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This was in my Email Newsletter today. I totally agree with the story he writes about his neighbour.
THE LIBERATOR ONLINE, PRESIDENT'S CORNER, March 30, 2005
Vol. 10, No. 6, Circulation: 68,734 subscribers in over 100 countries Dear friends,
My neighbor waved me down as I walked past his house.
"You're a libertarian," he asked me. "So what do you think about the loss of our freedoms? It seems to be happening more and more."
I told him I was indeed very concerned about that. I asked him what
concerned *him* the most He let loose with a whole litany of complaints against the government, most of which sounded very libertarian. Government interference in the family. Homes being stolen by eminent domain. The possibility of a draft. A secretive federal government. And most of all, the loss of freedom
through the USA Patriot Act.
I nodded, agreeing with him.
Then a note of anxiety crept into his voice.
"Do you think anything can be done about any of this?" he asked. "Do you see any signs that change is possible?"
I paused a moment.
"Yes, I do," I said.
I told him that the libertarian movement was growing larger and more effective every day, and that libertarians were working hard on the very issues he had mentioned. The Institute for Justice, for example, is battling abuses of eminent domain in court right now. I suggested he check out their Web site. (You may remember this from a recent
Liberator Online.)
And I told him more good news: it's not just libertarians who are working to halt and reverse some of the worst threats to our freedom.
People from across the political spectrum are beginning to wake up and realize that we are letting too many of our freedoms slip away.
While we might disagree on many issues, large numbers of conservatives and liberals agree with libertarians that our common political heritage is the Bill of Rights and the idea of Constitutionally-limited government. There are conservatives who take the ideas of limited government, private property, and the Bill of Rights very seriously. There are
liberals who firmly believe government should stay out of our private lives and out of the internal affairs of other nations.
They are concerned. And increasingly, they're ready to work together to do something about it.
As proof of this, I pointed to a new group of conservatives (with some libertarians) that has formed to work with liberal groups to repeal the worst provisions of the USA Patriot Act.
It's called Patriots to Restore Checks and Balances, and it's headed by former Republican congressman Bob Barr of Georgia. (You can read more about this in this issue, in our "Good News, Bad News, Unbelievable News" section.)
My neighbor brightened up at hearing this. I could see he realized that what libertarians couldn't do alone (right now, anyway), they might just be able to accomplish in coalition with other freedom-minded Americans.
And that reminded me: it's great to air grievances with our fellow citizens. But it's also important to spread the message of honest hope for liberty. Despair is our greatest enemy.
"Put some information about all this in my mailbox," he shouted to me as I walked away.
You can bet I will.
Sharing good news and reasons for honest optimism about liberty isn't all we do with the Liberator Online but it's an important part of our job. I'm optimistic about liberty and the future of libertarianism. Liberty is the wave of the future -- and it's exciting to be part of a movement that is making that happen.
Finally, as I walked away, I mentally kicked myself for not telling my neighbor one more important bit of good news about the Patriot Act. Fully 375 communities in 43 states, including the state legislatures of Alaska, Hawaii, Vermont and Maine, have now passed pro-civil liberties resolutions. Most of the resolutions call on Congress to bring the
Patriot Act back in line with the Constitution. In total, these communities represent approximately 56.2 million people. That's a genuine grassroots rebellion against too-big, too-intrusive government.
I'll share that with him next time! |
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