Second Constitutional Convention To Meet July 2009

I'm a private citizen, terrorism prevention activist, independent thinker.

I believe the United States is in serious trouble. The financial meltdown, foreign wars, a labyrinthine tax code, the possibility of smuggled nuclear bombs, lobbyists influencing Washington, corruption of state governments, apathetic citizens, and rampant partisanship are in my view a few of many symptoms of a general breakdown of our political system. These failures not only jeopardize the lives of Americans but undercut the legitimacy of authorities and prevent an adequate solution to the problem of terrorism. I fail to see how the system can fix itself.

Therefore, I summon a Second Constitutional Convention to meet in Independence Hall in Philadelphia beginning July 4, 2009 of the nation's brightest thinkers, scholars, states-persons, and non-partisan as well as partisan thinkers of character to craft an alternative Constitution to be voted on by the public at a later date. It will fix serious flaws regarding foreign policy, citizenship, privacy, crime & tyranny & terrorism prevention, partisanship, and corruption. I believe neither amendments to the existing Constitution nor a change of administration can be sufficient to fix things, but rather we need a new Constitution based on the existing one.

About my authority. Some may question my authority to call this Convention on the grounds that I am neither an elected official nor acting on behalf of a state government. They may point out, correctly, that the delegates to the first Convention in 1787 were chosen by state governments. If state officials today are (1) aware of serious flaws and (2) have the power to propose amendments or summon a second Convention, then why have they failed to do so? Their collective inaction confirms my view that the political process is broken, that state governments are corrupt, inept, ruled by partisan politics. And my criticism applies to elected leaders at every level (federal, state, county, local). I blame no person, neither political party, no administration. Our current predicament is the result of long chains of cause and effect dating back centuries. It's nobody's fault. But I, as a citizen, assert authority to act; it comes from my power to think, to use reason to protect myself and my nation.

About fellow citizens. Every citizen, in theory, has similar authority as me, but in reality, most citizens have a minimal role in self-governance, rarely attend local government meetings, fail to discuss politics, often fail to vote, don't participate in democracy. They're too busy to think about the problem. It is unlikely serious reform will emerge from regular citizens; rather, it can only come from the political class itself: leading citizens, politicians, experts, officials, justices, military officers, criminal-justice experts, players who have the fame and money to influence events and the power to command attention while being smart enough to sense that something is wrong and wise enough to fix it. They, too, are stakeholders in America, and stand to gain or lose just like everybody else.

My criteria for selecting delegates. That state governments have failed to act puts me, as a private citizen, in the position of having to choose delegates. So, I chose over one hundred of the nation's best thinkers. I strove for diversity -- male and female, left and center and right, old and young, famous and unknowns, rich and middle class and poor. I favored lawyers, particularly experts in Constitutional law. I am inviting the entire current Supreme Court for continuity. I favored persons with credentials in different areas, such as journalists with prior experience in government. I included a few capable foreigners. I chose some people with whom I disagree about many things. I favored those I thought might put America above partisan politics. I tried to balance partisans from both left and right. I am not choosing myself. If there are qualified people I've overlooked, let me know and I'll consider adding them to my list. Hopefully these are America's best thinkers. I tried my best to select the best informed, smartest, most capable persons to fix our nation.

Note: My particular strategy to fix America's problems is brief, non-partisan, non-religious, tough, rational, 184 pages in my book Common Sense II: How to Prevent the Three Types of Terrorism on Amazon (and Kindle). It solves terrorism; I challenge everybody to offer a better solution. Please note that these ideas have not been put through the grinder of serious debate and need exposure to serious scrutiny.