Convention would propose changes to U.S. Constitution

To the editor:

You may have heard U.S. Rep. Nancy Pelosi talking about a Constitutional Convention and other members of Congress who perhaps have not read their job descriptions.

Pelosi may want a Constitutional Convention if only to repeal all the inconvenient “rights” claimed by the public. What is now being proposed is not a Constitutional Convention, but an Amendment Convention called by the state legislatures for the purpose of proposing amendments to the Constitution. Article 5 of the U.S. Constitution gives them the authority to do so.

Unlike previous attempts to reign in the federal government, this call to action is not about a single issue. All the applications for a convention must have the same subject matter, but the topic has been left deliberately broad. It is not restricted to term limits or abolishing unfunded mandates; the subject is proposing amendments to limit the power and jurisdiction of the federal government.

Please note that there are many people and groups who stand to lose real power if the convention is successful. Think about it for a while and I am sure you could come up with a list of those who would directly or indirectly have their power and influence sharply curtailed. Some of them are in government, others are in positions of influence around government, and all of them stand to loose not the appearance of power, but power itself. Expect real opposition.

Right now we have elites who have claimed the power to order our lives to their satisfaction. They can mostly say or do whatever they want and exempt themselves from any laws they impose on us. They have gotten away with pretty much anything up to and including murder — and the execution of an American citizen without due process counts even if he were a terrorist. They seem to think that you have rights to life, liberty and pursuit of happiness only if it is the happiness that they have planned for you and they don’t seriously want you dead.

In their eyes, due process does not mean someone advocates on your behalf, but that a secret court rubber-stamps fishing trips into your electronic communications without a real warrant that is specific to what they are looking for, where they are allowed to look and why they have reason to think it is there. The IRS has been weaponized. The U.S. Attorney General said publicly that he thinks his job is political, and he is obviously not interested in investigating the people on his side. With so much power up for grabs, how long can we count on being lucky? Sooner or later, someone with no morals will tell pretty lies to get elected and use the tools available to pursue their own goals. We do not have a good track record on removing people from power when they abuse it. How far would some people go to get or keep that kind of power?

This Amendment Convention was designed to bypass the people it is to reign in. Short of civil war, it is our last best hope for reigning in this out-of-control government, and the alternative if we do not reign it in is a continued descent into serfdom. How bad would things have to get before our great-grandchildren decide death is better than slavery and that civil war is not too great a price to pay to be free?

Some may question the validity of the slippery slope argument. The fact that something can happen — is happening — can hardly be proof that it will stop. What will make it stop? People do not usually give up real power voluntarily. The few times it has happened were notable enough to be recorded in history and involved an individual surrendering power, not a group.

Many people in all parties would like to see one or another amendment passed. Will you welcome someone from another party that you disagree with on almost everything, except (insert important issue here)? The thing is that even if 20 or more amendments are proposed and only one or two get broad enough support to pass, it will be worth it. Spend an hour or so kicking ideas around.

If you could tell your representatives what you and your friends want, what would it be? What is most important and what would be nice to have? How might you word it? Be serious and give it some thought, talk with some other people about it. How many things are on your list and what are they? Let’s get together and do this.

Debra Heston

Palmer

Stationed with the military

Honolulu, Hawaii