A Time That Tries Men’s Souls

In the midst of the turmoil in which our country is enveloped, I am reminded of the immortal words of Thomas Paine:

These are the times that try men’s souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands by it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: it is dearness only that gives every thing its value. Heaven knows how to put a proper price upon its goods; and it would be strange indeed if so celestial an article as freedom should not be highly rated.

Before the coronavirus crisis, we were living under a brutal and tyrannical system, one that had destroyed our liberty, peace, prosperity, health, and harmony.

The Internal Revenue Service and the Federal Reserve had been plundering and looting our income and savings for decades.

The welfare state damaged people’s faith in themselves, others, and God. It also harmed the sense of self-reliance and voluntary charity that once characterized the American people.

The warfare state brought us nothing but endless conflict and enmity abroad as well as the destruction of liberty and privacy at the hands of our own government here at home.

The drug war eviscerated our liberty and privacy and drew brutal racial bigotry into both federal and state law enforcement.

The centrally managed, regulated economy guaranteed poverty for those at the bottom of the economic ladder.

The federal government’s centrally planned socialist healthcare hampered the private sector from quickly addressing the coronavirus crisis, and then the state and local governments compounded the problem with lockdowns, arrests, intimidation, and threats of incarceration.

The $26 trillion in federal debt to finance all of this mayhem hangs over the American people like the sword of Damocles.

This tyrannical and oppressive system under which Americans now live is contrary to the principles of liberty and limited government enunciated in the Declaration of Independence. It is the abandonment of those founding principles that is the root cause of the massive tyranny, oppression, and unequal treatment under law in America today.

So, what do we libertarians do about all that?

We definitely do not give up. We do not resign ourselves to living our lives as serfs, perpetually subservient to those in political power. We do not surrender to the welfare-warfare way of life and simply become reformers of it.

Yes, these are certainly times that try men’s souls, but this is no time for summer soldiers and sunshine patriots. This is the time for those of us who love liberty to lead our nation and the world to liberty, peace, prosperity, and harmony.

How do we do that? By continuing to stand fast for libertarian principles, ideals, and sound ideas on liberty and sharing them with others. It is that methodology that holds the key to achieving the critical mass of determined, liberty-loving people needed to put our nation back on the right track.

That’s what The Future of Freedom of Foundation is all about. That’s what our daily Internet commentary page, FFF Daily, is all about. And our monthly journal Future of Freedom. And our weekly Internet show, “The Libertarian Angle.” And our articles, blogs, and books. And our conferences and seminars. And we have just embarked on a program to convert all 11 of our ebooks to print format so that more people will have access them.

Principles, ideals, and sound ideas on liberty are among the most powerful forces in the universe. They have the capability to ignite the hearts and minds of men and women all across the land. They are the key to conquering the tyranny and oppression under which we live.

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Yours for liberty,

Jacob Hornberger

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