Today I ran my annual fourth of July run. This makes 3 consecutive years in a row I have run the morning of Independence Day. My running journey began on a fourth of July weekend back in 2002. I will never forget that weekend. That was the weekend I quit smoking and started running. I never looked back and I have never felt better. So this day has a two fold special meaning for me. This day means a lot to American's, and especially all those who fight to uphold to the principles of limited government and individual liberty everywhere it can be preserved. The founding fathers who laid the ground work for these principles in the Constitution of the United States of America understood that eternal vigilance is the price of liberty. Benjamin Franklin is often quoted as saying, "Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither." I believe Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, and all of the other founders would be flabbergasted if they could see what has become of those precious liberties they risked their lives, fortunes, and sacred honor to protect. Most of the career politicians in Washington today have absolutely no respect for the Constitution or the Bill of Rights. They hold working Americans in virtual slavery with outrageously high income taxes. They regulate every facet of our lives form the number of electrical outlets in our homes, to the amount of water that is permitted in our toilet bowls. There is not one area of our lives today that is not in some way touched by the intrusive hands of the politicians and bureaucrats in our midst. But fortunately there is hope for freedom lovers today. Many of us still still value economic and personal liberty. We call ourselves libertarians. In the 18th century those who valued limited government and personal liberty were called liberals, but today the word liberal has been stolen. Today in the 21st century the word liberal means something entirely different. It is a word to describe those who advocate big government programs, and high taxes. Liberals think that government made America great, whereas libertarians think that freedom is what made America great. So today people who uphold the values of the founders, i.e. limited government and individual liberty, call themselves libertarians. The hope for libertarians is that there are various organizations working today to restore our lost liberties, reduce taxes, and promote the values of a self reliant free society. The Libertarian Party is the third largest political party and only party completely dedicated to libertarian principals. You can find out more about this organization at their website http://www.lp.org/. There also seems to be a strong libertarian presence growing within the Republican Party as well. I think this movement was given a kick start in 2007 when the Republican congressman Ron Paul from Texas announced he was seeking the party's nomination for President of the United States. Many of Ron Paul's supporters came together and formed what I believe to be one of the largest grass roots movements to elect a president in American history. This election year many of the so called Tea Party candidates seem to have strong libertarian leanings. If you live in my state which happens to be Oklahoma you have two excellent Republican candidates running for office who understand the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. Randy Brogdon for governor and Nathan Dahm for district 1. So if you are reading this and you care about preserving the values our great nation was founded upon then I urge you to become informed, and find out more about those who represent you in Washington. If your representatives are compromising your freedoms, then make sure to hold them to account and vote them out of office in the next election. On that thought I'll post my days running time. Happy Independence Day! Time: 1:30:28 Average Pace: 9:02 per mile
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