Title: Taking a Bold Stand

Original CoS Document (slug): [[https://conventionofstates.com/taking-a-bold-stand|taking-a-bold-stand]]

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Created: 2024-09-28 13:45:01

Updated: 2024-10-06 03:00:00

Published: 2024-09-29 01:00:00

Converted: 2025-04-14T21:33:27.473287213


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We often tend to take the freedoms we enjoy in America for granted, not thinking of the bravery it took for our founding Fathers to establish self-governance in the New World. Four hundred years ago, our forefathers put aside their fears of the unknown and laid the groundwork for the republic that was established 200 years later by the US Constitution.

We now have the opportunity to put aside fear and trust the process our Founders gave us to address the issues we face today.

In 1620, 102 passengers and crew left Plymouth England for the purpose of starting a new colony in Virginia. One can only imagine the feelings of those early colonists, the Pilgrims. Some, I’m sure, were excited because of the adventure of the voyage. Others felt sadness in leaving behind families they would never see again. 

When food ran low and they saw fellow passengers die, some probably felt depression.  It is  safe to say that many felt fear - fear of the hostile seas and fear of the unknown.

When the Mayflower finally arrived after a three month journey, I imagine there was a general feeling of relief and of thanks to God for a safe voyage.

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History tells us that this small group of early colonists decided that it was their right to choose their own government and that they wrote a compact describing such a plan. History does not, however, tell us how these individual men felt about signing their names to the document. I can imagine that there were those who were fearful of putting their names on such a document for fear of what the king might do to them when he found out.

Forty-one of the passengers, however, overcame any fears they may have had and signed the first governing document of the Plymouth Colony, the Mayflower Compact.  Their signatures said that the people had the right to govern themselves.       

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Fast-forward to today - state legislators have the opportunity to give their support to an Article V convention which would give the states the power and authority to propose amendments to deal with the issues facing us today and stemming from Washington, DC: the debt and spending crisis, limiting the scope and power of the federal government, and imposing term limits on federal officials.

Do these legislators listen to baseless fear espoused by those who cannot see a God-given opportunity, and do those legislators then refuse to support such a convention because they are worried about what might happen? Or do they demonstrate the boldness of the Pilgrims and stand for the future of self-governance by supporting an Article V Convention, seeing it for what it is: the opportunity our Founders gave We the People to address our nation's problems?

I am thankful to have had one of my forebears to be bold and forward-thinking enough to sign his name to the Mayflower Compact. I am also thankful to come from a state where our legislators were bold enough to pass the Convention of States resolution so that we will be able to use the gift our Founders gave us, the Article V convention option, to propose amendments to the Constitution that will get us back to our founding principles.

 

You may support the Convention of States Article V project by signing our petition at conventionofstates.com. 

//The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of Convention of States Action, its staff, or affiliates.//