Lights of Liberty

"Let your light shine"...most of us are familiar with this biblical phrase, but do we live it? Some do.

This past week the Rio Grande Foundation held the first annual "Lights of Liberty" luncheon in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The guest speaker was David Boaz, Executive Vice President of the CATO Institute. Let me simply say that David's light is shining.

The sell-out crowd of 170 liberty-minded attendees listened intently through David's 30 minute "Liberty in Crisis" presentation.

The speech was inspiring, thought provoking and real. David doesn't mince words or dance around critical topics. Although politically correct in the appropriate use of the term, his casual lack of concern for unnecessary political correctness - that which goes against the grain of today's liberal-fueled quasi-conventional wisdom - makes him the perfect example of it - of political correctness. He speaks the truth, he says what needs to be said and he says it well.

One of my favorite pieces so far (I am still reading) by David Boaz appeared in the Wall Street Journal in May 2009 and is titled "Our Collectivist Candidates". His message is timely and timeless; he ends with a statement loosely related to my area of expertise - philanthropy. I will share the final two paragraphs in this blog, but please click on the link to read his entire article.

"But hypocrisy is not the biggest issue. The real issue is that Messrs. Obama and McCain are telling us Americans that our normal lives are not good enough, that pursuing our own happiness is "self-indulgence," that building a business is "chasing after our money culture," that working to provide a better life for our families is a "narrow concern."

They're wrong. Every human life counts. Your life counts. You have a right to live it as you choose, to follow your bliss. You have a right to seek satisfaction in accomplishment. And if you chase after the almighty dollar, you just might find that you are led, as if by an invisible hand, to do things that improve the lives of others."

And he is right; in my experience as a fundraiser, people who have achieved success want (maybe even need) to share with others, and in an interesting example of "what goes around comes around", they are often rewarded for their philanthropic generosity with continued and increased success. It's one of those eternal principles, and yet some would deny that right to personal success and accomplishment. Shame on them; maybe they should be hiding under a bushel.

Keep on shining, David. And may the light of liberty shine on too.