No Longer Asking For Change...

Hi all. Before I get on with what I have to say, let me introduce myself. This is my first post and I have lurked for about two years on this site without ever making an account. So I'm somewhat familiar with what to expect from the replies, but will go ahead with this anyway. This isn't for my ego, or to give anyone a fuzzy "optimistic" feeling. This is sincerely what needs to happen. Just a little introduction.

With support of this mortgage bailout at only 7% of the American public, one has to wonder why Congress has engaged in so many underhanded tactics to try to ram this bill down our throats through some "compromise" or another. More corporate welfare. More bureaucracy. But this isn't the only matter that public support has overwhelmingly responded against the establishment's cookie-cutter solution. Illegal institutions. Harmful regulation. Deceptive trade-offs. The only person more important to your Congressmen than you is that nice young lady from the logging industry with a check for twenty-grand and a few hours to spare.

When a government no longer fulfills the needs of the people, Jefferson suggested it must be abolished immediately- if not through peaceful activism, then a bloody revolution. We've all heard this quote in our history classes before, but how many of us have actually tried applying it to our present situation? Come on! With public support of this Congress that promised "change" in 2006 now at all-time single-digit lows, there's certainly a good case for SOME kind of action. I can't even begin to share with you the overwhelming amounts of grassroots efforts with such rudimentary solutions to the problem. Oh, let's all go out and fire Congress. Every incumbent must go! I hardly need to explain to you why this fails at even the most basic level of logic.

But, short of a full-scale violent revolution, as Jefferson urged us, what can we, the measly, taxpaying citizenry of this country, hope to ever accomplish? What's the problem with that plan to begin with? I'll tell you: you're thinking way too small, friends. The first response is in our Constitution. You know, that ancient, immortalized scrap of parchment that somehow was meant to dictate the infinite wisdom collected by our founding fathers and was effectively buried by the Patriot Act? That old thing?I've got something to tell you about it.

It was during a Pennsylvanian summer of 1787, in the typical hot, arid weather that subverts man's intellect and reason for aggression and hostility. For four months, 55 delegates from the first 13 colonies had gathered in Philadelphia to discuss much-needed revisions to the now obsolete document known as the Articles of Confederation. The Articles were found unworkable under the intention that federal government centralize the functions and duties of the individual states. As they delved into the subject, it became clear to them that there was no simple solution to remedy their problems.

From the ashes of the Articles, they then set about forging the document that would become America's hallmark the world over, upon a unique system of checks and balances to limit corruption and collusion of power in our federal government. Whether they went far enough or not would set me afield, but the intention was admirable, nevertheless. Wary of giving any one branch of power monopoly over the fate of the nation, they foresaw a need in which central power might inevitably be unresponsive to needs of the States and the People. And it was through this amazing foresight that in Article V, to this day, the States are able to summon a constitutional convention. My friends, the problem does not lie in Wall Street, but with our leaders. Fortunately, the Congressional remedy has already been spelled out for us. If you sincerely wish to stop the bleeding, kill the infection, AND heal the damage all at once, this is your best shot.


(Pt 2 next post...)

Now I suppose I've already lost half of you on a cliche build-up while you were reminiscing about your high school government class, but the preacher's finished talking. I'm sorry. Those left reading, on the other hand, will immediately attempt to rationalize away such an approach away as much too drastic or guaranteed to fail. And the questions begin to pour, almost with a resentful tone. But what would we even do? How can we expect to come up with better solutions than our fellow statesmen who have spent their whole lives at this? Doesn't a convention mean everything's on the table? How can we be sure we don't make the current situation worse? And the greatest of all:why hasn't there been one convention since 1787?

I know it seems I've thrown mixed messages at you. I knocked "Fire Congress" directly as impractical. It is. I stand by that statement 100%. Traditional activism, rallying, and protests makes no difference in this country anymore. The right to assembly is guaranteed, but what has it demonstrated more often than not? That a few trade unions or industry groups can peddle their influence in Washington with a suitcase full of C-notes? When 80% of Americans believe that the country is not heading in the right direction, both the President and Congress suffer from the lowest approval ratings in history, and yet the upcoming presidential race remains a dead heat, it gives me confidence that this can work. That they're willing to try things. Whether or not something has been done before should not be the deciding factor in whether we try to affect real change or not. This is America. As long as we're socializing risk here, I think one thing we can all partake in is a constitutional convention. Too long have we waited.

Scholars and critics, step up. Now is your turn to warn us about all the destructive potential we have to make things worse. We've heard this doom and gloom before, and we know you already have a pessimistic taste in your mouth for your fellow Americans. We're not fooled. Also, nowhere do we have to open our whole document to constant vivisection through a limited convention. If you're so leary of the idea, I'd like to hear you all propose alternatives rather than fall back into apathy.

Some of you may recall during the early 80's, there was a great movement to balance the budget through constitutional means, and the movement almost succeeded with just two short states to go. There had been two other close instances earlier on in the century. What happened? Congress got its act together of course. Only when the gun was against their head did they go along with the will of the American people. Of course, this is the nature of things, and we can only imagine the state we would be in had Congress not co-opted the issue.That is what will naturally happen unless we insist upon it! It is a historical fact.

Still with me and still think this suggestion is too extreme? I know I'm not the only one that feels this way. We don't need compromise now! This is a time to mobilize! Don't fall for the partisan way of burying pressing matters dead. You are all Americans first. Not Democrats. Not Republicans. Not black, white, Asian, Hispanic, lawyers, doctors, teachers, soldiers, or whatever! The only approvable special interest our politicians should be working for is the American people. They haven't seen lobbying yet. The answer isn't in hamstringing each other. It's in fighting government corruption.

Please go. Make this happen. We need it more than ever. Don't fool yourselves into putting this off any longer. The longer you sit here thinking about it, the more the apathy sinks in. Waiting for others to fix it for you is how we got in this mess. And stop preaching to the choir. You all know to some extent what the true problem is already.

Get the word out. Get it to your State Representative. And then get it to Washington that it's time to convene. Thank you.


[edit on 29-9-2008 by SpencerJ]