How Bad Do You Want to Be Free? by Jacob G. Hornberger April 1, 1990 Ever since I was a small child, I have been intrigued by the Battle of the Alamo. For a time, the defenders of the Alamo were expecting reinforcements to arrive. But once word came that Fannin and his troops had been massacred, it was clear that help would not come. Travis, Bowie, Crockett and their men faced certain death and yet there was still an opportunity to escape. Why did they stay? Some of them had wives and children. Some undoubtedly had prosperous businesses. Why didn't they simply cut and run to fight another day? Why did they choose death above all else? The same was true with those who signed the American Declaration of Independence. It is easy today to view their action as patriotic. But we must remember that the ...
The Economics of the Drug War by Richard M. Ebeling April 1, 1990 Does America have a drug problem? Yes. Is the drug problem undermining a part of the country's social and economic fabric? Yes. Are there steps that can be taken to help overcome America's drug problem? Yes. Should government be given more power and greater financial wherewithal to halt and reverse the drug crisis? No! For many Americans, the answer to the last question will seem inconsistent with the answers to the preceding questions. Unfortunately, this only demonstrates a pervasive misunderstanding of exactly what kind of drug crisis America is actually facing. And it is a misunderstanding that is often caused by the press and news media through their visually sensationalist coverage and biased reporting. First, some good news. America is not a drug-crazed society. In fact, most studies, including those of the government, suggest that experimentation and use of many drugs, even among the young, are on ...
An Open Letter to Russell Kirk by Jacob G. Hornberger April 1, 1990 Friends of mine recently shared with me your two articles, "Libertarians: The Chirping Sectaries" and "A Dispassionate Assessment of Libertarians." In these articles, you claimed that an unbridgeable gulf separated the moral and philosophical positions of conservatives and libertarians. You concluded, therefore, that there was little hope for these two groups to form a united front against the over-arching state in America. While I have only the utmost regard for your scholarship and your dedication to the principles of freedom, I firmly believe that much of what you wrote in your articles is erroneous. In the hope that you, and perhaps other conservatives, might re-examine and re-consider some of your antipathies towards libertarians and libertarianism, I am writing to share my thoughts with you. In so doing, I believe that it is ...
Forget the Alamo (and the Flag)! by Jacob G. Hornberger March 1, 1990 The American flag is one of this nation's most treasured symbols of freedom. Therefore, when the United States Supreme Court held that the burning of the flag was an act protected under the First Amendment, many Americans were outraged. Reflecting passionate devotion to this highly valued symbol of freedom, they called for new laws, and even a Constitutional amendment ...
Fighting Plunder with Plunder in Poland by Jacob G. Hornberger February 1, 1990 After more than forty years of suffering under socialism, the Polish people finally have an opportunity to pursue economic freedom. Yet, every indication is that the new Polish government intends to pursue the same old hackneyed ideas of plunder which caused so much misery and despair. Rather than immediately eliminate the immoral impediments to economic progress which have plagued ...
Visions and Ideals by James Allen February 1, 1990 The dreamers are the saviors of the world. As the visible world is sustained by the invisible, so men, through all their trials and sins and sordid vocations, are nourished by the beautiful visions of their solitary dreamers. Humanity cannot forget its dreamers; it cannot let their ideals fade and ...
A Message from FFF’s Founder and President by Jacob G. Hornberger January 1, 1990 Socialism is morally and intellectually bankrupt. Under the guise of "order" and "security," millions of innocent people have been murdered or enslaved. Under the guise of "taxation" and social justice, untold amounts of income and savings have been plundered and redistributed to the politically privileged. Having gripped the hearts and minds of the people of the world in the ...
A Message from FFF’s Vice-President by Richard M. Ebeling January 1, 1990 In the early decades of the 20th century, the political ideal on every one's lips was socialism, and the economic vision before every one's eyes was that of the planned economy. The capitalist system, with its institutions of private property and free enterprise, would soon be a thing of the past ...
Self-Reliance by Ralph Waldo Emerson January 1, 1990 ... To believe your own thought to believe that what is true for you in your private heart is true for all men - that is genius. Speak your latent conviction, and it shall be the universal sense; for the inmost in due time becomes the outmost ...
