Amendment 28

This petition was submitted in 2009 during our country's 111th 2-year Congress. And it was deactivated near the end of that Congress, on 9-6-2010, after it became obvious that the legislation it supported was going nowhere.

Since that time, I have periodically searched for a similar bill to support among the thousands that are submitted during each 2-year Congress. And I have been disappointed every time. That is, until now. A Congressman from California has submitted an exact duplicate!

So, naturally, I am seriously considering updating and reactivating this petition. But before I do, I would greatly appreciate any advice you might have for improving it. For example, should I leave the petition as it is, merely updating it to focus on the new legislation and to reflect the fact that there is (as yet) no companion bill in the Senate? And if not, what changes would you recommend other than my paying the fee required to get rid of all the ads? The same goes for the background section. To reach me, simply click on the link to my name (Tom Foreman) underneath the petition's title at the top of this page.

But if your advice is to simply abandon the idea as hopeless, don't bother. Yes, I fully realize that our country's Founding Fathers purposely made the Constitution extremely difficult to change. But I would remind you of the famous quote attributed to Margaret Mead: “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed, citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” Lastly, if you think there simply isn't enough time left before a new Congress is sworn in on January 3rd of next year, I would remind you of how quickly we the people (especially the youth of our country) got another Amendment related to voting rights passed "in record time" just 53 years ago!
P.S. I apologize for not taking this step a year ago, when this legislation was first submitted. Quite simply, I missed it. And I really don't have a very good excuse. Like many of the rest of my fellow citizens, I had spent far too much time using these newfangled communication devices of ours strictly for entertainment purposes . But recently, while in the process of trying to whittle down the over 1,000 emails that I have accrued over the years, I came across this inspirational 2012 article by Nicholas Kristof. And it occurred to me that 10 or 20 years from now, the children of our country will surely look back upon us and wonder: How could hundreds of millions of citizens in a democracy have such powerful communications tools at their fingertips, and yet behave as though they were helpless in effecting meaningful political change?
And that shamed me into reviewing the various political activities that I had taken part in over the years, with an eye towards finding something that had the potential to break through our polarized political atmosphere by appealing to just about everyone. I know that there are a heck of a lot of more important things that need to be dealt with by Congress, but a success here will likely inspire other citizens (especially among our country's youth) to initiate more consequential changes in the years to come.

So please give me any advice you might have on how to improve this petition. And don't look to me to lead this effort in any other way than getting the ball rolling by revising and reactivating it. I'm 77 years old now, and not nearly as mentally sharp or energetic as I once was. But more to the point, I have taken part in so many failed citizen-initiated attempts at effecting political changes in my lifetime that I am feeling the effects of burnout. And I am therefore unfit to act in a leadership role.