassed. Now my generation — and there are several more between mine and yours — all of us, or most of us, grew up in an America where we took it for granted that we could dream and make our dreams come true, fly as high and far as our ability and effort would take us. Then we came to a time not too long ago when people began telling us that those days were over, that we were in an era of limits, that there was a ceiling, and we never again could have things quite as good as they had been. Well, don't you believe it. My generation, and those other generations I mentioned, we have a sacred trust — and we’re going to fill that trust. And that is to see that when the time comes to turn the reins over to you, we’re going to turn over to you a country that is free in a world that is at peace. And it will be a country in which you can dare to dream and know that you can make your dreams come true. All of us together are just part of a great revolution, and it’s a revolution that’s only just begun. America will never go — give up, will never go back — never. We were born to be a special place between the two great oceans, with a unique mission to carry freedom's message. To a tired, disillusioned world, we have always been a light of hope where all things are possible. I’ve seen in my lifetime America do the impossible” [emphasis added].
All throughout history, our national heroes have embraced faith as the animating spirit behind their impossible deeds.
And what, exactly, was that faith? Abraham Lincoln put it best: “Let us have faith that right makes might; and in that faith let us dare to do our duty as we understand it.”
So, is Convention of States “impossible”? Maybe. But that doesn’t deter me one bit. It certainly doesn’t dissuade the grassroots. After all, we are not descended from fearful men. We are descended from faithful dreamers, pioneers, and pilgrims who, like Lincoln, dared to do their duty no matter how daunting it may have seemed.
Now, it’s our turn.
America is slowly losing its faith. But maybe that’s because we haven’t witnessed the impossible in far too long.
At this critical juncture in our history, pulling off the first-ever Article V convention is simply the most American thing we can do. Indeed, by doing so, we can, perhaps, revive the faith of the Puritans, Normandy crusaders, and pioneers. The critics and bystanders will swear it’s impossible. But with God’s help — for we cannot do it without Him — we can prove them wrong.
Sign the petition today to get started!
