"If Congress can employ money indefinitely, for the general welfare, and are the sole and supreme judges of the general welfare, they may take the care of religion into their own hands; they may appoint teachers in every state, county, and parish, and pay them out of the public treasury; they may take into their own hands the education of children, the establishing in like manner schools throughout the union; they may assume the provision of the poor.... Were the power of Congress to be established in the latitude contended for, it would subvert the very foundations, and transmute the very nature of the limited government established by the people of America." -James Madison
We’re living in the middle of Madison’s warning.
We don’t know how it will all turn out. Mike Ruiz, on the other hand, does. He’s had the “benefit” of living in the middle of an all-powerful government, and he is trying desperately to warn us of what is to come.
Mike is a volunteer with the Convention of States Project and a Michigan Army National Guard veteran. He lived in Venezuela from 1975-1977, just after the government nationalized the steel and oil industries, stripping them from the private sector and eventually making personal property illegal for all practical purposes. The result was a predictable disaster for the Venezuelan people at the hands of leftist authoritarians.
According to Ruiz, the middle class was non-existent, and most of Venezuela consisted of the very rich and the very poor. However, the Ruiz family worked for an American automobile company so they were treated well, living in a pleasant gated community with a live-in maid. Ruiz’s wise mother asked their maid to take them to visit her village so her young son Mike could appreciate all the United States offered to its citizens …
“I was only ten years old, but the sights and smells will always be with me. There were children around my age completely naked, shoeless, filthy - chasing rats around and killing them with sticks. I remember asking the maid why they were doing this, and she said (in broken English) ‘There is no food for them, so they kill the rats and bring them back to their parents to cook to eat.’”
He continues:
“There were only three stations on TV, all of which were controlled by the government. We had daily lockdowns from 7 pm to 7 am, and in school, we had to stand/sing for the Venezuelan National Anthem, with our right hand over our hearts while staring at a picture of President Carlos Perez – No sitting it out was allowed! We were always terrified by the power of their Military Police! They could do anything to anyone in the streets without consequences.”
That vivid image of what socialism does to people stayed with Ruiz for decades, until earlier this year, when the tyranny of his own U.S. federal government compelled him to do something.
“The current state of our country seems to be spiraling into a mix of Socialism and Communism. So, I started looking for Conservative organizations to join to make a difference, and I found COS on Facebook then filled out the Petition and decided to join after reading what they were all about.”
Today, Mike volunteers as a Social Media Warrior, finding, writing, and sharing posts that illustrate the dire need for a Convention of States to rein in the federal government. He is considering exploring other roles in the future too, such as District Captain. In this role, he would be responsible for interacting with his House and Senate representatives in the State Legislature, holding Town Hall meetings to educate his fellow citizens, and creating a grassroots army of dedicated, informed patriots to stand up to any government that dares to threaten the liberties of his fellow citizens.
And what are his hopes for his beloved United States of America? “I want the USA to go back to the way of ‘One nation under God with liberty and justice for all."
The delegates to the Constitutional Convention and state ratification conventions foresaw a time when the federal government might breach the Constitution’s limits and begin oppressing the people. The Framers provided a method in Article V for We the People to take back the power from Washington, and the Convention of States Project is putting their solution into action!
As they often say at COS: “A Solution as Big as The Problem.”
Congress will never make the hard decisions to keep from bankrupting our children and our grandchildren. It is the responsibility of We The People to take charge.
James Madison was speaking to the Mike Ruiz’s of our time.
Is he speaking to you?
If so, look at the Convention of States website, sign the Petition that allows us to go around Congress and the President and limit federal jurisdiction, spending, and the terms of all federal elected officials, bureaucrats and judges, and get active! Check out these additional resources too:
Convention of States process (3-min video):
FAQ's: https://conventionofstates.com/frequently-asked-questions
COS needs patriots like Mike Ruiz to save the country from becoming another communist nightmare.
Sign up here and do your part.
