by Anthony Gregory
For more than 12 years,
since I was a high-school freshman, I have counted the champions of
freedom as my greatest heroes. I have long admired those who, throughout
history as well in the present, have spoken truth to power and stood
up against tyranny, especially when it mattered most, and especially
when it was most difficult.
It was around the time
of the Kosovo war, when I was about selective-service-registration age
and my interest in foreign affairs began to grow, that I came to recognize
the profound significance of war and the warfare state and also the
hostility opponents of war often faced.
Those who opposed Clinton's
NATO war were attacked, their motives questioned. I saw leftist critics
of the war being called communists, accused of sympathizing with Milosevic's
communist background. I saw conservative critics criticized for not
caring about human rights. As a libertarian opponent of the war, I was
told that if I objected to the war, it must mean I wouldn't care if
foreigners perished in genocidal atrocities.
The mainstream Left and
the Democratic Party supported Clinton's foreign policy, just as the
mainstream Right and the Republicans have been loyal to Bush's war on
terror. In reality, however, the foreign policy in this country has
for a long time been bipartisan and its defenders have spanned the spectrum
- those who differ on domestic policy will agree that America's military
bases, its foreign interventions, its enormous standing army, its gigantic
weapons systems and the huge budgets to finance them all, are, on balance,
good for or even absolutely essential to the well-being of America and
international peace.
Then there are those who
disagree. Libertarians, classical liberals, and others who oppose unlimited
government have long been among the most vocal and staunch critics of
the warfare state, which we have identified as the greatest engine of
government growth and violations of liberty in the modern era. But we
have not been alone in our critiques. There are those on the Right and
Left who have focused their energy on protesting America's militarism,
imperialism, and belligerence. All around America, from all walks of
life, there are people who recognize the superlative threat that U.S.
foreign policy and the U.S. Empire pose to our security in life, liberty,
and property.
FFF's June 1-4 conference
Given how much I admire
those who speak trenchantly on behalf of liberty and peace, and given
how crucial an issue I consider the warfare state to be, it would be
impossible for me to overstate how excited I am to be a small part of
The Future of Freedom Foundation's upcoming conference, June 1 through
4, in Reston, Virginia, "Restoring the Republic: Foreign Policy
and Civil Liberties."
The Future of Freedom
Foundation has for years been one of my favorite libertarian organizations.
I used its materials in my self-education in libertarian theory, history,
and ethics back in high school. In college at U.C. Berkeley, I became
particularly interested in FFF's treatment of U.S. foreign policy. I
saw a couple of articles by Jacob Hornberger hung on the wall at Top
Dog, a wonderful Berkeley sausage eatery owned by a libertarian. One
of the articles was "The White Rose: A Lesson in Dissent,"
the inspiring story of Hans and Sophie Scholl, two young Germans who
stood up against Hitler, though it cost them their lives. The other
was an article about World War II in which Hornberger argued that its
ultimate consequence was not the liberated world it was supposed to
bring - rather, many of the people freed from Nazi rule had ended up
under Soviet rule.
A radical critique of
war and its less-appreciated consequences, I thought, and I began reading
more FFF materials on foreign policy, in particular the articles in
FFF's book The Failure of America's Foreign Wars.
I came to admire FFF especially
for being willing to speak up on the failures of imperialism and the
ravages of total war. While it is unpopular to say such things, while
it is even considered impolite to criticize the U.S. government's wars,
we in America at least have the freedom to do so. And, as it became
clear to me, if Hans and Sophie Scholl were willing to speak up, despite
the threat of death, then we should be willing to speak up when our
own government goes too far. The necessity of peace and freedom requires
it. And though this may seem to be an inappropriate comparison seeing
that it's not yet nearly as bad here as it was in Nazi Germany, we should
not wait until it gets worse before we speak up. We do have more freedom
than some, which means we have a lot to lose. There's no reason to wait
until dissent is banned before we practice it.
There's no reason to wait
until dissent is banned before you practice it.
When 9/11 came, FFF was
one of the rare principled voices for reason, restraint, and reflection
in the midst of an endless sea of calls for more government security,
more war, more police powers for the central state, more bombings, more
border guards, more gun control, and more of all the rest that helped
bring about the tragedy in the first place. Especially on civil liberties,
on torture, and on detentions without trial, FFF has brilliantly shined
in the last half decade.
As one show of their dedication,
the good folks at FFF are hosting what is shaping up to be one of the
greatest conferences in the history of libertarianism and peace advocacy
in this country. Although I certainly do not consider myself enough
of an authority for my praise of these participants to carry much weight
on its own, I can't help but say that the lineup of speakers is just
out of this world.
Hornberger, for one, is
one of the most impassioned and compelling speakers in the movement.
I could voice as sincere words of excitement about hearing the other
speakers but it would take too much space.
Ah, what the heck.
I have never heard Sheldon
Richman speak, but I have long loved his radical and powerfully written
defenses of liberty. The same goes for Richard Ebeling, whom I can hardly
wait to meet. Since high school, the indispensable Jim Bovard has been
among my favorite authors - I have read all his books since then and
regard him as one of the best researchers and journalists of government
abuses and shams around. And I can't wait to hear what Bart Frazier,
a principled voice for freedom at FFF (who should also write more!),
has to say.
As a libertarian student
of history, I am very much looking forward to the talks by Ralph Raico,
a treasure to the movement; Thomas DiLorenzo, who has done great work
exposing the Lincoln myth; and Joseph Stromberg, who has helped keep
the flame of revisionism alive. With three articles a week, Justin Raimondo's
tireless work at Antiwar.com has just been amazing, and he's a wonderfully
lively speaker too. Ted Galen Carpenter has done some of the best realistic
analysis of foreign policy I've seen. And Lew Rockwell at LewRockwell.com
and the Mises Institute has simply been one the best writers and publishers
of principled writing for peace and liberty in our time.
The Independent Institute,
where I am very fortunate to be working, will be represented by Ivan
Eland, whose informed defense policy analysis I enjoyed well before
I got to work for him, and by Robert Higgs, whose masterly scholarship
on the military-industrial complex should be read by everyone.
Since 9/11, the Left has
been arguably better than the Right at opposing wartime tyranny. I've
admired Robert Scheer's journalism since I saw him speak at U.C. Berkeley.
I am much looking forward to the presentations of Joanne Mariner, as
I am inspired by the work Human Rights Watch does to expose atrocity
everywhere, and Joseph Margulies, whose work on Guantanamo and detentions
has been most important.
Since 9/11, the Left has
been arguably better than the Right at opposing wartime tyranny.
Not all of the Right has
been bad, however, and it's important to expose the divide between supposed
conservative principles of small government and the big-government and
civil-liberties encroachments we see most conservatives defend at wartime.
Bob Barr has shown unusual integrity in reaching across the political
spectrum, breaking with conservative allies when it comes to privacy.
Andrew Napolitano is that rare voice for the rule of law in a mainstream
media otherwise ideologically attached at the hip to the federal government.
Laurence Vance, a libertarian and devout conservative Christian, has
helped show many people the disconnect between their professed faith
in the Prince of Peace and their devotion to the god of war.
It doesn't end even there.
Daniel Ellsberg is a real-life hero who risked it all to tell the truth
about Vietnam, and thanks to him, the truth won. Karen Kwiatkowski has
reminded us through the grueling war in Iraq that truth-tellers and
whistle-blowers still exist, and I expect her talk to be damning. Then
there's Richard Vague, a CEO who has seen the counterproductive effects
of the war on terror and has put his money where his mouth is trying
to show others in the business world the folly of the current approach.
As for Ron Paul, he is very likely the best congressman in American
history, and that wouldn't even be his most impressive quality.
I am so thrilled to be
involved with this event. I would be thrilled to go even if I weren't
a speaker, as it features so many of the great proponents of civil liberties
and peace that I have come to admire in the last several years. With
any half of the speakers, it would still rank as a conference I would
hate to miss.
The best speakers, the
most important issues - did I mention, by the way, that I was born in
Fairfax, the county in which this conference is happening? This event
is a dream come true for me, and if you are reading this and are as
moved by peace and liberty and as troubled by endless war and unlimited
government as I am, I do hope to see you there.
Anthony
Gregory is a research assistant at the Independent Institute and serves
as policy advisor to The Future of Freedom Foundation. He is a writer
and musician who lives in Berkeley, California. He earned his bachelor's
degree in history at UC Berkeley where he was president of the Cal Libertarians.
He has written for RationalReview.com, the Libertarian Enterprise, and
LewRockwell.com.
For information
about The Future of Freedom Foundation's June 1-4 conference, "Restoring
the Republic: Foreign Policy and Civil Liberties," at the Hyatt
Regency Reston in Reston, Virginia, contact FFF: 11350 Random Hills
Rd., Ste. 800, Fairfax, Virginia, 22030; tel. 703-934-6101; fff@fff.org;
www.fff.org/conference2007.
