Thanksgiving is not an exclusively American holiday -- Canadians celebrate it too, a month earlier than Americans. Called a "producer's holiday," in both countries thanks are given for success; and of course, harvest celebrations have been around probably as long as people have enjoyed nature's abundance. Many individuals who value liberty cherish this holiday above all others, because it focuses upon the human ability to create, produce, and succeed.
What do libertarians have to be thankful for this year? As unpleasant surprises from the USA PATRIOT Act continue to be unveiled, with the recent signing of the Homeland Security Act into law, and an official war with Iraq apparently imminent, it can seem that there is vanishingly little to be thankful for.
Aside from the usual -- but not to be downplayed -- thanks for one's health, family, and friends, we submit that there's more to be thankful for than first meets the eye.
In the wake of 9/11, gun ownership has surged in the U.S., turning the tide on RKBA issues nationwide;
Movements like the Free State Project are making progress and causing more people to think about freedom;
Grassroots activism in defense of liberty continues to have real effects worldwide;
Organizations and individuals continue their efforts to educate others as to the practical benefits of freedom;
Real Social Security reform seems to be on the table for good;
Private ownership of property is once again possible in Russia; and
Free-market economist Vernon Smith was awarded the Nobel Prize in economics.
Many, many more items could be listed. Gains are being made in educational and environmental freedom worldwide, women's issues are being addressed in the most unlikely places, and government reforms in corrupt Latin American countries all provide hope where it seems there should be none.
In addition to these things, we'd like to encourage all liberty-minded individuals to consider their fellow travelers, and give thanks to their efforts this Thursday.
There has been much strife among those who value liberty this past year. Anarcho-capitalists, Objectivists, minarchists, Libertarians, conservatives, neocons, patriots, Republicans, and others have engaged in a lot of name-calling, principles-questioning, and second-guessing regarding the challenges we face from without. Some of it hasn't been very civil; thankfully, much more has been, at least on paper and the internet.
As a "big-tent" pro-freedom organization, Free-Market.Net sees a lot of this divisiveness. It plays out most publicly in our most popular publication, Freedom News Daily, both in the news stories and commentaries we cover. We hear a lot about it in the email we get, too -- usually when someone thinks we're giving his or her position short shrift.
The fact remains that whatever is to become of this country, we remain free to speak our minds and share our views with others, in hopes of lighting fires for liberty in their minds. Within the freedom movement, too, the big tent provides a means of reaching out to even more people. If asset forfeiture doesn't get someone going, then perhaps jury nullification or imminent domain will. The War on Drugs leaves some folks cold, but talk about the right to keep and bear arms and they heat up.
Freedom is by definition a big-tent concept. On this Thanksgiving -- at the cusp of so many crucial points in liberty's progress -- let us give extra thanks to all those who are working in good conscience toward liberty with us.
Sunni Maravillosa
J.D. Tuccille
Subscribe to the Freedom Network newsletter, FMNews, to hear about the latest spotlights and other network news. Only two issues are e-mailed per month. Enter your e-mail address here to subscribe for free:
Louis James:
This Thanksgiving, I would like to thank the wonderful readers of FMNews and our other publications who have graciously stepped up to the plate with financial support when we needed it most and kept us going. I'm also very appreciative of the dedicated employees, trustees, and contractors of The Henry Hazlitt Foundation who have helped us push the envelope for freedom in this record-breaking year for us, in ways too numerous to count.
Finally, I would like to thank my family, from my oldest son (who recently introduced a bill to his mock Congress calling for fines and prison terms for legislators who introduce unconstitutional laws) to my youngest daughter, who climbs up onto my lap after dinner and looks
into my eyes, smooth forehead to my furrowed brow, little pixie nose to my nose, and tells me she would like some woot beer ... to my beloved partner, who volunteers countless hours for FMN and checks my punctuation.
I'm thankful that, despite the best efforts of the U.S. government to bring one about, we haven't had a repeat of the 9/11 attacks. Yet.
I'm thankful that the Homeland Security Act will not go into effect for a few more days.
I'm thankful to the Republican Congress for its heroic effort to cut 1/20th of one percent of its own proposed budget increases for fiscal year 2003. That's almost as inspiring as that 1% tax cut, phased in over ten years. Can paradise follow far behind such monumental developments?
I'm thankful for everyone in the freedom movement. See you in the camps!
Sunni Maravillosa:
It's a tough year to be thankful in some ways ... still, I am deeply thankful for wonderful friends and top-notch colleagues, and especially, those who are both. They include: Brad, The Hunter, Carl, Tooch, Tom, Claire, Susan, Kenneth, the Mad Prophet, Dale, Dave, Dan, Dan'l, Debra, Mary Lou, Nathan, Debby, F. Paul, Scott, Ian. I have learned much from many of the above, and from these authors: Gene, Peter, James, Vin, Claire & Aaron, Jan, David. And always, my wonderful family: Don Lobo, Thales, Logan, Alec, Orion, and Osibisa. I'm thankful for freedom, chocolate, and Rush. The world would benefit from more of all of them.
Wendy McElroy:
Most of the things I am thankful for are constants in my life: my husband Brad, family and friends (including a growing number of four-footed ones), good health, the farm, being lucky enough to work with the ideas I love.
Mary Lou Seymour:
In the dark and troubled times over the past year, with our liberties being stripped away one by one and with the constant nagging thought that most people don't even seem to know what's happening, or care, I am mainly thankful that Free Market Net gave me an opportunity to reach
out each week with the AotW column, and get feedback from real live freedom fighters in the trenches who have not given up, not yet, not by a long shot. I am thankful for my association with the wonderful staff and editors at Free Market Net, and for the chance to meet new friends
through my work with the partner organizations. I am also thankful for projects like the Free State Project, which again proves that there are still those who haven't given up but are doggedly planning for a future of freedom, and ezines like Strike the Root and Rational Review and Doing Freedom and the Libertarian Enterprise, which give me inspiration and hope with every issue. And most of all, I'm thankful to have found kindred souls throughout the world, each working away on the tapestry of freedom in their own way, giving each other hope and the strength to fight on.
Steve Trinward:
Mom, Dad, John & Kevin and their families; my new home and car;
Religious Science of Nashville, and all my friends and family there; Mike
Williams and his Six Chair Pickin' Party; Tammy, Jeff, Brian, Lisa & my
other co-writers & comrades; Ron and Karen and my fellow songwriters; my
colleagues on the LNC; and my friends and co-conspirators in the LPTN,
FMN, the Smith list and elsewhere.
Interact with the spotlight editor and other readers. This spotlight has been posted as a new thread in the Main Forum so that you can reply to it directly. Or, you can start a new discussion thread if you have something else to say.
If you have a private comment for J.D. Tuccille, the editor of the spotlight, e-mail him directly at jdtuccille@free-market.net. If your comment or question is more general, e-mail feedback@free-market.net. If your comment is about one of the publications in the directory above, contact the author or publisher of the piece directly.
