Welcome to the Revolution

Some of us can pinpoint the exact moment we knew something was desperately wrong with our Country, with our two-party political system. For others, it's not so cut and dry. The feeling of discontent grew slowly, rising from time and again feeling unrepresented by our leaders. This sad realization was spawned by the bi-partisan passage of legislation like The Patriot Act and the NDAA's Indefinate Detention Clause, that we knew were in direct conflict with the Constitution on which this Republic was founded. When one looked at the actual voting records, the line between right and left, Republican and Democrat, is largely non-existent. One used to depend on the right to keep the fiscal end of government in check, and the left to protect our individual liberties. Neither are any good at either of those things anymore. Both sides consistently vote for higher taxes and regulations, more deficit spending, and if they can manage to swindle away our individual liberties along the way, you can always count on them to do exactly that. I had always been a registered Independent, only changing my party affiliation a few times over the years to vote in primaries. I changed my party affiliation to the LPF after the 2012 RNC Convention in Tampa, where I witnessed the real hands of power at work, changing rules on the fly to keep Ron Paul's delegates from being seated. I was furious. I was sick to my stomach. I wondered what country I lived in. Certainly it was no longer a government composed Of, By and For the People. I was pissed off. Although I had identified and aligned myself with the Libertarian philosophy and platform for several years, it took that incident to spark me to change my registration. Interestingly enough, it still wasn't enough to get me to get me involved, that would take a little while longer. For the next year I read and I researched. I really started paying attention. My government became more brazen and unapologetic. I lamented to anyone who would listen and got even more angry. New agencies were growing in their scope and power to restrict our civil liberties; the TSA, the Department of Homeland Security, FEMA. Our local police forces started resembling combat teams, loading up with excess military gear from the Pentagon for use in our hometowns. With these realizations, I became more and more fearful of my own government. The IRS was outright criminal in the targeting of political groups. The mass survellience by the NSA, collecting digital profiles on virtually every American in direct violation of the fourth amendment to our Constitution. The Federal Reserve, which is a private banking institution, continued to perpetuate unsustainable monetary policies. The list goes on and on, and continues to grow by the day. My last shred of confidence in the two-party system was completely and utterly annihilated that year. I knew without a doubt the American People were being enslaved, and blatantly sold out to the corporate oligarchy over and over and over again. I felt angry. I felt betrayed. I felt scared. Mostly, I felt helpless to do anything about it. I felt like giving up. I had all but given up. I had been toying with the idea of attending a meeting of my local LPF affiliate for about 6 months before I actually went. Like most people, I had a slight reluctance to new things, new ideas, new people. I was also new to political activism. The last campaign I worked on was Ross Perot's Independent bid for the Presidency in 1992. I was just 23 years old. I really had no idea what to expect. The first meeting I attended was in June of 2014. I immediately knew I had found a home. This small group of intelligent, driven, like-minded freedom lovers were to change the course of my life in many ways. It wasn't long before I was asked to step in and fill the vacant Vice-Chair position. This was a big step for me, after all, I'm a libertarian, I just want to be left alone to my personal pursuit of happiness. There comes a time in life when you have to do more than be left alone to insure that. For me, that time had come. With the midterm election cycle in full swing and an incredible candidate for governor to campaign for, our local affiliate held 8 campaign-specific events over a four month period. Our membership grew. Our active members and volunteers grew. Voters for Adrian Wyllie grew. Manatee county ended up garnering almost twice the state average for Adrian Wyllie. Some precincts showed numbers just shy of 10%. That is an amazing accomplishment for a third party candidate. This is what we are now capitalizing on and moving the message of Freedom into the future for Manatee County, the state of Florida and beyond. With each meeting and event I have participated in, my resolve to make a difference for my children and grandchildren has grown deeper and more passionate. The strides we make as an organization by steadily bringing the message of The Libertarian Party to our community will be the catalyst of real, lasting change for our futures. To be able to present an alternative voice to a populace that has lost faith in our system, like I had, is incredibly gratifying. To be able to inspire others to stand up and take action is even more exciting. This is exactly what is happening, and with every new member, my faith grows. With every new party registration changed to LPF I know we are that much closer to making a big dent in a corrupt system. Each day that goes by I know we are that much closer to delivering our lives back into our own hands, precisely where they belong. If you are here and reading this, Welcome to the Revolution. It's time to take a stand.