A Guest Editorial by Mary Nantell Pearce
“Resolved, that these United Colonies are, and of the right to be, free and independent states!”, from Independence Resolution, July 4, 1776. With these words from our Founding Fathers, the thirteen colonies became, with the stroke of a pen, thirteen states, free and independent of England. Happy 4th of July to all of you reading this.
We celebrate this July 4, 2018, not only the formation of the Declaration of Independence from England, 1776, but also the establishment of our Constitution, 1789 as well as our beloved Bill of Rights, 1791. This all became possible as the Framers moved carefully over an almost fifteen year period to bring in new territories, carved out the old Northwest Territory and other territories western and southern, to ratify the Constitution and become new states. Over time we became the union of states. There is no country in the world set up this way. We were an experiment that became unique. Our life blood is Democracy (from the Greek, Demos, people and Kratia, rule). In America the people rule. The people vote. E Pluribus Unum, Latin for, as the framers would say, “Out of Many, One”.
We live and breathe freedom on this day because of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States of America. Freedom is the reason our grandparents and great grandparents came to America, from all over the world. They wanted to participate in the experiment and live and breathe freedom.
Because of the freedoms and rules set forth in the Constitution, no dictator, has arisen out of its foundation. The three branches of government exist coequally, with all important checks and balances on the other branches. We took our freedoms to heart in World War II and assembled a massive Army, Navy, 8th Army Air, and Marines who squashed the dictators, Hitler (Germany), Mussolini (Italy) and Hirohito (the Sun King of Japan) . With our Allies we defeated these monsters soundly.
The far right Koch convention of the states, also known as “CON CON”, will shred what we have held so close to our hearts for over 230 years. The Constitution written and rewritten by the Framers from 1787-1791 is precious to us on this day and every day. The far right radical Kochs will change the Constitution and force our government to become the very tyrannical, oppressive, small minded autocracy we fought against. George Washington took a ragtag Army of Volunteers from each new state and defeated the greatest army/navy in the world at that time. The Kochs and the far right strategy they are using will create the very evil we fought against 230 years ago. The Kochs want a small government, starved of power, run by privatized agencies. Corporations will govern our country. This is the CON CON position.
We are against the convention of the states, rewriting our beloved constitution from stem to stern! We want no convention of the states (NO CON CON) to change our great constitution. We want no part of squeezing the life out of our government under the guise of creating a balanced budget. No privatization of anything (schools run by charters; Air Traffic Control; VA; eliminate (Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security; FAA, EPA, CHIP – Children Health Insurance; welfare, food stamps, and all national parks). Corporations must not run our all important agencies, i.e. US Postal Service; Amtrak; TVA (the Tennessee Valley Authority). No corporate, privatized constitution for our United States of America.
We at saveourconstitution.info are against billionaire brothers who think they have the right to speak for “we the people”. We are against ALEC, the American Legislative Exchange Council, who works and lobbies state legislatures for the Kochs. If we do not stop them, this is what will happen. The Kochs will become architects of a new privatized nation. They will mandate that whatever government is left will balance its budget. The Kochs intend to squeeze the Federal Government until it suffocates. Corporations will run former government agencies and public schools. There is more not written about here, but you get the idea. The states will have to manage themselves. CON CONs want to throwback to the Articles of Confederation, an “each state for themselves” theory that did not work when we were a small country and will definitely not work in a country of 330 million people.
Use amendment power to change the Constitution. DO NOT REWRITE THE CONSTITUTION, amend it, one amendment at a time when necessary. No to convention of states to rewrite our constitution, NO REWRITE – NO CON CON – Let no Koch brother tear us asunder.
No to a convention of the states to rewrite our Constitution. NO CON CON. “We the People” must stand strong against the people who are trying to destroy this country. We have created the perfect system that has stood through Civil War, World wars and peace for over 230 years. We must save our Constitution from those who would destroy it. We will not tolerate such an abomination as is being proposed and what is the far right reality before us today. No convention of the states under Koch control for any reason! NO CON CON.
For more information go to our website at: http://saveourconstitution.info/
Mary Nantell Pearce: I am a descendant of the fierce French resistors who fought Hitler in France during WW ll. I taught History, Literature to Junior High and High School students for over 20 years. Twitter: @mary_nantell
I cannot believe what has happened to this country in the year since I wrote the No Con Con position paper , against the Libertarian Koch Brothers’ efforts to REWRTE our beloved Constitution.
America is celebrating its birthday, July 4, 2019, with a parade sponsored by Donald Trump, complete with military tanks, fly overs by the Air Force , and plenty of adoration of Trump, the malignant narcissist who decided to make the 4th of July , 2019, all about himself! These kinds of parades belong in Russia, China and North Korea! Places where Authoritarian Dictators rule countries.
Trumps parade is not about America, or freedom or Democracy. It is about POWER. Trump’s power to dominate other countries, our nation’s immigrants, NATO, and agendas in European and Middle Eastern countries.
Trump is consolidating power in the American Presidency, the Executive Branch to the exclusion of Congress, the co equal Legislative Branch. Trump uses the Judicial Branch to legally rubber stamp his policies to trample on immigrants at our border with Mexico. The enclosures and conditions in which the immigrant children are kept are inhumane and deplorable.
Trump is finagling to have the Judiciary rubber stamp his ideas to put citizenship on the census, for the sole purpose of gerrymandering districts to control elections in favor of himself and Republicans in 2020!
Conditions this July 4th are far worse than we anticipated in our writings of only a year ago.
The Constitution is still under threat but, so is Democracy, the life blood of America. Trump is threatening to turn us into what we fought against in The Revolutionary War ! An AUTOCRATIC , Authoritarian , Undemocratic form of Government.
We did not have to worry about the Koch Brothers destroying our Democracy! We watched Trump tear our Democracy asunder all by himself, in four years, then celebrate that fact with a parade in honor of himself. Despicable! Mary Nantell Pearce, July 4, 2019.
Qphotonyc! I responded to last year’s post with a new on from this year. Hope it passes muster. The New post talks of Trump’s July 4 celebration this year, 2019. I discuss Trump’s creeping Authoritarianism, The Parade to honor himself, etc. Hope you find it satisfactory to publish. Sincerely, Mary Nantell Pearce.