"...Actually, what is the political struggle that we witness? It is the instinctive struggle of all people toward liberty. And what is this liberty, whose very name makes the heart beat faster and shakes the world? Is it not the union of all liberties—liberty of conscience, of education, of association, of the press, of travel, of labor, of trade? In short, is not liberty the freedom of every person to make full use of his faculties, so long as he does not harm other persons while doing so? Is not liberty the destruction of all despotism—including, of course, legal despotism? Finally, is not liberty the restricting of the law only to its rational sphere of organizing the right of the individual to lawful self-defense; of punishing injustice? ..."- Frédéric Bastiat, The Law.

I have found a peace within and my strength and resolve to work for all that I believe has been increased manifold...this renewal is the direct result of attending the most wonderful gathering of principled individuals and learning so much! I am very happy, as I know this wonderful experience will stay with me and become a part of everything I do from now on.

The spirit of liberty is alive & well!  It is evidenced in the courageous dedication, hard work, and unwavering commitment to liberty I saw in individuals this weekend.

The Future of Freedom Foundation (FFF) conference "Restoring the Republic 2008: Foreign Policy and Civil Liberties" (June 6-8, 2008 in Reston, Virginia) was the most fulfilling intellectual experience of my life. It not only was incredibly informative, it was inspiring!

The Future of Freedom Foundation's mission "...is to advance freedom by providing an uncompromising moral and economic case for individual liberty, free markets, private property, and limited government."  I consider it to be the organization for true libertarians. Of course, reading the FFF's monthly journal Freedom Daily and receiving the daily FFF email update for some time, I knew this event would be enriching. With FFF's founder and president, Jacob Hornberger, being the uncompromising principled individual he is, it was a given the event would provide attendees a wealth of knowledge as well as buttressing one's commitment to achieving the blessings of freedom in a society which is abandoning civil liberties, ethics, and morality rampantly.

This outstanding conference featured many excellent speakers crossing the political spectrum, all adding their unique perspective to the 3 days of learning, discussion, and dialog between all. (Soon, the FFF will be posting videos of the speakers, though you may view videos of last year's 2007 conference on their YouTube page.) With 21 speakers, I gained an enormous amount of knowledge, and share a little about the following speakers in particular since they were among the most moving for me.

A few highlights briefly summarized:

Opening & Closing: Jacob Hornberger's opening speech set the tone for the entire weekend, emphasizing what I consider the most important insight all dedicated to the principles of freedom must remember - the task at hand (liberty) will be achieved if each of us does the thing we must do. Together the work we all do will culminate to the point we envision. But we cannot allow despair and discouragement to well up within in face of the daunting task...no, we must work in the service of liberty by doing precisely what we are led to do - without regard to what seems a monumental task - but only in regard to keeping the focus and the faith. The republic can be restored. Freedom can become the way of life in America. Hornberger's example of the collapse of the Berlin Wall was powerful (as I do tend to sometime lapse into despair about the future of our nation), but that example alone puts everything into perspective. We have enormous potential; we can create the a future of freedom...now more than ever before in my life I believe this.

Hornberger delivered a closing speech Sunday night which re-emphasized several of his key points, speaking extemporaneously, his passionate plea to each of us to do what we can to be part of bringing about the transition of our nation from darkness into the light of liberty was the perfect conclusion.

Jesselyn Radack - I was so pleased to hear this remarkable woman speak! Her courageous devotion to truth, and the persecution/retaliation she has suffered as a result, makes her one of those individuals whom I respect and admire. She shared with us her incredible experience as a Justice Department lawyer as it related to the prosecution of John Walker Lindh. Radack's talk "Conscience Over Career: The Prosecution of the American Taliban," was fascinating. Read a recent Philadelphia Inquirer piece she did entitled "Report on FBI interrogations omits the Lindh case of torture". After hearing her speech, I was pleased to be able to get a copy of her self-published book/memoir (and though I'm just beginning to read it, based on her speech, I highly recommend it to you): The Canary in the Coalmine: Blowing the Whistle in the Case of "American Taliban" John Walker Lindh. To read more about Radack, her story, reviews, the first chapter of her book, etc. visit  [link edited for length]. Frankly, I would love to see her book be read by millions of Americans - such truth of what evil our government does must be told and widely so.

Laurence Vance - Yet another writer whose articles I deeply value, but one I had never had the pleasure of hearing speak. I am so happy the FFF invited Vance! His speech at the conference, "Christianity and War," was a powerful denunciation of rampant Christian hypocrisy (such as declarations of praying for the troops or expressing supporting of the troops, yellow ribbons, etc. while simultaneously giving lip-service to rejection of a war or those Christians who rationalize the immorality of war and actually make its support part of their patriotic as well as religious pride). Vance boldly spoke the truth about this topic as no one I've ever heard. Hearing his speech just added to my respect for his heartfelt true dedication to truth and to his faith.

Robert Higgs - After years of reading Higgs' writings, it was good to hear him in person. His speech, "How major U.S. Neo-imperialist Wars End" was excellent.

Anthony Gregory - What a great speaker. I continue to be impressed by not only Gregory's articles but now by his speaking as well. Indeed a "rising star" as FFF Founder/president Hornberger called Gregory, his speech lived up to the quality of his commentary.

I also particularly appreciated David Henderson's talk...but again every speaker was excellent from economic topics to conditions of detainees to the numerous assaults on civil liberties in our nation to the blowback of our imperialistic foreign policy, this weekend was a great learning experience. It was also enjoyable to hear Bart Frazier (Program Dir. of the FFF) and Jim Bovard (who has a great sense of humor) speak. For me, Hornberger's and Vance's talks were the most personal and deeply touching, since both reference the spiritual/moral basis of our libertarianism from which all else stems for me.

In addition to the excellent speakers, the dialog/conversations which occurred between attendees was also something I found to be valuable. Nothing is more encouraging than meeting like-minded principled individuals sharing ideas together and discussing possibilities.

Each of us must use our voice to educate, enlighten, and inspire Americans to join us in advancing libertarian principles. Meeting and listening to such courageous principled individuals as spoke at the FFF conference, coming home with several excellent books from speakers (which I may write reviews of at a later time), learning in detail of more atrocities and evil acts of the federal government while simultaneously seeing there are those who recognize and fight it, has proven to be extremely beneficial to me as I consider where I go from here. 

As one who has attended a number of events during my life, I wholeheartedly can say that attending the FFF Conference was the the most wonderful inspiring and enriching experience of my life. I will carry not only what I learned intellectually, but also recognize that I come away from this experience a far more powerful advocate of liberty because of the emotional and spiritual enrichment I gained.

I now share just a few comments I jotted down on my bedside notepad, written Sunday night (June 8, 2008), approx. 1:00 am in the morning in Reston, Virginia, immediately after returning from a quiet and deeply moving visit to the Jefferson Memorial (and other monuments) that night, very tired but felt a need to capture my feelings so I could later share them verbatim as part of what I would write about my attending the Future of Freedom Conference. More a diary/journal entry, I simply wrote briefly before turning out the light to rest after an incredibly significant weekend, thus that late night I wrote:

"I have now a peace within. I don't know the "how" or even the "why" precisely - but the feeling which was bringing me to tears at times is gone - and in its place a peace that surpasses my understanding - but which was necessary to be restored, rejuvenated in the way I must be to face the world strong again.

I think on Jacob Hornberger's beginning and ending powerful speeches: Do what you can do. To hear him so firmly express his conviction we can - we will- achieve liberty - just as the Berlin Wall crumbled by the dedication of many spirits - so, too, can we crumble the ever oppressing tyranny in our nation.

I am inspired and again experiencing a peace (after tears these past few weeks in my life, and tears tonight as I stood at the Jefferson Memorial and again at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial).

I shall share more soon, but wanted to express, in writing, tonight, 1:03 am, in Reston, VA, that I am stronger, and prepared for the work ahead. And I am not alone. This weekend has shown this as nothing ever before in my life."


In conclusion, I not only highly recommend those authors/activists  mentioned above, but strongly encourage you to consider attending next year's FFF conference at which time they'll be celebrating the Foundations' 20th anniversary. Start planning now, because if you are one who truly values and seeks to make a difference in this world, who is devoted to being part of achieving liberty in our lifetime, then attending next year's conference will prove to be invaluable.

Meanwhile, I highly recommend you sign up for the daily email from FFF - it's the email subscription I most look forward to each day giving links to the best articles on the web and featuring Hornberger's daily blog entry (read both recent and past blog entries - they cover so many issues from his uncompromising libertarian position).

Although I have summarized briefly my experience attending this year's FFF event, I share with you I have gained far more within than I can articulate...I have found a peace within...know where I'm going (I'm headed in the right direction/on the right path), listening for guidance as I make decisions, and I know I am not alone in the vision and dream I have for America. I am happy, restored, and my faith is strong. This joy will manifest itself into realizing one or more of the ideas I am now considering to help be part of creating the peaceful harmonious society we work toward. It's about you and me together...doing what we can...and I believe we will succeed. Liberty!