Randolph May
As most of you reading this (hopefully) already know, the Free State Foundation will be celebrating its Twentieth Anniversary with a luncheon event on June 4 at the National Press Club.
Do you recall the opening lyrics to one of my favorite Jimmy Buffet tunes, "Changes in Latitudes"?
"I took off a weekend last month just to try and recall the whole year
All of the faces and all of the places wonderin' where they all disappeared
I didn't ponder the question too long, I was hungry and went out for a bite
Ran into a chum with a bottle of rum and we wound up drinkin' all night!"
Forget about the "chum with a bottle of rum" part – at least for now. But I will admit that I spent a weekend last month – well, many weekends and weekdays over the last couple of months – just trying to recall all that the Free State Foundation has done in the two decades since its founding in 2006!
At the time, in 2006, a friend told me, "Randy, if you do this, you're just going to be one man and a fax machine. He was half right. I didn't have a fax machine!"
Don't worry! I'm not going to indulge myself here – or risk boring you – by reciting a litany of my favorite events or publications, policy victories or defeats, and so forth. But in the recesses of my own mind, I've done a lot of, as Jimmy Buffet would say, "recalling" recently.
And I'll just say, looking back, I'm truly proud of what we've accomplished.
Obviously, there would have been no accomplishments without the hard work over the years of my many FSF colleagues. Here, with the obvious disclaimer of limitations of space and time, and the understanding that necessarily I am drawing a line, I want to call out longtime FSF staff members Seth Cooper, Kathee Baker, and Andrew Long for special appreciation for their contributions and commitments to the organization. And my wife, Laurie, who has served as FSF Secretary/Treasurer since the inception (or is it conception?), has contributed so much and has been a source of support in so many ways that go beyond her "official" duties. And thanks to all those staff members and Free State Foundation academic advisors, unnamed here, for their many and varied contributions to our success.
And, of course, special thanks to those who have sustained our work with their financial contributions. It goes without saying that we could not have kept the lights on – and accomplished all we have – without your steadfast confidence in the persuasiveness and integrity of our work.
What I am most proud of, though, can't be measured by the number of Perspectives from FSF Scholars published (849 from 2006 on) or the number of blogs posts (2,444 from 2006 on). Or the number of star-studded events held.
No, what I am most proud of is that, since its founding, the Free State Foundation has remained true to its proclaimed mission. Right at the start, I posted on our website that FSF's mission was "to promote, through research and educational activities, understanding of free market, free speech, limited government, and rule of law principles … and to advocate laws and policies true to these principles." Regardless of who held the White House, which party controlled Congress, or who was in charge at the FCC or elsewhere in government, we've tried to stay true to those foundational principles as we've gone about our daily work.
Others, of course, are free to make their own judgments about what we've done. But I'm satisfied that we have succeeded, over two decades, in remaining true to promoting policies consistent with our principles. It's my fervent wish that so long as FSF exists, it will continue to do so.
I leave on this note. As America celebrates its 250th anniversary, there is no doubt we are living in challenging times – not for the first time, of course. And for those toiling in the realm of public policy advocacy – like Free State Foundation scholars – today's frenetic, frantic, hyper-ventilated, "influencer"-saturated environment certainly presents challenges. Too often, public policies appear to be divorced from foundational principles – for example, free markets, free speech, property rights – that not long ago were proclaimed sacrosanct.
It is the season of click-bait, with crude memes, name-calling, and even profanity-laced tirades much in fashion in places where they would have been verboten only yesterday. This makes constructive civil discourse in the public policy space ever more challenging. But this is not the place where I wish to cast aspersions on any person, party, group, or special interest. And, truth be told, there's enough aspersions to cast all around!
This is what I want to say now. However difficult America's challenges may be today, and however difficult the challenges may be today in the policymaking arena in which the Free State Foundation labors, I am certain that the best way forward for America to realize the promise of the Declaration of Independence which we celebrate, and for FSF to be true to its founding vision, is adherence to a fixed set of foundational principles. Indeed, that's the only way forward.
Robert Frost, the quintessential American poet, declared: "Most of the change we think we see in life is due to truths being in and out of favor."
Going forward, as it has been since June 2006, the Free State Foundation's mission will remain helping to ensure that free markets, free speech, limited government, and the rule of law endure as truths in favor.
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I would be very pleased to have you attend FSF's Twentieth Anniversary Celebration on June 4 at the National Press Club. The event agenda is here. Space is limited. To attend, you must register here if you haven't already
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What Others Are Saying About FSF's Twentieth Anniversary
Congressman Richard Hudson
FCC Commissioner Olivia Trusty
Bill Kennard, Former FCC Chairman
Michael Powell, Former FCC Chairman
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