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L⁠i⁠ber⁠t⁠y Needs an Ac⁠t⁠⁠i⁠ve and Informed C⁠i⁠⁠t⁠⁠i⁠zenry

By: The James Madison Institute / 2010

Blog

2010

By Francisco Gonzalez, JMI Development Director
Big government continues to grow at an alarming pace – with corporate bailouts, government “stimulus” programs, and now threatening proposals to tax carbon emissions and takeover the private health care industry. However, this is actually an exciting time for liberty. Please, hear me out.I have been involved in this movement since I graduated college more than 5 years ago. I have never seen the citizenry so alive and active as it is now. It’s unfortunate what it took to activate citizens across this state and nation, but now that many Floridians and Americans have seen the threats big government poses to their personal liberties, the pushback has not only begun, but is in full force and growing stronger. The Tea Party movement demonstrates for the first time in American history (well, since the last tea party in 1773) that advocates of liberty have taken to the streets to oppose an ever expansive (and expensive) government – street activism has typically been a tactic of the Left.The tea parties led to the high turnouts (and emotions) at town hall meetings across the country last summer and into this year. Florida has been credited with leading the nation with our tea parties and town hall activism. And JMI has been there – and will continue to be there – to provide citizens with the intellectual ammunition to oppose the increasing role of government in their lives. Intellectual backbone combined with citizen activism will demonstrate once again that the pursuit of liberty cannot be stopped – it is an essential part of the human condition.