A continuing series of discussions of Mark Levin’s new book,
The Liberty Amendments: Restoring the American Republic
(Discussion #8 – Naysayers)
I’m traveling this week, so you are spared my usual lengthy ramble.
This week Mark Levin pointed out on his radio program that many Conservatives have taken up the cause. But at the same time, many are engaging in the sport of naysaying. We also see among the progressive caucus of Republicans an attempt to marginalize not only the Tea Party types, but anyone claiming the Consititution has meaning.
But among general naysayers, we’ve seen the same concepts again and again over the past several weeks: people confusing the Article Five process with the Constitutional Convention; people claiming it can’t work because things are so bad nothing will work; and people claiming “no one knows how the process will work.”
Well all those naysayers have done is proven they didn’t read the book, and they haven’t participated in these discussions (here and elsewhere). We do know how the process will work. It isn’t the “Constitutional Convention” and cannot be. And people throwing in the towel are taking themselves out of the game, so why should we even care what they say?
However, one form of naysaying that is reasonably cogent is the group of folks warning us we are just about out of time.
Glenn Beck, showing once again he also didn’t read the book yet (or skim it, or even skim one of the many excellent reviews of it), chose to highlight today a “respected source” who has shown we may not have enough time! Every man who gets out of bed in the morning faces that same problem, of course. So why is it such a big deal? Well, to Beck’s credit, his point is, you had better prepare. And by “prepare” he doesn’t mean just get mentally prepared: he means you need to be taking steps to guard your family. So yeah, he’s right there. But also, that is a continuing responsibility of every family leader.
But his point is that we are truly on the verge of the collapse that naturally happens when we’ve taken the country over the cliff. He provided several financial/market/economic reason why that collapse will happen. He might well be right. But why should we stop the effort to repair things?
You see, you cannot escape the necessity of these reforms by pointing to the fact that things are bad and getting worse. Even in a total breakdown, we should fight to restore the Union. We owe it to our descendants. To just ride the descent and grab at those few moments of self-preservation that appear among the wreckage is not the act of brave men and women. We should pursue this goal no matter what.
And pursue this goal we will. We must return power to the states, and the Article Five process is the cleanest way forward. It is the best option supported by law, and is specific. All the other ways to fix our nation are messy, the outcome less specific, and the tools at hand not covered well by law. That’s why this should be our first choice on where to spend our energy.
Because with what else is coming, you’ll need all the energy you can spare, just to survive.
I’ll have more on the ArticleFiveProcess website next week (one nice part of my travels involves events regarding the database). Meanwhile read chapter six, where Mark’s proposal is to place some automatic reductions in place for times like these, when Congress won’t do its job. He also adds some carrots and sticks to help them get it done, and give the states a way to apply the stick when they do it wrong.
It’s much better to read that than listen to the bickering in Congress right now.
Previously:
Discussion #7: Tracking Our Progress
Discussion #6: Amendments on Spending and Taxes
Discussion #5: How much power do the states have?
Discussion #4: What If They Hijack the Convention?
Discussion #3: An Invitation to Our Friends on the Left
Discussion #2: Run Away!
Discussion #1: Zombie Doctrine, Tactics, and the Liberty Amendments