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.

Let Freedom Ring

Fireworks, parades, flags, bar-b-que, family, liberty, freedom, the pursuit of happiness, joy; these are all part of the 4th of July, Independence Day.

I love the United States of America. I appreciate the men and women who have sacrificed their lives and their time for the freedom I enjoy every day.

I have enormous respect for the Founding Fathers of our country. I am amazed at the courage and tenacity of the pilgrims. I have visited Jamestown several times. I have been there when the coast was blanketed in a thick, cold, rolling fog and tried to imagine the lives of those early settlers during the extreme weather conditions of those freezing winters.

I have a contrasting but equally enormous concern for some of our elected leaders today who seem to have egos and power and fame on their minds rather than freedom and liberty, prosperity and opportunity. They prefer to take over businesses instead of legislating appropriately to support a free market and encourage individual success. They travel abroad too often when they are needed here, in their nation, and in their states.

Personally, I am happy to stay in the good ol' U-S-of-A. I love road trips on the highways of our country. Every mile that I drive I am awestruck by the natural beauty that can be found in all corners of our great nation. And I am thrilled when I meet new friends, fellow Americans of different religions, cultural backgrounds, and opinions. They intrigue me. They make me think. They aren't always like me, but they usually make me a better person, especially if I take the time to listen (and learn). Sure, I would love to travel abroad, but there is so much to see and learn about right here that I am in no hurry. Besides, I doubt I could get an audience with the Pope and I don't have anyone in other parts of the world that I want to climb into bed with literally or figuratively - lover, friend or foe.

I am proud to be an American. I treasure my freedom. I respect those who have sacrificed so that I can live in this land of the free and home of the brave.

I believe this is a blessed nation. I hope that we as a nation will live so that it continues to be.

God bless America, land and people that I love...

Here's to...

...life, liberty and the pursuit of taxation without representation...wait, that's not right...baugh humbug!

So instead, here's to less government, fewer taxes, increased opportunity and prosperity, and...life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Now that's more like it and that's what this blog is all about.

Cheers. Salud. Mazal tov.