This time last year, I wrote about how exciting it was to see SFL complete its first full year of operation and reach such unprecedented heights as building a network of 100 student groups, hosting 3 Regional Conferences, and drawing 150 students to the International Conference. Considering what SFL did this past year: grow to 290 student groups, host 7 Regional Conferences with 700+ attendees, and a 300+ person International Conference, I believe that this report will speak for itself regarding the incredible strides SFL has taken. There should be no question that the student movement for liberty is growing and poised to become larger than anything people had ever expected. A topic I believe deserves a moment of reflection is the work SFL has done over the past year in promoting a new image of liberty, one that is both more accurate and more appealing to today’s youth than what has been presented in the past.
In the 1960s, a student movement rose to prominence and inculcated a firm belief in statism amongst thou-sands of young leaders who went on to lead today’s society. The threat of losing another generation to statist mantra is too great to ignore, and we are at a pivotal moment where the beliefs of today’s young people are being solidified. Many believe that today’s youth are more pro-government than ever, citing the youth’s overwhelming support of Barrack Obama in 2008, decline in approval of the term “conservative,” and related data. The notion that young people today oppose liberty is based on the flawed notion that “the right” entirely supports liberty and “the left” entirely opposes liberty. But this is clearly wrong. “The right” has a terrible record on civil liberties, personal freedom, and excessive government force. When conservatives demand freedom for what they want to do and deny freedom for others when they disapprove, students become outraged. The support of today’s youth for progressive politicians is not an opposition to liberty. It is an opposition to hypocrisy. Today’s students are not opposed to capitalism, but they are more socially tolerant than any previous generation and do not want to associate with the mantra of social conservatism that has been associated with a defense of the free market for so long. Moderate students who say they are opposed to government intervention in the economy are turned off by the desire of many conservatives to impose their personal views on others, arguing for freedom out of one corner of their mouth and big government on other.
To protect liberty, we need to protect its image. We need to promote the understanding that liberty applies to all people in all dimensions of their lives. Those who invoke the name of freedom for their personal benefits only to discard it when they do not approve of the actions of others are not true friends of liberty. They are its enemies. While many organizations have advocated liberty in such a way, people outside the nonprofit world have not heard this message.
I know there are many strong advocates of liberty who will be quick to respond: “But of course we’re not the same as those who advocate big government on social issues. When we say we support liberty, we actually mean it. Everyone knows that!” The problem is people don’t know that. For many, the moment they hear the term “free market” or “capitalism” or even to some extent, “liberty”, their mind automatically associates it with homophobia, racism, or xenophobia because of its past association with people who used these concepts only to further their personal interests.
We, the next generation, have an opportunity to change that. We have an opportunity to represent liberty in the image that it deserves. It won’t be easy. It will take time and hard work. But SFL is laying the groundwork for cause of liberty to succeed, calling out inconsistencies, supporting ideas above individuals, and reaching out to individuals across the political spectrum to promote the message of liberty. This is a message that students have been craving, that students whole-heartedly support. This is how SFL has been so successful in just 2 years: we are willing to speak up when others are silent.
The events that transpired at this past year’s Conservative Political Action Conference encapsulate the issue. I was invited to speak and opened my 2-minute speech by thanking the conference for allowing a gay organization to co-sponsor the event, as a symbol of truly supporting limited government. When I walked up to the podium, my hands were shaking because I expected the room filled with 1,000+ conservatives to boo me off stage. Instead, there was overwhelming applause. A chorus of cheers broke out when I proclaimed, “Today’s students recognize that freedom does not come in pieces. It is a single concept that we must defend at all times.” And at the end of my speech, the audience that had respectfully clapped for each panelist before me led a standing ovation that required the moderator to make three attempts at quieting before she could introduce the next panelist. Soon after my speech, another panelist got up to condemn CPAC for recognizing an organization that supported equal rights for homosexuals. At the largest conservative conference in the world, the libertarian who advocated freedom in both the social and economic realms was given a standing ovation while the conservative who opposed equal rights for homosexuals was booed off stage! (A full account of the incident is provided here.)
SFL is reaching out to the right by working with College Republicans and attending events like CPAC and the Southern Republican Leadership Conference. We are equally reaching out to the left by working with College Democrats, College ACLU’s, and attending events like the Young Democrats of America’s Convention and Campus Progress Conference. And we are mobilizing leaders of liberty on campuses through all of our activities. What’s more, we are making a difference. Campus Progress has featured SFL 3 times on its website, and we received this Facebook post in June:
“I must praise Falkenstein [who had been quoted by Campus Progress on how government doesn’t create rights, it protects already existing rights] and McCobin for not only representing what it truly means to stand for Liberty but also for trying to reach out and bridge a gap between progressive students and Liberty minded students. As someone who has worked for Campus Progress and considers himself radical and left leaning myself, I‘m glad you guys have taken a non-partisan stance and instead are further educating students from all backgrounds on Individualism, liberty, and what a REAL free society looks like. You guys are amazing and trust me when I say you guys are winning over the progressives little by little.”
SFL is commanding the respect of students from all political backgrounds and exposing more students to the idea that liberty can be provided for all people in all areas of life. This is a message that students have been craving. This is an image that liberty has deserved but not received for far too long. With SFL’s new leadership (pictured above, and detailed on later in the report here), new programs, and new groups, I am more confident than ever that we will be able to create A Free Academy, A Free Society.
Sincerely & For Liberty,
Alexander J. McCobin
Executive Director, & President
© Students For Liberty, 2010
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