Posted by Matt Hawes on 11/26/09 2:19 PM Last updated 11/26/09 2:19 PM   [Newer: Ron Paul on CNBC] [Older: Operation Health Freedom - Ron Paul Transcript]

In the midst of unprecendented threats to our liberty, it can often seem like there just isn't a whole lot out there to be thankful for anymore in the political realm.

And though we are not always in control of events, we can control the way we react to them and the mindset with which we choose to embrace life and all its twists and turns.

Here are a few things that come to my mind to be thankful for today:

- The freedom movement is stronger than it has ever been, and it is active.  We're not passively sitting back and just yelling at the talking heads on the television.

We're out knocking on doors, running for office, taking over committees, leaving pamphlets and slim jims where people can easily access them, donating liberty books to our local libraries, calling in to talk shows, appearing on television shows, showing up at town halls, protests, and rallies, and so much more.

We're recruiting.  We're advancing.

- We've built a strong community where we can talk and work with people who share our values and ideas.  Even if we don't agree down the line on every point, we can agree we want our liberty back.  It's impossible to put a price on even the simplest conversation, as it can be an amazing relief just to talk to even one person who shares your goals and understands the approach that needs to be taken to our country's problems.

- I'm especially thankful that I'm not trying to take something from someone this holiday season.  Sure, we'll hear lots of people praising how far "health care reform" has come this year, but the freedom movement doesn't fine you or send you to jail if you have a health care plan we don't like.  We don't ask how many bureaucrats we can get to make your decisions for you (or tell you what kind of light bulbs you can have in your house).  We don't inquire as to how many nations we can remake in our own image or want to know how many warrantless searches we can conduct.

- We can be thankful that we've just seen the most comprehensive audit of the Federal Reserve ever get voted on and passed by a major House committee.  There's a long way to go, of course, and we will work hard to get a vote on the House floor for the bill itself apart from the horrendous regulatory reform bill, but the fact that we're even at this point is historic. 

The freedom movement was supposed to fade after Ron Paul's presidential campaign.  It was supposed to stop talking about sound money and a foreign policy of decency and respect.  We were told no one cared about the Federal Reserve or wanted to do anything about it.

Less than a year after H.R. 1207 was introduced, we have over two thirds of Congress, a quarter of the Senate, and 75% of the American people on our side.  The freedom movement can't accomplish the goals it sets for itself?  Yeah.  Sure.  Whatever makes our opponents feel better at night.  (And for another legislative victory of interest thus far, what about a certain firearms act that keeps making its way around more and more states?  The fact that it's even being taken seriously is a great step forward.)

This Thanksgiving, each of us are fighting to set more people free to live their own lives.  Every minute of every day, there's someone in the world working for freedom.

Don't forget that the liberty movement is intensively active at a time when centralized government power is at its strongest.  There's a lot of battles we've lost and more we will lose in the future simply because we're challenging an entire way of thought and an entrenched status quo.  Those in positions of authority have been there a long, long time, and they're not going to simply roll-over for us.

They may not respect our first phone call or appearance at a meeting, but they're learning to respect our thousandth phone call and our rallies.  To truly make a difference, you have to prove to those in power that you're serious about not going away.  They're used to weathering storms.

They're not used to weathering a revolution.

We want real change - not just a tinkering around with the system that makes us feel good and looks pretty on a t-shirt.  That means changing hearts and converting minds from a way of thinking they've been thoroughly immersed in for decades. 

But we've seen what the liberty message can do and the effect it can have on people once they see where we're coming from.  And for those of you who have seen that precise moment the light clicks on in people, you know exactly how good that feels.

We can change things in this country and the world, but it's going to take time, and it's going to involve some setbacks.  But if our determination to reclaim our Republic and the effort we choose to pursue that idea with matches the intensity of our outrage at those who would lord their authority over our lives, we can overcome those losses and turn them into the exceptions on the road to taking our neighborhoods, our lives, and our nation back.

Happy Thanksgiving from all of us here at Campaign for Liberty!  Here's to another year of expanding our list of things to be thankful for.

Posted 11/27/09 12:30 PM Glenn Cumming, GA

From an article by Frank Chodorov posted at Mises.org yesterday(http://mises.org/daily/3882): "...that when people want freedom they will get it. When the desire of the business man for "free enterprise" is so strong that he will risk bankruptcy for it, he cannot be denied. When youth prefers prison to the barracks, when a job in the bureaucracy is considered leprous, when the tax collector is stamped a legalized thief, when handouts from the politician are contemptuously rejected, when work on a government project is considered degrading, when, in short, the state is recognized to be the enemy of society, then only will freedom come, and the citadel of power collapse." I want freedom! I'm thankful for a place like C4L to be among likeminded people.