BY RUSSELL TURNER
PLAYING WITH FIRE
All of us at one time or the other has heard the old expression that if you play with fire you are likely to get burned. I have heard countless accounts of children playing with matches and starting fires that have destroyed property and killed people. Cautioning people about playing with fire is a good thing, but in the political world decisions made can cause as much damage as any match. One issue that could come back and bite us in the proverbial rear end is a thing called the convention of the states.
Here in Oklahoma we have a former United States Senator, Dr. Tom Coburn, who in my opinion has become obsessed with the convention of the states (COS). I have written about the COS on different occasions and it amazes me how ill-informed the voters are concerning the seriousness of this issue. For those of you who know nothing about it the COS, if adopted by a certain number of the legislatures from the states, a convention can be called with the purpose of modifying the Constitution of the United States. Dr. Coburn assures everyone that the convention will only deal with limited subjects such as a balanced budget amendment or term limits. While all of that sounds good there are other scholars that claim that once the convention is opened everything can be on the table. Down here on the farm we have an old expression about buying a pig in a poke; dabbling with our constitution is very serious business.
I find it ironic that our state legislators approved the COS with the vast majority of Oklahoma voters knowing next to nothing about it. Our legislators cater to the basic driving force of many voters today. Too many of our citizens are only concerned with getting something as long as someone else pays for it, and on top of that too many voters don’t want to be involved in preserving the freedoms that our country was founded upon. In a free society it is the responsibility of the citizen to stay informed and engaged in political affairs. I also find it ironic that many of our legislators want to dabble with the United States Constitution while they are busy passing revenue bills that violate our own state constitution. I have also noticed politicians forming what I call a political cartel. Through slick marketing and endorsements they will vote how they are told just to stay in power. For Dr. Coburn and all of his followers who think that a balanced budget amendment and term limits are the cure all, they need to look at the state government of Oklahoma. We have term limits and a balanced budget amendment, how’s that working out for you? Another assumption that the pro COS people have is that the so-called conservatives will always be in power; throughout history the political winds blow from one side to the other. We could find ourselves with the convention being called in a few years and the liberals could be in power then; we could wake up some sad morning with our 2ndamendment and other rights diminished.
Our Constitution is sufficient to govern this country. Tinkering with it is not the answer; until we look at the human factor we will not fix anything. Until the people of this nation get over the obsession of getting something for nothing and not wanting to take the time to preserve our freedoms, our nation is doomed. All great empires have succumbed to these human flaws; just look at your history books, no great nation has risen to the top and stayed there. Fire can be a great servant but it can be a terrible master. Be careful playing with fire!
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