In an online booklet entitled "Overhauling the American System and Starting Over," this is part 3 (of 5), entitled Let's Rewrite Article V. In other parts, I discuss seven worldviews in the United States, and what's wrong with the American system and how do we fix it. I also give 25 recommendations for the American people to consider, and I share my vision of what the ideal U.S. Constitution should look like.

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Overhauling the American System and Starting Over

Part Three: Let's Rewrite Article V

By Roger Copple

When the Supreme Court's Citizens United ruling was passed in 2010, corporations and the wealthiest one percent were granted even more power to finance politicians than they had before. Therefore, the Move to Amend petition to reverse the Citizens United decision through a constitutional amendment can still be signed, if you haven't already signed it.

But even before the detestable Citizens United ruling was passed in 2010, the conditions for democracy were still deplorable. So even if Citizens United is hopefully reversed, Americans will still be stuck with the following: the great influence of money on a two-party system; no proportional representation in the election of the House of Representatives; California having the same number of Senators as Wyoming, even though California's population is 70 times larger; the Electoral College system for electing a President; Supreme Court Justices serving for life terms; the corrupt, private central banking system of the Federal Reserve, and still failing public schools.

Moreover, even if the ideal President were elected, it would take several constitutional amendments to eliminate all the entrenched, undemocratic elements (described above) from the constitution and government, and those reforms may take generations to implement. Until these archaic components are removed, the undue influence of the one percent will always be with us.

The best solution is to focus primarily on getting a constitutional amendment passed that totally rewrites Article V, so that it will be easier to amend the Constitution and easier to properly abolish it in the future. This essay tells why and how we should rewrite Article V. Article V of the supreme document of the land has been pasted below. It will be followed by my Twenty-eighth Amendment proposal to totally rewrite Article V.

Article V

The Congress, whenever two thirds of both Houses shall deem it necessary, shall propose Amendments to this Constitution, or, on the Application of the Legislatures of two thirds of the several States, shall call a Convention for proposing Amendments, which, in either Case, shall be valid to all Intents and Purposes, as Part of this Constitution, when ratified by the Legislatures of three fourths of the several States, or by Conventions in three fourths thereof, as the one or the other Mode of Ratification may be proposed by the Congress; Provided that no Amendment which may be made prior to the Year One thousand eight hundred and eight shall in any Manner affect the first and fourth Clauses in the Ninth Section of the first Article; and that no State, without its Consent, shall be deprived of its equal Suffrage in the Senate. (End of Article V)

Did you enjoy reading that? Did it make everything crystal clear? I think it should be made readable for the common person. I also think it should be totally changed.

Proposal for a Twenty-Eighth Amendment to Totally Rewrite Article V:

Article V

How to Amend the Constitution and How to Abolish the Constitution in a Fair, Safe, and Orderly Way

The U.S. government can be modified when Congress passes new federal laws or statutes. The United States government can also be modified anytime new amendments are added to the Constitution. But to change the federal government completely by abolishing the Constitution, there has to be a Constitutional Convention to rewrite a new constitution.

A New Way to Add Amendments to the Current Constitution that Was Written in 1787 and Implemented in 1789

To modify the federal government by adding amendments to the Constitution, the United States Congress (including both the House and the Senate) must pass any proposed amendment to the Constitution with at least a 60 percent (not 2/3) majority in both Houses. Then the American people must approve any new amendment with at least a 51 percent majority in a national referendum. The previous ratification by 3/4 of the state legislatures is no longer required.

How to Abolish the Constitution that Was Written in 1787 and Implemented in 1789

The Constitution is the supreme civil law of the land. A radically new constitution and government can be created by having a Constitutional Convention. If done properly, it can be achieved in a fair, orderly, and nonviolent way. The American people have a right to choose whether they want a new Constitution. Through their chosen representatives, an entirely new constitution can be made. For now on, the decision to start the 23-month process to create a new supreme civil document will be considered by the American people in November of every presidential election year.

Every 4 years when Americans vote for a President, they can vote for or against having a Constitutional Convention. If 51% or more of the voters say yes, then 100 delegates, chosen through proportional representation, will be sent to the Constitutional Convention to create a new constitution. Then if 51% or more of the Convention delegates approve a new document, the new government will be implemented 4 months later. All of the steps and procedures of the entire process (as explained below) will take 23 months. The ideal legislature is based on Proportional Representation. First, that must be explained.

Here is how Proportional Representation can work: Voters in the current 435 federal legislative districts will study and evaluate the platforms and constitutions of the 7 largest national political parties. Each voter will choose one of 7 political parties that he or she most identifies with. Let us pretend that based on the latest national election, the new federal legislature will be 20% Republican, 20% Democratic, 15% Libertarian, 15% Constitution Party, 15% Green Party, 8% Socialist, and 7% Communist. Proportional Representation, with 7 political parties, will greatly expand the political spectrum, and having a unicameral legislature (instead of a bicameral one) will make it easier to pass laws.

A National Elections Committee, whose 7 executive directors will represent the 7 largest national political parties--will be established beforehand to guarantee that local election officials are impartial and professionalized. The National Elections Committee may use voting machines that are standardized, or it may decide on other methods that create fairness and prevention corruption. The National Elections Committee will also be responsible for counting and verifying the membership of national political parties.

The 23-Month Timeline for Creating a New Constitution and Implementing the New Government

If at presidential election time, the American people decide they want a constitutional convention, then they will have almost 5 months, from November through April, to officially register with a national political party. Websites such as www.politics1.com describe all the known national political parties. Then during the month of May, no switches can be made as the official count of all national political parties is determined and reported to the National Elections Committee.

Any national political party that represents at least 1% of the nation's eligible voters will be able to share written articles, their party platforms, and any proposed constitutions. They will also be able to make public speaking presentations and will be allowed to participate in televised town hall meetings, held from June through August.

Then from September through December, the representatives from the top 7 national political parties only, as determined 4 months earlier in May, will be able to share written articles, their party platforms, and any proposed constitutions. They will also be able to make public speaking presentations and will be allowed to participate in televised town hall meetings.

Then during the second week of January, voters will need to switch, if necessary, to one of the top 7 national political parties, if they truly want their vote to count, even if the voters had earlier been officially registered in another party that is not one of the top 7 political parties. Afterwards, they can always convert back to another party if it better reflects their values, beliefs, and conscience. Third party members have done this in the past in order to vote in either the Republican or Democratic primaries.

Let us pretend for pedagogical purposes that the 100 delegates from the top 7 national political parties will consist of the following percentages or numbers at the Constitutional Convention: Republican Party 20%, Democratic Party 20%, Libertarian Party 15%, Green Party 15%, Constitution Party 15%, Socialist Party 10%, and Communist Party 5%.

On March 1, the Constitutional Convention delegates will meet at the Capitol building in Washington D.C. The delegates will work from March through May to create a new constitution that 51% or more of the delegates approve. The 100 delegates will choose one of their own attending delegates to be the chairman of the Convention by using Instant Runoff Voting with 7 candidates on the slate. Each party will choose one of its delegates at the Convention to be the potential chairman or chairwoman of the Convention.

If delegates reach a 51% majority before the 3 months elapse, they must use the remaining days to hear dissenting voices in the constant effort to revise their document, through consensus decision-making, in order to get an even higher percentage of approval than 51%. If 50% or less of the delegates approves the new constitution after working on it for 3 months, then it becomes void, and the current constitution remains official.

However, if the new constitution is approved with a 51% majority or higher by the end of May, then the delegates will determine the specifics as to when and how the new government, based on the new constitution, will be implemented in a safe, orderly, and smooth way on October 1.

Summary of 23-Month Timeline for Creating a new Constitution and Implementing a New Government

November thru April--Each American voter chooses a national political party

Month of May--Official count of voters in each political party is reported to the National Elections Committee

June thru August--Public speeches, forums, debates, and written responses from all parties that captured at least 1% of the vote

September thru December--Public speeches, forums, debates, and written responses from the top 7 political parties only

Second week of January--Each American voter joins one of the top 7 national political parties--even if only on a temporary basis

March thru May--the 3-month duration of the Constitutional Convention

October 1--If new document is approved, four months later, the new government under the new constitution, will be implemented

(End of 23-Month Timeline and Timeline Summary)

The spoken and written words of the Constitutional Convention delegates must be publicized, and concerned citizens will be allowed to voice their own opinions in the process.

The US Congress, the President, and the US Supreme Court will not have the right to control a Constitutional Convention. They can, however, express their opinions and recommendations in the process.

(End of this Twenty-Eighth Amendment Proposal to Rewrite Article V)

Article V of our current constitution, with its tortuous sentence structure, or legal jargon, actually tells how our state legislatures can bypass the U.S. Congress altogether and have their own Amendment Convention, if 2/3 of them call for it. This has never been done yet in U.S history, but, more than 2/3 of the 50 state legislatures have already called for it, but the U.S. Congress has refused to allow it! Readers may want to investigate the Friends of the Article V Convention www.foavc.org , an organization this author supports. However, if my proposed revision of Article V becomes ratified, each American voter--not distant state legislatures--can vote to ratify amendments, and each American voter can vote to have a constitutional convention every 4 years.

But what are other reasons for revising Article V? The world is changing at an accelerating speed since the constitution was written in 1787 and then implemented with the presidency of George Washington in 1789. There have been 27 amendments added to the constitution, some of which expanded democracy a little. But an entirely new, supreme civil document is now long overdue. The Bill of Rights, which was the first 10 amendments, was not added until two years later in 1791. Thus, having a Bill of Rights for citizens was not the original intent of the oligarchic founding fathers.

Many people resent the fact that our current, supreme document makes reference to how slaves are counted (Article I, Section 2) and how slavery is to be allowed until 1808 (it is hidden in Article V). Article V of the current constitution tells how the constitution can be amended; and it is more difficult to amend than any other constitution on earth.

Moreover, there is absolutely no place in the constitution that tells how it can be totally abolished, which, by the way, Thomas Jefferson recommended doing with every new generation! And in the Declaration of Independence, Jefferson said "that whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends it is the Right of the People to alter or abolish it, and to institute new government." It is obvious that today We the People have a lot more to be angry and upset about than the radicals who founded our Nation.

Article I, Section 8 says that only Congress has the authority to declare war, but current Presidents start wars all the time without first getting the approval of Congress. It also seems that the National Security Administration (NSA), the Pentagon, the CIA, FBI, Homeland Security, and transnational corporations, that is-- the military-industrial-security--congressional complex--pretty much does whatever it wants in regards to foreign policy and domestic surveillance. Considering how Congress largely represents the wealthiest one percent, the following saying rings true: "If voting could [really] change anything, it would be made illegal." John Perkins, author of the book Confessions of an Economic Hitman, also expresses the sentiment: "We cannot have homeland security until the whole earth is our homeland."

The most important feature of the ideal Constitutional Convention is the empowerment of the seven largest political parties through the voting method called Proportional Representation. And the most important feature of an ideal Constitution, which would come afterwards, is the same thing: the empowerment of the seven largest national political parties through Proportional Representation to create a unicameral national legislature. The United Kingdom does not have a written constitution, but it is part of the American tradition to have one.

It is our current political system that creates ubiquitous apathy and alienation. Many Americans have become addicted to mainstream TV--with its corporate-slanted news; deceptive and time-wasting commercials; frivolous and mindless content that bombards us with sex and violence. Most Americans have been led to believe that to be happy and have "the good life," they must partake of all the conspicuous consumption and materialism that is promoted by our capitalistic culture. Large numbers play the lottery regularly, hoping to make their dreams of wealth come true. The poor and downtrodden of the world watch American TV, and now they want the same thing.

Without having a global and an ecological perspective, it is hard for people to see the value of living with voluntary simplicity. But if everyone on earth maintained the lifestyle of the average American, our environmental degradation would be much worse. The earth has a carrying capacity; therefore, our practices and lifestyles must be ecologically sustainable.

The Third Constitution presented below is only my ideal. The seven political parties as described above would no doubt create something different, if we can ever have a Constitutional Convention. My Third Constitution even recommends a democratic world government that promotes radical egalitarianism in which the highest wages will be no more than three times the lowest. That may be a hard sell.

If a constitutional convention was held as my proposed revision of Article V would allow, then the seven largest national political parties would be empowered, using a system of proportional representation to elect 100 delegates. But the delegates who have a constitutional convention in this way may not want anything that my Third Constitution recommends, but a new constitution, created according to the procedures described above, will truly reflect the will of the people, for better or worse. And if mistakes are made, they will be easier to correct.

Having the longest-lasting constitution that is the hardest to change is a negative, not a positive--it is not something to brag about. Once the Twenty-eighth amendment proposal to revise Article V becomes officially approved, it can hopefully become established as a precedent in the design of all future constitutions. In fact, the 23-month timeline for having a Constitutional Convention has been incorporated into the Third Constitution as a way to abolish the Third Constitution to create the Fourth Constitution. It is important to plan ahead--even seven generations ahead as the Native American stewards of our land advised.

When the revised Article V proposal is implemented, the American people will be allowed to consider having a constitutional convention every four years! This can give new hope to voters on both the political Left and the Right, if the system is not working. Fair, safe, and orderly procedures for such a monumental task can be guaranteed.

Constitutional amendments are difficult to pass when the issues are polarized. The Twenty-Sixth Amendment, however, which reduced the voting age to 18, was passed in a few months. People are extremely alienated with government and tired of the gridlock. When they see a comprehensive way to remove the corruption and unfairness in the system, many of them will become politically mobilized for this cause. They will demand that both their U.S. Congressional representatives and their state representatives pass my proposed amendment, which is what our current Constitution requires. It won't be easy until voters realize it has to be done.

Since the new Twenty-Eighth Amendment proposal shows how a Constitutional Convention can be held that totally levels the political playing field among Republicans, Democrats, and five other political parties, this idea of having a Constitutional Convention can become popular across the political spectrum in the United States. With the dystopian naysayers, it will be important to be patient and calm, and just state the facts.

Moreover, if a new constitution can be simplified or made readable, shortened, modernized, easily amended, and easily abolished--more people will study it and use it regularly, and they will not feel forever bored and perplexed by it. A constitution can be compared to a car: it can be amended (or repaired) for a period of time, but eventually it needs to be discarded and hopefully recycled.

(Article changed on April 6, 2016 at 21:01)

Authors Website: http://www.WorldWithoutEmpire.com

Authors Bio:

February 11, 2023

I grew up in a church that said you had to speak in tongues to get saved and go to heaven. I often prayed fervently starting at the age of 5 for the experience in the prayer room at church, where people would cry and wail, and roll on the floor. One 80-year old lady would sometimes get happy in the spirit and run laps around the church during church services. That was always entertaining.

About my sophomore year in college, I became transformed by the protest of the Vietnam War, the anti-nuclear movement, Eastern philosophy, the study of psychology, smoking reefer, and democratic socialism, which I started believing could save the world. However, the Covid crises that began in March 2020 caused me to become disillusioned with the Left, so now I would say I am more an anarchist or a libertarian, but I don't support corporate or crony capitalism. Many libertarians think it is perfectly fine to aspire to be a millionaire or billionaire, but I think incomes above certain amounts should be taxed at much higher rates. Libertarian capitalists, like socialists, are against imperialism, and I will always resonate with that.

Here is a definition of anarchy that I have always liked: Anarchy: a self-governed society in which people organize themselves from the bottom-up on an egalitarian basis; decisions made by those affected by them; direct democratic control of our workplaces, schools, neighborhoods, towns and bio-regions with coordination between differing groups as needed. A world where women and men are free and equal and all of us have power over our own lives, bodies and sexuality; where we cherish and live in balance with the earth and value diversity of cultures, races, and sexual orientations, where we work and live together cooperatively.

Two times in my twenties and thirties, I had brief periods where I went back to being a Christian fundamentalist or an evangelical Christian. Later going to a liberal seminary, where I studied the New Testament like a scientist, caused me to doubt believing in the virgin birth, the trinity, and the literal resurrection of Jesus in the way that evangelical Christians believe. Now I believe that Jesus could have been a highly evolved yogi to achieve the various things he allegedly achieved.

Growing up in an anti-intellectual home, I had the most trouble with high school courses like U.S. history, which seemed like a boring subject that was a waste of time. Later in my life, European history would become an important and fascinating subject. Lately I have been interested in studying the history of Christianity again using the excellent textbook I read in seminary.

Fascinated with yoga and meditation, I starting reading many of the books written by Swami Rama. When I later met him in person and was initiated and given a mantra (which I never did repeat over and over as suggested), I remember that being in his presence was the most powerful spiritual experience I have ever had in my life: I felt rapturous love and indescribable bliss. So I became convinced that meditation and spiritual disciplines can transform a person. My ex-wife, by the way, thought there was nothing special about Swami Rama.

In my mid 50s, I started advocating the integration of the Perennial Philosophy (that's the term Aldous Huxley used; it is also referred to as Ageless Wisdom, describing the nondual, mystical experience) with a democratic form of socialism as a way to save individuals and the world. I created a website called www.NowSaveTheWorld.com because the website name "SaveTheWorld.com" had already been taken by somebody else. I created this website in 2010 right before I retired at age 60 from teaching. I was a high school special education teacher of Algebra, English, and Social Studies, but during the last 6 years of my career I taught general elementary, mostly third grade. In March 2020, I changed the name of my website to WorldWithoutEmpire.com.