To the Editor:
Many Ohioans have been tricked into thumbing their noses at the genius of our Founding Fathers. They devised a system of governance that avoided the dangers of “simple majority rule.” They chose the Constitutional Republic model which, by design, does not always allow the “majority” to rule the day.
You see, they understood the fickle hearts of men, and that fads and fashions would thrash us around like a sapling in a hurricane if they did not devise a way to provide stability during tumultuous times. The way they found was for the “Constitution” to be the supreme authority in our state and our nation, second only to God Himself. That’s why military members and elected officials swear to support and defend the “Constitution” of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic. Defending the Constitution “is” defending the nation!
Critical to the survival of a Constitutional Republic is the stability of the Constitution upon which it is based. When originally designed, both the US and the Ohio constitutions were well protected from fickle change. The US Constitution is still well protected, only changing 17 times since the Bill of Rights were ratified. The Ohio Constitution, on the other hand, has changed 172 times in 60 fewer years. That is “not” a stable foundation upon which to build a state. Our state constitution is now full of the fads and fashions of fickle-hearted men, and it will get much worse in November if we don’t protect it in August with a “yes” vote on Issue 1.
How did we lose control of our state Constitution? It started at the Constitutional Convention of 1912 during a time of unprecedented progressivism in Ohio. One of the changes gave “citizens” the right to initiate constitutional amendments. In the 110 years prior to that change, 11 amendments were approved, and the constitution grew from 6,265 words to 11,026 words, or 76%. In the 110 years after that change 161 amendments have been approved, and the constitution has grown from 11,026 words to over 67,000 words, or 500%.
Citizen-initiated constitutional amendments with a 50% approval threshold is what caused us to lose control of our Constitution! We have a chance to raise that threshold to 60% which will help us begin to regain control of our constitution. Please join me in voting “yes” on Issue 1 to protect our Constitution!
John Adams
Sidney
