I am taking an online course through Hillsdale College, one of the few really conservative institutions left in the U.S. today. The course is “The American Left: From Liberalism to Despotism.” I am reading a hardcopy of “War on The American Republic” by Kevin Slack, one of the Hillsdale professors associated with the course.
In the introduction to the book, he spells out very succinctly where we are today: "the ideas that most Americans had tolerated as absurd and relegated to academia – transgenderism, anti-white racism, censorship, cronyism- are now endorsed and carried out at the highest levels of political power. What formerly were the ideals of the radical Left are now the policies of an entire cosmopolitan class that includes much of the entrenched bureaucracy, the military, the media, and government-sponsored corporations. It seems there is little that can be done.”
That last sentence is troubling, to say the least. Since I am only beginning the book, I am anxious to see if an Article V Convention is a part of that “little.”
He does identify the crux of the problem though…academia. It begins with how we are defined as a nation. The founding fathers went to great lengths, after studying the forms of successful governments throughout history to that point, to create a Republic and not a democracy. To my knowledge, the word democracy cannot be found in the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution or any other of the founders documents.
The preponderance of democracy’s use, in the lexicon of ever evolving terms used in the media today, would have a master of propaganda, Joseph Goebbels, smiling. “It would not be impossible to prove with sufficient repetition and a psychological understanding of the people concerned that a square is in fact a circle.”
Which brings us to problematic player number two, per Mr. Goebbels. “Think of the press as a great keyboard on which the government can play.”
And government, beginning in the early 1900’s via the progressive movement’s nurturing of the bureaucracy and the media, has learned to play us very well.
“Make the lie big, make it simple, keep saying it, and eventually they will believe it.”- Ibid J. Goebbels
Hence, the prevailing belief in society today that we are a democracy. The square is now believed to be a circle. It is not, but it is now almost impossible to change that perception.
Quite simply, in a democracy the majority of citizens get their way. The founding fathers realized that the average citizen was not well informed enough to allow majority rule. Hence, as an example, Senators were chosen by, supposedly better informed state legislatures, until the progressives in 1913 ratified the 17th Amendment and gave that responsibility to the majority of citizens, i.e. democratic rule. It’s pretty much been downhill since then.
Consequently, the Promise of America, “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness” has been all but forgotten by the masses. Life has become a series of “they want to do what?” Liberties are in short supply and being infringed on daily. Hence, happiness is on life support, except for children and grandchildren. Academia and the press are pretty much a lost cause.
We can, however, do something about rehabilitating the Republic. An Article V Convention to address term limits on federal officials, encourage fiscal responsibility, and reign in out of control federal power would go a long way in restoring “The Promise Of America.”
Bottom line is…to paraphrase Smokey, “only you can prevent the demise of the Republic.”
For more information on the process of an Article V Convention of States and to sign the petition, click here.
Physicians for COS
The diagnosis is clear.
We have a growing cancer today known as the Obamacare. As a result physicians are no longer free to practice medicine.No profession feels the full force of the federal government more than physicians. The medical profession is the most highly regulated profession in the United States. The practice of medicine is controlled, taxed, and regulated to the point of being destroyed by the heavy hand of the federal government.
Physicians are told how to bill, how much to charge, and how to treat patients. They are mandated to use expensive electronic medical records. The federally enacted HIPPA (Health Information Privacy and Portability Act) makes the communication between physicians and atients burdensome, inefficient,and expensive. Every physician is required by federal mandate to register with the government to obtain an NPI (national provider identifier.) We are required by federal law to obtain and pay for a license to prescribe medication through the DEA, which is separate from our state licensure.
This heavy hand of government not only oversees the largest federal health bureaucracy ever created, but by extension reaches into every state, every city, and every small town to regulate how every licensed physician practices the art of medicine and how citizens obtain care.
The treatment is also clear.
The prescription for a cure was written into our constitution by our founders. Article V of our constitution allows for the states to call for a convention of states to limit the power and jurisdiction of the federal government through the proposal of constitutional amendments. Physicians should be the strongest supporters of this brilliantly-crafted states’ rights tool placed into our constitution by our founders.
I urge my fellow American physicians to join with me in supporting an Article V Convention of States to take back control of the practice of medicine. It’s the only way that we can return the practice of medicine back to the intimate relationship between a doctor and patient without interference by the heavy hand of a distant, national government.
Jeffrey I. Barke, M.D. Family Physician Newport Beach, CA