Our Republic is in serious trouble. The Framers would not recognize our government and they would not have tolerated the current level to which our fundamental rights have been derogated.
Promoters of an Article V Convention
The promoters of an Article V convention (PAC) to change our federal Constitution blame our current dilemma on corrupt politicians in Washington, D.C. who do not follow the Constitution.[i] Their good news is that such is not “We the People’s” fault and we do not need to worry about personally changing to correct our situation because they, through our state politicians, will correct the problem in an Article V Convention.
They are talking to “itch[y] ears”,[ii] which abound, and promise “hope and change”.
It is true that we have corrupt politicians in D.C. and they are not following the Constitution, but that is not the “root evil” but merely a symptom.
The PAC’s solution is nonsensical. They tell the people that all will be okay if we merely allow the Constitution to be re-written, as if the corrupt politicians, who have not honored their sacred and solemn oath to support the Constitution, will all of a sudden be turned into statesmen if presented with yet a new “supreme” law to “interpret” or ignore.
The Real “Root Evil” Affecting the Republic
The root evil that has brought us to this ruinous condition is that we as individuals (not as the “We the People” collective) are not upholding our patriotic and moral obligation as the sovereigns of this Republic. In our laziness, we have allowed ourselves to be overtaken by ignorance such that we no longer understand the fundamental principles of our Republic or Liberty, and that it is only through our active involvement in holding our elected officials accountable when they violate their solemn oath to support the Constitution that we will retain our God-given Liberty.
Our ignorant and corrupt politicians, who come from among us, do not understand the fundamental principles of our Republic any more than we do. Many believe that all federal enactments are “law” unless a court or even the Supreme Court holds otherwise. This is absolutely false and has been established law in this country for over TWO HUNDRED years! Many legislators, both state and federal, have told me, in response to a Constitution question by me, that “I am not an attorney,” or worse, “I am not a Constitutional attorney.” The Constitution was written for the “average person” or “voter”. This has also been established for two hundred years.
Freemen have been down this road before but we refuse to learn the lesson they were taught. Against the advice of their leader and God himself the people of Israel insisted on a “king”. [iii] They were told, among other things, “… When that day comes [the brutality of the king], you will cry out for relief from the king you have chosen, but the Lord will not answer you in that day.”
Note God, like any good father, told them in advance not to expect Him to rush in to save them from a situation He had advised them against getting into. I think we are in the same situation.
We are Abdicating our Sovereign Authority
Individually, we have abdicated our sovereign status to our elected officials i.e., we have asked for a “king,” through our ignorance and lack of honest participation in our government. Honest participation is not buying into the GOP vs. Democrat, or left vs. right, false paradigm. If you practice “no -fault republicanism” and / or the philosophy of “the lesser of two evils” you have contributed to the decline of the Republic.
Gov. Brownback
Many “conservatives” in Kansas blindly support Gov. Brownback even though he has demonstrated a willingness to lie to the citizens as evidenced by his campaigning against Obamacare while taking a federal grant to bring it to Kansas. He is the biggest supporter of Sustainable Development in Kansas. He is a support of illegal immigrants as evidenced by his administration’s support for the Full Employment for Illegal Aliens Act. These “conservatives” have not held him to account and therefore have given him sovereign status, i.e., he gets to make the rules.
Kris Kobach
Many support Secretary of State Kris Kobach but have not held him to account for his support of the PATRIOT Act which gutted the 4th amendment, or the citizen detention provisions of the 2012 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) which violated over half the Bill of Rights. Kris went so far as to help kill and anti-NDAA resolution at the 2012 GOP convention in Tampa. (See video.)
He advised Arizona to respond to a federal lawsuit, filed against it over its immigration bill, SB-1070, which was unconstitutionally filed in a federal District Court. States, based on their sovereign status, may only be sued in the U.S. Supreme Court. (See Article III §2 cl. 2.) He said it was a “strategic decision” not to assert this sovereign right. No, it was a violation of his oath to support the Constitution as were his actions regarding the PATRIOT Act and NDAA.
Even now he is spreading misrepresentations in support of the Article V movement. He uses the deceptive term “Convention of States” to describe the Article V convention. There is no such thing under Article V, which calls for a federal convention. This term was recently development by PAC as a branding device.
On 2/20/14 he told the Olathe GOP that liberals were not involved in the Article V movement and didn’t even know what Article V was. (See video.) This is a real whooper. One of the main proponents of this current Article V campaign is a liberal Harvard Law professor who co-hosted the “Conference on the Constitutional Convention” with Tea Party Patriots’ Mark Meckler. It was a who’s who in the progressive movement. Move to Amend Coalition is a progressive coalition with over 400 member organizations, many sponsored by George Soros.
A Moral Response to the Republic Condition
Being a free sovereign entails a lot of responsibility. As the adage goes “Freedom is not free.” It takes a lot of hard work and constant diligence.
Under our individual patriotic and moral duty we may not entrust our Liberty to others. It is our duty to defend the Constitution and to insist it be followed.
Jesus on the Cross
I have heard over and over “but no one will hold the politicians accountable.” The Framers set up the Republic so the citizens were ultimately in charge of upholding the Constitution. They did so not out of convenience but because they believed that was the only way to protect our Liberty. I agree. So what happens if we don’t uphold our duty?
This presents to the Republic, really to us as individuals, what I call a “Jesus on the cross” moment.
Jesus was crucified between two criminals. As all three suffered the pains of death, one of the criminals mocked Jesus. The other criminal rebuked the first and asked Christ for forgiveness and was forgiven.[iv]
There does come a point where the last chance, the last hope presents itself. Just like the mocking criminal, if it is not taken, one’s faith is sealed. So, what happened to the mocking criminal who had one last chance to accept Christ and seek forgiveness and refused? I suspect he went to Hell just as the Republic will if we do not uphold our moral obligations.
Conclusion
In the final analysis we need to ask ourselves will we stand around and Hope for Change from a political process being orchestrated by political operatives and the billionaire boys club, or will we, through Faith, act with Courage and stop accepting politicians who do not know or follow the principles of this Republic regardless if they call themselves Republican or conservative?
I am not here to change your mind but only to remove your plausible deniability.
Richard D. Fry
General Counsel
Footnotes
[i] Actually, they have once again changed their message and now say the politicians are following the Constitution as “interpreted” rather than as written. An absurd point I will take up another time.
[ii] For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.2 Timothy 4:3-4
[iii] 1 Samuel 8:1-22
[iv] Luke 23:32-43