FFF Conference Report
Jeremy Ashton attended the FFF Conference. Here is his report.
FFF Conference:
Over the weekend of June 1st through the 4th I had the opportunity to
attend a conference put on by the Future of Freedom Foundation just
outside of Washington, DC titled "Restoring our Republic: Foreign
Policy and Civil Liberties". This conference was an all-star cast of
libertarian, conservative, and liberal thinkers who have come out in
strong opposition to the war in Iraq and as well as the loss of
liberties at home. I found it an honor to have the chance to meet
many of the individuals whose articles I have read over the years and
have been influential in my intellectual development in the cause of
liberty. The conference included speakers such as James Bovard, a
passionate defender of civil liberties; Ralph Raico, a great Austrian
economist and historian; Robert Higgs, a vigorous opponent of the
leviathan enhanced by "national crises"; Lew Rockwell, founder and
president of the Mises Institute; Justin Raimondo, editor of
antiwar.com; Richard Ebling, president of the Foundation for Economic
Education; Thomas DiLorenzo, an outspoken critic of Lincoln; Daniel
Ellsberg, famous for the Pentagon Papers; Sheldon Richmon, editor of
the Freeman; Andrew Napolitano, former judge in New Jersey who is seen
on Fox News; Bart Fraizer, of the Future of Freedom Foundation; Jacob
Hornberger, founder and president of FFF; and many others. As you can
see, it was a "Dream Team" of activists dedicated to restoring the
Jeffersonian tradition of "Peace, commerce, and honest friendship with
all nations, entangling alliances with none".
I especially appreciated Jacob Hornberger closing thoughts to the
conference. He expounded upon John Quincy Adam's speech to the House
of Representatives on July 4, 1821 where he said "But she (America)
goes not abroad, in search of monsters to destroy". Adams went on to
say that if America ever did abandon its policy of foreign
independence, then America would lose its greatness and "become the
dictatress of the world". It was also repeatedly pointed out at the
conference that Madison, the "Father of the Constitution", also feared
that war would bring about the destruction of America saying "Of all
enemies to public liberty war is, perhaps, the most to be dreaded
because it comprises and develops the germ of every other. War is the
parent of armies, from these proceed debt and taxes. And armies, and
debts, and taxes are the known instruments for bringing the many under
the domination of the few... No nation could preserve its freedom in
the midst of continual warfare."
The highlight to the conference was a speech given by Ron Paul on
Sunday evening. The fact that a politician, who has been involved
with politics in Washington DC for 20 plus years, would be cheered on
by a room full of anarcho-capitalists only points further to the fact
of what a great statesman we had in our mist. Judge Napolitano called
him "the Jefferson of our time", a very fitting description of a man
who has taken such a principled stance against statism for so many
years. I also discovered what a genuinely nice man he is as he took
time at the end of the night to exchange a few words with my 6 year
old son, someone who excitedly waited outside the door just to get a
glimpse of the great Ron Paul.
The best part of this conference was that it energized me to continue
the fight for our rights against the continual encroachment of
government, whether due to foreign entanglements or violations of
civil liberties at home.