1830 The Voice

 

Will individual freedom end with you?

 

Of the over 250 million citizens of voting age in the United States, 50 million are between the ages of 18-30 years of age. They are the Millennial Generation. Sooner than we think, we will be placing the weight of this great nation upon their shoulders, to make decisions for their children and their children’s children. At this moment in time, there is a fight for their minds. The prize? Individual freedoms. Free markets. Capitalism as we know it.

 

Understand that this is not a physical battle, but rather one of ideas and knowledge. The individual vote is the weapon of choice here. Each voter is valuable. And the younger a voter is reached, the greater impact that voter has on the long-term direction of this great nation.

 

We look to our long-standing ideals—freedom of choice, self-reliance, and the American Dream—to pass on to the generation that follows. But how will they know? How will this new generation understand the good in a free market economy if we do not teach them? How will they develop the self-reliance written about so eloquently by Ralph Waldo Emerson in 1830, if we do not make the effort to demonstrate its importance and benefit?

 

We have sat idly by, watching as the message of individual freedoms in our colleges and universities has become watered down. Entitlement and dependence has crept into the everyday thought process. As a country, we have thrown money at everything, while putting restrictions on those who produce. Socialism. Statism. Government involvement in all aspects of life is slowly becoming a reality.

All these ideas flow against the idea of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. All of these destroy the ideal that is American Exceptionalism—The American Dream. An opportunity to reintroduce these ideas to this generation is upon us. Individual freedom is not yet lost. Capitalism, the heart of our free market system, though under strain, still beats.

 

Now is our time to believe.  Now is our time to act!