Posted by Sarabeth Rudd on 02/11/10

It all started with a phone call from my sister asking me if I would be interested in coming to her current events class to talk about the Federal Reserve. Of course I said, "YES!!" Her teacher had asked a representative from a bank to come speak, but she backed out and said they needed an economist. Well, they got me instead, and I had a blast educating a classroom packed with 10th grade and above students.

Here is a list of the questions that the class came up with and emailed to me ahead of time:

Why did the Government have to bail the banks out?

Why do bankers deserve/receive a raise or bonus when they accepted bail-out money?

Where is the money to bail out banks coming from?

What did the banking industry have to do with the initial drop in the economy

Why did the drop in the economy seem to happen so suddenly?

What are banks doing to help fix the economy?

How does the bail out of the banks and other companies help out us (the tax payer)?

Will any of the bail out $ be paid back by the banks? If so, what is the deadline and what is the Interest rate?

what role does the FED and the FDIC play in the banking system and why it needed to be bailed out. Why weren't there regulations to stop this
from happening?

Will this same thing happen again in the future? What are banks and the gov't doing to prevent it from happening again?

I knew that the answers that I was going to give them were not what they would expect. I was nervous about going into a public school and saying things against our government and the Federal Reserve, and I was also a little scared of taking charge of a classroom of kids who would be as big or bigger than I am.

My sister escorted me from the main office to her classroom and I asked her if it was "uncool" for her older sister to come to her class and if the kids would be mean to me. She said yes to both things. Fortunately, my sister doesn't care about what others think about her and she was excited and proud to have me come to her class.

So, I walked through the crowd of kids and after establishing the fact that I was not going to tolerate disrespect or impertinent questions while I was talking, the kids quieted down and listened attentively.

I started by telling them the answer to all of their questions was one date in history, December 23, 1913, and wrote that on the board. I then began to tell them, in a storytelling style, the history of the Federal Reserve. At one point, a student asked me, almost in awe, "Is this a true story?"

I read a few points to them straight out of The Creature from Jekyll Island and explained real the purpose of the Federal Reserve and how it is not actually federal at all, that it is a cartel meant to eliminate competition. I told them what banks are and how they make money. Then, point by point, I answered each question on their list. I compared Keynesian Economics to Austrian Economics, discussed the problems with government intervention in the market, how printing more money does not actually create new resources, the concept of malinvestments, and I explained why we should let banks and other companies fail. I also explained why the dollar is worth so little and the importance of backing money with something like a gold standard.

I was not planning on discussing the need to end the Fed simply because I did not want to get too controversial and political, but when their teacher asked me, "So, is there a campaign or anything to end the Federal Reserve?" I told them about H.R.1207 and discussed how important it is that we audit and end the Fed. The kids had some amazing questions at this point! From that point on, their teacher and I taught together explaining what fair competition is and why an unfair advantage destroys capitalism and a free market. I was so excited that the students and their teacher asked me more questions and even more excited that I had studied and learned enough over the past year or so to be able to answer them.

Simply put, it was an amazing, truly rewarding experience.

A little later that day, I received an email from the my sister's teacher thanking me profusely for coming in, doing a fantastic job, and explaining things in a way that the kids actually understood. She also said that she wanted to talk with me further about what I'm doing to help end the Fed. That meant the world to me! Not only was I able to successfully educate a bunch of kids and their teacher, I got someone to come over to the side of liberty.

Posted 02/11/10 matthaws Spring, TX

Utterly wonderful story. Excellent job Sarabeth!

Posted 02/11/10 ksa4liberty Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

wow!

Posted 02/11/10 bodes Omaha, NE

Cool story, if only more people could try to get their mind back to more of a clean slate so they could be more open to hearing information about the Federal Reserve without so much judgement and backlash.

Posted 02/11/10 mattgeb84 lynn, MA

i bet you the teacher that let you speak is going to get fired

Posted 02/11/10 GrandsonofLIBERTY Elba, NY

You are a true patriot, that is awesome that you had a chance to educate high school students. I am going to school to earn a degree in history education. I can't wait to share the real honest truth to kids being brainwashed inside the public schools. You should be very proud of yourself, I am sure you have made an effect on some of those kids that they will never forget.

Posted 02/11/10 Sarabeth Rudd Johns Island, SC

GrandsonofLIBERTY that's awesome! You don't have to wait till you have your degree to go out and start educating! My degree is in English in Creative Writing of all things... :) Ha ha

Posted 02/12/10 libertyspirit Modesto, CA

Really great story, SaraBeth!

Posted 02/12/10 Elysiumboy Billericay, United Kingdom

Great story! You only have to mention the government over here and the teachers are up at you like they are an official authority on the subject! What half of us would give to be able to tell the children. You want to send an email back simply saying: "Don't tell me, tell the rest of your trade." We might end with Sarabeth's revolution on the side.

Posted 02/13/10 mscott Clemson, SC

Kudos. Incredible work. Your hard work and preparation show! Maybe you can be invited back on a more regular basis? Perhaps the economics teacher would like to have you as a guest speaker? Kids always seem to "get it." It is generally adults who can't let go of what they have been brought up believing and open their mind to the truth. Glad to see you also maintain a blogger site. Your message needs as wide an audience as possible.

Posted 03/07/10 Isomies Mechanicsville, VA

Great job. That's always a tough thing to do in public schools. Educating folks the way you did is important. Have you ever noticed how public school textbooks flatter politicians and always hold them in the best possible light?

Posted by Sarabeth Rudd on 12/15/09

On Sunday Senator Lindsey Graham, Republocrat from South Carolina, released the following statement following the United State Senate's decision to pass the Omnibus Appropriations Bill:

"At a time when most Americans are tightening their belts, Congress is buying suspenders. This bill is a disaster. It calls for a dramatic increase in spending at a time when we ought to be more frugal. This bill makes most of the big problems we face in the country even worse. It is a poster child for out of control government."

Is this some kind of attempt at being profound? "Congress buying suspenders," really? Is this really the best analogy he could come up with? It is weak at best. Perhaps he's trying to come up with a catchy phrase like "You lie!" to win back some of his conservative constituents that he has so brashly offended? I have a little news flash for Senator Graham: Now is not the time for cutesy catch-phrase politics.

If he wanted to to be a bit more accurate he might have admitted that the problem of "out of control government" is not even metaphorically comparable to "congress buying suspenders" (whatever that is supposed to mean),but is direct violation of their oath to uphold and defend the United States Constitution and an unforgivable betrayal of every single person in the United States of America. It is a disgrace and a belittlement of each life that has been lost over the centuries in protection of our freedom. It is criminal and Lindsey Graham shares the blame. I wouldn't hold my breath to hear anything close to this coming out of Senator Graham's mouth.

This same man who decries "out of control government" and wishes to even lurk in the vicinity of the word "frugal" in what seems to be an attempt at arguing for the need to be conservative is the same man who voted for the for the first big bailout, is for spending stimulus money and TARP. If that is not enough, he is the same man who is promoting the "Cap and Trade" scam our government is trying to cram down our throats. I'm quite confident that raising taxes and increasing government regulation does not fall under the category of a fiscally conservative or a limited government. But isn't that what he was arguing for in his latest statement? I'm afraid Lindsey Graham's weak attempt at conservatism is at worst hypocritical and conniving as usual, or at best, it is far too little far too late. Is it 2014 yet?

Posted 12/26/09 mouser98 Lugoff, SC

while i agree with pretty much everything that you are saying, trying to expect Mr. Graham to do other than what he is doing is to expect a marionette to dance to the right when the puppeteer is moving it left. to understand who runs this country, take a quick read at this: http://sociology.ucsc.edu/whorulesamerica/power/class_domination.html isn't it time to quit believing in Santa Claus?

Posted 12/29/09 Sarabeth Rudd Johns Island, SC

I know... Lindsey Graham doesn't stress me out; I just love giving him a hard time!

Posted 12/30/09 Rebelfire77 North, SC

Lindsey is a RINO pure and simple. Remember, he thinks Tcap and Trade will be good for AmeriKa. Lindsey is going to try to put on his big by "conservative" britches. Sorry Lindsey, it's too late. We are sick of you.

Posted by Sarabeth Rudd on 10/20/09
Last updated 10/20/09

Yesterday, spoke to about forty third and fourth graders in a local public school about freedom, the Declaration of Independence, U.S. Constitution, and personal responsibility.

I was pretty nervous as I was preparing because even though I was only planning on sharing the history and the reason for our founding documents, the ideas of personal responsibility, freedom, and breaking away from oppressive government are quite possibly subversive ideas to some schools.

I walked into the school office, and one of the first things I saw was a framed front page of the Post and Courier. Who's in the picture? None other than our Commander in Chief. I stuffed my apprehension down and told the secretary why I was there. She knew who I was right away.

Two students were sent to escort me down the winding hall to the class where I was to speak first. Unfortunately, I misread my own planner and was about twenty minutes late. I thought I was early. I'm not sure if the teacher was cranky because of this, or because she is always cranky. This didn't help me feel any better... but I kept going anyway.

I was pleased to have a room full of kids who would answer my questions and ask their own. I told them the story of "bossy King George" and why we wanted to separate ourselves from England. I had to explain what colonies were, and also what taxation without representation is. I told them about the Constitution and what it says, including and especially the Bill of Rights. They learned that the Constitution is supposed to keep the government from getting too big and bossy like a king. They also learned what a Constitutional Republic is. We talked about the three branches of government. We talked about what freedom is and what unalienable rights are.

The best part was when I told them what freedom means for them. I looked out over a bunch of kids, and told them that because of freedom that have been given opportunity. Freedom doesn't just mean that they can do whatever they want to do. It means they have to take responsibility for their own actions. They have choices to make everyday. They have equal opportunity, but that doesn't mean equal results. Are they going to work hard to get where they want to be and do what they want to do? I said as an example that they might be free to choose to eat potato chips for every meal, but that doesn't make it a good, responsible choice, and it does have consequences. They really understood this.

That is basically what I said to both groups. I stressed so many times to these kids that they have opportunities in front of them. I told them that I had to work really hard to get where I am today, and I am still working really hard. Something else I told them was that I am wanting them to appreciate liberty and not take if for granted because sometimes, you're given something and don't realize what you have until it's gone. I want them to have a head start on appreciating this country and what our founding fathers' vision was. After all, I didn't start caring until I was around 21. Men died and never lived to see freedom so that you (the kids) and I could experience this land of opportunity everyday. These kids also heard that not everything is given to them. In fact, if they learned if they work hard to get something, they'll appreciate it even more.

I also encouraged them to know that even at their young ages their voices are important, and they can make a difference in their community. I explained that using their voice can take the form of letter writing, speaking to their parents and teachers about things that bother them, or even using art to express themselves.

One of the groups got particularly excited about rights, and started accusing their teacher of taking their "right" of playing soccer. Well, I found out that the principal of the school had taken this away from them because of behavior issues. I had the class quiet down and I told them that playing soccer is not a right. It is a privilege and they do not deserve to play soccer. They do however, have the opportunity (I love that word!) to start behaving themselves and listening to their teacher so they can deserve to play soccer. They were then dismissed back to their class.

Overall, they seemed to enjoy and understand what I was talking to them about. I'm learning so much about how to convey these ideas to different age groups. Though the kids seemed more captivated by me as a visitor and someone they could look up to, I hope this means that they really listened to what I said about freedom and their lives. Some of the kids wanted to ask me questions afterward about my writing and whether or not I used to write when I was in elementary school I said, "of course!" and told them the best thing for them to do was to start a journal. That's what I did, and I've been writing for almost as long as I can remember. One of them asked me if when I write a book, will I put his name in the dedication page. I couldn't help but think of how adorable that was. I wanted to spend more time with all of them!

As excited as I am to have made it into the public school system, my heart is heavy, as I wonder if they will truly live in freedom in the coming years. However, this just inspires me to fight even harder and educate even more people.

Tomorrow, I speak to two groups of 5th graders... I can't wait!

Posted 10/20/09 Bob Therina Saint Louis, MO

Great story, Sarabeth! I don't know when the time will come either, but we need as many people fighting on the side of Liberty as possible. I know that many of my ideas and appreciation for freedom and liberty started when I learned principles and concepts from a very early age so, I can assure you that you had an effect. I was a very freedom loving kid (to my parents, both joy and consternation!) I don't remember the faces from back then, but I do remember being taught principles.

Posted 10/20/09 Scott from PA Hopwood, PA

Keep telling as many people as you can about freedom, the Declaration of Independence, U.S. Constitution, and personal responsibility. It is great that you are allowed in to a public school to talk to the students - hopefully it will catch on with enough of the teachers and the principal that they will continue to talk to future students about these important issues.

Posted 10/20/09 Josiah Keller Hillsboro, WI

Words do not adequately express my feelings. Good luck tomorrow!

Posted 10/21/09 Sarabeth Rudd Johns Island, SC

whoops! It was actually three classes today!

Posted by Sarabeth Rudd on 10/07/09

Today, I was given the opportunity to speak to an assembly of kids at a private school. The kids' ages ranged from kindergarten all the way to seniors in high school. This was quite a challenge.

As I was talking with the principal of the school this morning, I was excited to find out that he is a huge supporter of the Constitution and freedom. He gave me the liberty to speak a little more freely about current events to the older grades once he dismissed the lower grades to class. I was planning on strictly talking about the ideas of freedom. I was very excited about this.

I was told that there were a lot of Obama supporters among the children. There was also a high percentage of African American students, so I was warned to be careful about "Obama bashing." That's not why I wanted to speak to the kids, so this wasn't hard.

I had written an outline, which I sort of followed...Well, you know how that goes...

I started talking to the youngest kids who really were too young to have a discussion that was very deep. I tried, and we ended up talking about snow, rainbows, and rain. I had to improvise with them. I just told them that America is a very special country where we are free to be whatever we want to be when we grow up, and we just have to work hard. I talked with them about what each one of them wanted to be when they grew up. We talked about what the word freedom means, and they were dismissed to their classes.

I then turned my attention to the 3rd-12th graders, still a huge age range... I made them laugh when I said, "Now let's get down to the nitty-gritty." I asked them what are some of their favorite freedoms, and wrote those on my "freedom board." I talked about the history of our founding and read some quotes. I talked about the Declaration of Independence, and the blood that was shed so that those kids could be in that assembly in that church this morning. I told them about the Constitution and why we needed one. I talked about what its job is. I told them that the Government CANNOT give them anything, that they have rights that are God-given and unalienable. (We discussed the meaning of unalienable)I told them that the Constitution protects our rights from the government. We talked about the Bill of Rights. We talked about how they are enjoying the vision that our founding fathers had when they risked their very lives to fight for a principle as precious as freedom. I told them that they could use their voices, and that their voices mattered. I told them they could write letters, and express their concern, even at their young age. I told them that with freedom comes responsibility, that all men are created equal and have equal rights to work hard, but that not everyone would get the same results. I also gave specific examples of ways that the Constitution is being violated today.

I was excited because they were a very interactive group of kids who paid attention and answered my questions. Some of them came up with some impressive questions for me, which I answered carefully and honestly. A third grader asked me, "Do you think Obama is spending too much money?" Another student in high school asked me if the health care bill is a smoke screen for something else. (That was a tough one to answer without getting too political on them...)

Possibly the best part of this "talk" was when the principal's wife got very excited and came up and kept talking to the kids. We went well over the allotted time for the event. She told the kids that they have a responsibility to understand and protect freedom. She gave examples of the government infringing on rights through taxes. She explained what redistribution of wealth meant, and I think the kids really understood. They didn't like the idea at all.

Perhaps most inspiring was when she asked the African American children to stand up. She talked to them about the people who fought for them to have the opportunities that they have now that some of their ancestors were kept from. She talked about their heritage and challenged them to know that they have a responsibility to live out the opportunities because of the things people like Martin Luther King did to establish their freedom in America.

She also encouraged the children to understand that they are the ones who are in charge in America, not the government. She made sure that they understood that they have the responsibility of choice in whether or not they let the government take over. She challenged them that they are the generation that must pick up the mantle and run with it. She also made sure that they understood that it is about liberty, not Democrats, Republicans, Obama, or anyone else, and that this was not a government bashing political rally. The kids just need to understand how important freedom is in their lives.

I finished up with the famous Edmond Burke quote, "The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing," as well as the Ben Franklin quote about giving up freedom for security. I told them that now is the time to speak up. I explained that there are those in government who come as a wolf in sheep's clothing, promising all kinds of nice things, but are only stealing away their liberty. I expressed that the reason that I want to educate kids is because I care about their future. I want to them to have a head start, and to really know what their rights are.

I loved getting the teachers excited! Spreading the passion for liberty is my pleasure, and I hope I helped influence even just a few kids today. They seemed to genuinely care and understand what I was talking about.

I believe we were making history today, and I was thankful to have been able to encourage and inspire both students and teachers. It's hard to describe just how amazing it was to be in that room today where truth and liberty were revived in the hearts and minds of young people. It was awesome!

Stay tuned, because in a few weeks, I get to speak to a public school crowd. I'm a bit more nervous about that one, but I am encouraged to know that I have been allowed in the public school system in Charleston.

Posted 10/07/09 Heather D Port Byron, IL

Thanks for sharing this, Sarabeth! You have an awesome responsibility in education our children, and you're doing an incredible job. I look forward to reading how the next speaking engagement goes.

Posted 10/07/09 Josiah Keller Hillsboro, WI

"Educate and inform the whole mass of the people... They are the only sure reliance for the preservation of our liberty." -Thomas Jefferson

Posted 10/07/09 Twelvespies Auburn, AL

This is great. When will we have education materials ready? My mother is a principal at a private school and I'm dying to get some materials in her hands to educate the children. It seems that parents that send their children to independent schools like the voice of liberty (and Ron Paul) better.

Posted by Sarabeth Rudd on 10/01/09
Last updated 10/01/09

I officially joined the C4L organization as we know it now a year ago today, and what a year it has been! I just want to thank everyone at C4L HQ for all you have done. With your help, we all have accomplished so much, and have and will continue to make a huge impact on this country. It's been a pleasure to make history with all of the amazing members of Campaign for Liberty. I know my life has been changed because of this organization. I can't wait to see what else we are going to do!

Thanks, everybody! :)

Posted 10/02/09 Josiah Keller Hillsboro, WI

Not sure how long I've been on, but keep up the good work!

Posted 10/02/09 shanevc Roseville, CA

I've been a member since the day it launched. I was one of the first 100 members! It has been a good year for the Revolution. Can you believe Audit the fed has 297 cosponsors?! That would have been impossible without all the help of the members of the Campaign for Liberty!

Posted 10/08/09 Felegund Jonesville, KY

Alas, that I could say I've done as much for the cause in a year's time (my anniversary was a few weeks ago, if memory serves). Just the same-- when I do get a chance to log on these days, the stories of your actions for the cause are probably the most inspiring things I see. Keep it up, Sarabeth!!