I believe that people can change. I further believe that in order for us to see liberty succeed in our society, some individuals will have to change their mindsets on a variety of issues.
When I was 16 years old and a junior at Northside High School, I discovered liberty in politics for the first time. It was financial guru Harry Browne’s articulate message of liberty that took me from being a Freshman/Sophomore fiscal liberal to fine tuning my message towards one of consistent freedom.
I recall my United States history teacher telling me that I would grow out of my constitutional Republican ideals as I matured and got into the so-called “real world.” Here I am today, as consistent in liberty as ever. I still believe through all the change in the world that the best ideas are founded in individual freedom – socially and economically. I believe that the best vehicle with which to spread the ideas and to reach those means is through working with like-minded individuals in developing plans of action to show voters how liberty is indeed the best answer.
That said, we sometimes get very excited when a new person or idea comes forth. Scott Brown comes immediately to mind. He was an afterthought when polling well behind Martha Coakley. Then he jumped into a pick up truck and said the buzz words “Tea Party.” During this time, his poll numbers increased. As a state political figure in Massachusetts, Mr. Brown supported the government-run health care system that is in place today. He was moderate on a variety of other issues. However, the excitement of his polling increases were minimal in the minds of activists who wanted to see the seat formerly held by the late Ted Kennedy go to a Republican.
Excitement is a great thing and we should all be forthright in expanding our energy when the causes are right. We must be careful in the meantime. We must take a more diligent approach to ensuring that the candidates we support support the principles of freedom. Scott Brown has already proven that he does not subscribe to the principles of freedom by supporting a billion dollar job bill in Massachusetts. His moderate stance on this and other issues may win him new fans, but we must remember those he was “preaching” to in order to get elected. But still I say, we must take individual responsibility to know our candidates philosophical viewpoints and know if they are or are not consistent before jumping on their bandwagon.
To me, the principles of freedom and individual liberty can and must not be compromised. Sure, we may have a variety of means with which we present our message of liberty. Debra Medina in Texas and Rand Paul in Kentucky are suggesting liberty in a variety of terms that I believe will lead to the same, beneficial end result.
That result, must however, be the same. Maximizing liberty and freedom should be forthright in the minds of anyone who subscribes to the true, original meaning of our founding fathers. We must be philosophically consistent and know those around us and know if they are preaching a bad gospel or are really on our side.
Further, we must continue to work without delay in helping everyone share our belief that a society where individuals are truly free is a society that is most prosperous for all.
Cam DeJong
Last night I followed as dozens of my friends on Facebook cheered the victory of Scott Brown in Massachusetts. Many of these friends are what I would consider “Constitutional” Republicans – or in other words – those who share a very similar belief system to mine.
My response was that the best bet out of Brown’s win was that the health care legislation in the Senate would go nowhere. In that, we would at least have a really good chance of keeping control of our health care. However, will Brown help liberty or will he be more of the same? Looking at the issue of health care, it must be stated that Brown supported more government involvement in Massachusetts. One can hope this doesn’t carry over to Washington, DC.
I won’t try to predict what Scott Brown will do as a Senator. I will say that I liked the ideas of Joe Kennedy much more, but even the most unrealistic idealist had to understand that it wasn’t his election to win. Despite the difficult situation he had to attempt victory, this Kennedy understands the principles of liberty and I hope he remains active in the political arena.
So what is liberty and how will Scott Brown improve it as a Senator? Liberty to me means being less involved in the affairs of foreign countries. It means if anything, we need to be taking care of those in our homeland before anywhere else. The ultimate goal here being that individuals are self-sustaining and care is taken of them by their families, friends, and communities. Liberty to me means allowing individuals to have the ultimate decision making power over their own lives. Liberty means not being bought and paid for by the highest bidder (corporate favors come to mind). Based on what I have seen, Scott Brown supports more involvement in foreign affairs. Scott Brown, as I stated, supported a government involvement in healthcare as an elected official in Massachusetts.
I hope and pray that Scott Brown will realize that the tree of liberty goes much deeper than the issue of health care. I hope that he sees that the role of the federal government should never be that which he helped legislate in Massachusetts.
More importantly, I hope that my friends in New Hampshire and beyond realize the same. I dearly hope and pray that Scott Brown becomes a knight in shining armor for liberty and not the beginning of a terrible rerun of the Republican disaster of 1994.
Freedom does bring us all together – if we understand the power of the word.
Cameron