Convention of States – We Will Persevere

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Over the past 120 years, the officials in various branches of government have told us that the United States Constitution is a “living document”. The argument goes that the Colonial Americans could never have envisioned the automobile, the airplane, or the modern computer – so it should be natural that our government keep up with the times. On impulse this seems true; but if you were to stop and consider you would see one object that is constant through time – us (people).

The United States Constitution was based on the ideas proclaimed in the Declaration of Independence: self-evident truths that are not tied to one generation and immune to another. Human behavior, also dubbed human nature, is fixed by observation and by philosophical accounts. Technology doesn’t improve humans, and human government can’t improve humans. Each account to the contrary, through literature and philosophy, has presented the problems that plague a people who try to perfect themselves from a group level down. This is an overarching opinion of the scholars hailing from the time leading up to the American Revolution; hard to argue they were wrong? The preamble of the U.S. Constitution states that to “secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity”; posterity meaning all future generations – not just for a few generations to come.

The establishment of the national administration during the early 1900’s was the original broadcaster of this “living document” discourse. The intent of this was to discredit the idea that human nature was fixed – immune from expert influence. The ironic fact is that the Framers did understand that the needs of government would have to change, but in a vast degree it was best left to the federated jurisdictions and not a central authority. This was the driving force behind Article V – the means to amend the Constitution. The statute allows for two paths to amend the Constitution: the first is through the federal Congress and the second is through the States. An unfortunate truth about human nature is that history has shown that we have a greater propensity to rule over each other than we do to live in relative freedom and independence. The Progressive and Liberal movements in the United States are of this kind – each having used the national administration, consisting of both political parties, to go against the notion that the people know best how to run their own lives. To do so effectively, the legitimate process of Constitutional amendments had to be ignored – because this process required general acceptance of the people, not just the narrow special interests in Washington D.C. Instead our government has chosen a path away from constitutional amendments. Our government has exploited specific constitutional clauses to be “living” interpretations to what the State needs at the time to advance its interests, a separation from the original charter of our national government.

It is logical to assume that this same movement will not limit its own power and bind its own jurisdiction. This is precisely why there are two paths to amend the Constitution. The second path—amendments through the states – assumes that elected federal officials do not align themselves with the will of the people. Recent Congressional approval ratings are around 9%; how clear can it be that they are operating on their own interests. It is time that the people of the United States of America act on their opinion of Congress. It is time that the scale of power be balanced and brought more in line with a civil society – where the individual has more authority over their own lives. There is such an organization that believes in those same virtues. Citizens for Self-Governance is a national organization that has started a project to bring about the limitation of federal authority. The Convention of States project has formed state leadership teams to energize citizens at the state level all across the United States. The great State of Kansas has a leadership team in place to spearhead this movement. To get involved visit our website and the Kansas COS Facebook Page. The true power lies with us – the greatest expression of human freedom, The United States of America, will persevere because together our country can be restored to glory. It starts in Kansas!

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