The Birth of a Patriot

"But what do we mean by the American Revolution? Do we mean the American war? The Revolution was effected before the war commenced. The Revolution was in the minds and hearts of the people; a change in their religious sentiments, of their duties and obligations... This radical change in the principles, opinions, sentiments, and affections of the people was the real American Revolution."
John Adams, letter to H. Niles, 13 February 1818

I had been thinking about it for some time. Twenty years ago or so, I sent for some information about it. I felt the need to educate myself. So I went through the packet, digested what I had read, put the stuff in my closet, and there it stayed for a couple of decades. It all made perfect sense to me, the principles were sound since they were based on history and the original ideas and philosophies of the men who created them. But how could I possibly alter my way of thinking that cut to the very core of my being? What was so special and unique about this radical, old-new ideology that would allow for a paradigm shift in my day-to-day life experience?

Fast forward to a couple of years ago: my oldest son, who was a junior in high school, was on a diatribe I didn’t care for. The topic was anti-Bush, anti-Republican, anti-war, and anti-everything that I held very dear to my heart. “But Dad, what about civil liberties? Why are we at war with a country which had nothing to do with 911? Don’t you think the Patriot Act is a bit intrusive? The Conservatives are social Nazis!”

“Everywhere the human soul stands between a hemisphere of light and another of darkness on the confines of two everlasting hostile empires, Necessity and Free Will.”
Thomas Carlyle, Essays, "The Opera"

His questions originated with literature I had given him, the very same information I stashed away years before. The packet was about The Libertarian Party. At that moment, I began to process the exchange I had just had with my 17-year-old son. I had read a great deal about American History, the life and times of the Founders, the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, the Declaration, but I was so jaded and politically hypnotized by the Dark Side; yes, the GOP.

I had pictures of Reagan and J.C. Watts hanging in my office, two or three RNC membership cards in my wallet, and a vicious right-wing attitude. I wouldn’t go so far as to say I had an epiphany, angels did not break out in chorus, and the heavens did not open up. But, at this moment, my eyes were opening, and my vision was approaching clarity. The most remarkable result was the notion of peripheral thinking, to think outside of what had been my sad, little box.

"All truth passes through three stages: First, it is ridiculed; Second, it is violently opposed; Third, it is accepted as self-evident." Arthur Schopenhauer

Honestly, it was the elbow of perspectives previously unknown to me giving me a polite nudge. My personal Ghost of Political Future had shown me a glimpse of what could be. I knew that what had once been wasn’t working any longer. There was no need to question the fact that the current gang of 535 presently in D.C. was not there to serve me or mine.

After November 4th, 2008, I awoke uncharacteristically rested, but a tad troubled. Typically, on the night of the presidential election I stay up until it’s over. My little crystal ball told me the outcome long before the votes were cast. My first thought as I woke up was: Had I done it again? Did I vote in another presidential election just to vote? Did I vote against a candidate again? Yes, yes and yes. That day, I wrote a piece about what I knew about The Libertarian Party, sent it to the newspaper (The Cincinnati Enquirer, and I’ll be damned if it didn’t show up on the editorial page that Saturday morning. So I wrote more, and again, and I’ll be double damned if they didn’t print my column four out of the next six weeks. Then, boom, it stopped as quick as it started. Oh, well, I had my fifteen minutes of fame, or whatever you would like to call it. I was miffed, but more than motivated to continue.

“The searching-out and thorough investigation of truth ought to be the primary study of man”. Cicero

My experience gained was I could write something passable to publish in a large newspaper where it is read by thousands of people. I learned that I could write about the Founders and Libertarianism, publish it on my own blog, and have people read it and comment. The 1st Amendment is alive and well, thank you very much. The internet is a veritable plethora of knowledge, and a good portion of it is accurate. I also learned that I had more readership from the newspaper.

I learned that it really wasn’t any of my business what people do behind their closed doors, and that if two people of the same sex want to live and thrive together, it really had no impact on me at all. The Patriot Act seemed like a good idea, but at that time I was under the influence of GWB. Good man, bad decisions. Period. The 10th Amendment meant very little to me back in the day, but today it has become a throw away. It’s a sad day when the Bill of Rights turns into a comedy sketch that would be seen on Saturday Night Live. “Let’s see, we’ll keep the 1st so the media can gush all over us, and the 10th is laughable, and the 2nd is in our sights”. The dominoes are falling, one by one.

“Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom, must, like men, undergo the fatigue of supporting it.” ~Thomas Paine

This is all happening today, at every level of government. Our elected officials, by and large, are of one party. We could call the party the Democratic Republicans, but that would be a slap in the face of Jefferson, who used that moniker at the birth of partisan politics. Rinos, Republicrats, whatever. This political hybrid has lied, bluffed, misguided, begged, borrowed and stolen all of what I had learned to believe in, and I mean BELIEVE. Hook, line and sinker. Now I can see sideways. I can see inside out, upside down and backwards. Anybody can read the platform of The Libertarian Party (www.lpo.org), and grasp at least enough to understand that anything is possible. “What once was” is absolutely relevant to “what has to be”.

"Every human has four endowments: self awareness, conscience, independent will, and creative imagination. These give us the ultimate human freedom. The power to choose, to respond, to change." - Steven R. Covey

The Libertarian Party is, quite simply, an organization whose goal is restoration of government to its rightful owners, who are “We the People”. We the People should be governed by our consent, and only our consent. We the People should be entrusted with policy and protocol, with selecting the individuals that best represent our village, our township, our county, our state, and our nation. Here’s the dirty secret: THEY don’t trust us anymore. THEY are effectively saying, “Sit down and shut up. We’ll tell you what’s good for you. And if you don’t like it, screw you.”

We the People deserve better than that. We, as Libertarians are positioned for a sort of spiritual revival, or a back-to-the-future type of quest. The other major parties have financial resources, but are lacking in assets that only We the People can provide. Our major assets are our people. The Libertarian Party is in a position to recruit, market, and recruit some more. There exists, in today’s political hodgepodge, an enormous potential for disgruntled voters stuck in the abyss of the political middle to make a new commitment. Maximum freedom + minimum taxes + limited government = The Libertarian Party.

M_f + M_t + L_g = LP.

The time is now and our goal is just. A true revitalization of government and its objectives are in reach; freedom of movement, freedom of thought, freedom of choice, and most importantly, freedom of spirit. Like the man said:

“It is easy to take liberty for granted, when you have never had it taken from you.” -Unknown