Chicago. The Windy City. This great city connects the Midwest with virtually anywhere else in the United States.
Once upon a time, it was a tiny, rural town whose industry expanded so rapidly, architects built the city up with inexpensive structures made of the most abundant resource in the area—wood.
Unfortunately, this set up the tightly packed city for one of the greatest tragedies it would ever experience.
The Great Chicago Fire of 1871
No one knows how it started. Legend blames a cow owned by a farming family, the O’Leary’s. It could have been a drunk on the street or a careless kid with a match.
Whatever the case, Chicago burned to the ground overnight. What was once a thriving epicenter of banks, law offices, hotels, and department stores, was now in ruins. 300 lives lost, 17,000 buildings burned, and business ground to a near halt.
When the damage was assessed, the survivors refused to give up on their city. Architects, merchants, and bankers poured in, bringing resources and a new product called steel. Citizens pitched in and business moved forward as they slowly rebuilt the city, they loved to call home.
So what on earth does this tragedy-turned-triumph have to do with Article V and the Convention of States?
Three Lessons Come to Mind
1. Chicago got out of hand. They moved so fast, building up their industry that they neglected the protections and boundaries that would have kept their city safe and prosperous. Likewise, our government has gotten out of hand.
We’ve taken shortcuts, and the government has taken advantage of our vulnerability. What we once counted on to protect and defend our liberties is now blazing through them with all the force of a raging fire. What will be left when the flames have nothing more to burn?
2. The citizens didn’t look at the devastation and throw up their hands in despair. They assessed the damage, gathered their resources, and got to work.
That is what the Convention of States is doing as a grassroots movement. We’ve assessed the devastation caused by government overreach and greedy politicians, begun gathering our resources and people fully committed to the cause of freedom, and are going to work.
3. Chicago came back stronger than ever after the blaze. An entire city bonded together with a common goal and purpose, rebuilding what they’d lost. COS has bonded people together to take back our liberty and power and restore what our government has destroyed.
Our Rallying Cry
We’re watching our nation burn to the ground, and we need to get our hands dirty putting out the blaze. We need to be ready to rise from the ashes and find our common purpose.
Will we look at the devastation, not as the end of all things, but as a new beginning?
Will we restore what has been lost and come back stronger than we’ve ever been?
Will we learn from our mistakes, learn from our history, and learn from the Founders, who were attempting to do what no other empire or government had done before?
Will we accept that challenge and stay the course, even when all hope seems lost?
What Can You Do to Fight This Fire in Washington?
1. Sign the Petition in your state. We need 34 states to call a Convention of States. Join over three million people who have already added their names to the fight.
2. Get involved. There are dozens of ways to join the fight. Volunteer opportunities abound here.
3. Call your legislators. Our politicians work for us, and we need to remind them of that regularly.
