It shouldn’t come as a surprise that SFL’s two most recent Students of the Year can see the Washington Monument and the U.S. Congress from their windows. Those are inspiring visuals for aspiring leaders, after all.
What might come as a surprise is that it’s the same window.
Ethan Yang from Los Angeles and Jack Nicastro from Brooklyn both discovered Students for Liberty, became best friends and leaders for liberty, are the two most recent recipients of SFL’s most prestigious award … and are now roommates.
Ethan, a recent law school graduate, works as a Legal Associate at the Cato Institute, collaborating with the nation’s top legal scholars to submit amicus briefs in high-impact lawsuits to protect constitutional freedoms. Jack, a recent college graduate, is an Assistant Editor at Reason Magazine, where he produces content and reporting designed to move public opinion in a pro-liberty direction.
As roommates, competitors (more on that below) and friends, they team up to host events that unite pro-liberty professionals in the Washington, D.C. area and to help SFL students acquire skills and expand their networks.
But their vision goes beyond that: Simply put, Jack and Ethan want to make it fun to be a libertarian in D.C.; they are constantly pushing each other to strive for more and bigger things and collaborating on projects that would not be possible without the other.
Because, as they both said, separately and unprompted: “Changing the world is a lot more fun when you’re doing it with friends.”
It’s a lesson they learned from experience: Neither of these two young men saw themselves at the forefront of the intellectual fight for liberty — much less having fun doing it.
The pair met during Jack’s gap-year internship at the American Institute for Economic Research (AIER) while Ethan was working there on a fellowship. Their friendship was forged in the crucible of the COVID-19 Pandemic and the lockdown policies that AIER fiercely opposed. They bonded over brainstorming sessions to draft op-eds and arguments against the draconian public health regimes that gripped the country.
Near the end of Jack’s internship, Ethan recommended that he join SFL as a local coordinator, where he could tap into a larger network of students and partner organizations with a shared mission of expanding individual liberty.
To Jack, libertarianism had been just a philosophy, divorced from on-the-ground reality. Ethan could relate; he had once thought the same thing. They both believed that personal and economic freedom were morally right, but, practically speaking, what could you do besides be angry at the world?
But SFL showed them each that there was an exciting, pro-liberty world — a world of law firms, publications, journalism, university centers, and entrepreneurship — that could channel their energy into action. They could even travel the world, make friends, and grow as human beings in the process. Most importantly, SFL helped them stay in touch as they went on their separate paths.
After Jack’s stint at AIER, he returned to New Hampshire to finish his degree, and Ethan began law school just outside of D.C. The two would often text about ways to improve SFL’s Northeast Region, which Jack, as Ethan’s successor, oversaw. They would also periodically reunite at conferences like LibertyCon International, the Freer Future Fest, and North American Top Leadership Retreats.
Their connection deepened just as Jack and Ethan were about to retire from SFL.
Florian Windberger, Director of North American Programs, made a proposal that would optimize their talents: Would they each be willing to spearhead new professional development programs, within the new House System, that sought to identify and train promising students in specific career fields?
Ethan took on a policy role with House Bastiat, and Jack an editorial and media program with House Hazlitt.
And so, Jack and Ethan, Ethan and Jack, heretofore and ever after joined at the hip, were off to the races again, in friendly competition to see who could create the most — and most engaging — opportunities for younger students. For Ethan, it was the Bastiat Happy Hour series in D.C., and for Jack, it was LockeSmith Magazine.
Fast forward to February 2024: The two friends were together again at LibertyCon in D.C. That night, Ethan climbed the stage to receive the Student of the Year award. “That’s what I want for next year,” Jack thought.
It was no easy task in an organization that boasts thousands of impressive leaders worldwide, some of whom risk their lives to fight oppressive regimes. Even when Jack was one of three students nominated for the award, it was no foregone conclusion; look at how impressive the other nominees were!
But sure enough, in February 2025, Jack climbed those same stairs to receive that same award, presented to him by John Mackey, co-founder and former CEO of Whole Foods Market and SFL Board Member.
And so, once more, Ethan’s and Jack’s lives and accomplishments overlapped — through their shared ambition, their desire to compete, and most importantly, their love for liberty and friendship with each other.
Are you a student interested in getting involved in pro-liberty activism? By applying to join Students For Liberty’s Local Coordinator Program, you can be supported in promoting the ideas of liberty while also developing your skills and meeting many like-minded students from across the world. Click on the button below to find out more and get involved!
This piece solely expresses the opinion of the author and not necessarily the organization as a whole. Students For Liberty is committed to facilitating a broad dialogue for liberty, representing a variety of opinions.
Honorable Mention: Judy Shelton is introduced as “one of us” … and is happy to accept that label.
Before we get to the countdown, I had to include this moment somehow.
Economist Judy Shelton was nominated to the Federal Reserve Board back in 2020, and then her name popped up on the shortlist for chair of that board during this past election season.
We’ll see what Donald Trump does from here, but Shelton’s recent book is titled Good as Gold and she’s taken heat from CNN for her “radical” solution to solve inflation, which was: “Why not just go all the way and make it zero?”
Point is: She’s a voice of reason within the (too) powerful inner circle of top-down banking and economics. And when our Ethan Yang introduced her to a salon packed full of classical liberals, for their conversation about inflation, fiat money, and the Federal Reserve, he said: “In short, she’s one of us.”
Then when she started speaking, her first words were: “I’m honored to be considered one of you.”
It was a fun, earnest moment — and a hopeful one for the future of liberty.
5. Bryan Caplan and Daniel Di Martino hug it out.
Here’s the truth: Most of the time you see a “debate” promised, it’s more likely to be a cordial discussion; a conversation, rather than a contest. So that’s what I expected on the main stage on LibertyCon’s opening night.
But, perhaps inspired by theEmergent Order rap battle video that introduced the immigration debate, Bryan and Daniel got into it, right away. They interrupted each other, corrected each other, pushed each other (intellectually) and, basically, had a real, knock-down, drag-out debate.
And then, when it was over, you know what they did? I found it fitting because I take pride in the fact that we classical liberals can argue until we’re blue in the face without taking offense or getting our feelings hurt. That’s right: They hugged, and in doing so reaffirmed that what matters — and what will win or lose out, in the end — are ideas and truth, not bluster or rhetoric or volume or violence.
4. Dan “Taxation Is Theft” Behrman and Peymon Mottahedeh meet for the first time.
Ever wonder what it was like when Oppenheimer met Einstein, or when Proust met Joyce? Ever wish you could have been a fly on that wall?
I no longer have to wonder. Let me explain.
Dan “Taxation Is Theft” Behrman is a character. If you’ve ever been to a LibertyCon, you’ve probably seen him: He wears a tall, yellow hat that reads TAXATION IS THEFT. At LibertyCon in Miami, 2023, we had an interactive exhibit that gave attendees the chance to put stickers in the box that described them politically. I spent hours trying to find out who had put a solitary, red sticker ABOVE all the boxes — literally off the map.
And, well, see my interview with Dan:
Meanwhile, this year’s LibertyCon was the first time I’d met Peymon, a Jewish-born, Iranian immigrant who has not filed or paid income taxes for more than 30 years, according to his LibertyCon bio.
I attended his session, a deep dive into the 16th Amendment and the IRS’s Internal Revenue Code. He made some compelling points, backed up with well-documented legal history and evidence, to suggest that only residents of Washington, D.C., and some other U.S. territories like Guam are obligated to pay the federal income tax.
He’s also a character: A fast, loud, charismatic speaker who exudes passion with every syllable.
Anyway, these two must be the most unabashed tax evaders of all time … and they had never met! (They’d heard of each other, of course, and maybe exchanged emails back in the day, but that’s it.)
I happened to be at Peymon’s table in the exhibition hall when Dan wandered over and introduced himself. I kid you not: It felt like … Mozart meeting Beethoven, or Spider-Man meeting Batman.
They chatted for a few minutes. I worked up the courage to ask a question: “Do you two consider yourselves to be in competition with each other, or to complement each other?” They agreed on the latter: Dan’s primary goal is to show people the disastrous effects of taxation, while Peymon wants, actively, to show people how to avoid paying taxes.
Ok, so maybe it wasn’t quite Oppenheimer-Einstein. But for Libertyland, it was pretty darn cool.
3. Aimable Manirakiza wins Alum of the Year award — and accepts it in person.
If you need a smile, look no further.
Aimable, right, accepts the Alum of the Year award from Trace Mitchell.
Aimable, from Burundi, joined African Students For Liberty in 2015 and soon became Regional Director of SFL in French-speaking Africa after the leadership and communication training he received with SFL.
He went on to reach more than 10,000 students in Burundi, Rwanda, and the Democratic Republic of Congo with the message of limited government. For his efforts, he won the prestigious Student of the Year award in 2017 … but because his visa application was denied, he was not able to accept the award in person at that year’s LibertyCon.
Can you imagine how bittersweet that moment must have been?
Since he won that award, he has founded and become CEO of the first think tank in the Great Lakes region of Africa — comprising Burundi, Rwanda, and the Congo — to champion the principles of free markets and free societies. The Centre for Development and Enterprises Great Lakes conducts research on how to maximize economic and agricultural growth and efficiency. It also provides online courses to expose adults in French-speaking Africa to the ideas of liberty, often for the first time in their lives.
And now, almost a decade after winning STUDENT of the Year, there’s no bitter, only sweet; Aimable won ALUM of the Year and this time was able to join us in Washington, D.C. to accept the award and deliver an acceptance speech in person.
During a weekend in which thousands of great student and alumni stories were told and shared, Aimable’s full-circle journey stood out.
2. Friday night’s tribute to David Boaz.
David Boaz chose last year’s LibertyCon to deliver his final, public remarks.
He passed away last June, and so the Friday night tribute to his memory — as a colleague, mentor, champion for liberty, and friend — was especially emotional.
The panel that shared memories of Boaz and recounted his achievements could have gone for hours, but what moved me was the short introductory video, where young Boaz and older Boaz were juxtaposed.
I mean, look at that photo. That photo shows a man who decided to dedicate his life to liberty, when he looked like that. And then, a few seconds later, you saw a man who looked like this:
Think of all the frustrations and outrages and harassment he must have faced in that time, both personally, as an openly gay man, and professionally, as a libertarian (not to mention the physical struggles cancer threw at him). That entire time, through all of it, he made it his mission to advance pro-liberty ideas and initiatives.
I’d like to think that someday, you’ll be able to show two photos of me and say the same thing. I’d consider that a life well lived.
1. Daryl Davis unfurls the flag its former owner no longer believes in.
Silence — and I mean absolute, total silence — fell across the room when Daryl Davis, an African-American musician who played with Chuck Berry, showed us some artifacts from his OTHER career: having open, honest conversations with KKK members and neo-Nazis.
He showed us the hoods, robes, and flags of former klansmen he had befriended, and who subsequently left the klan … but for me, the swastika was the showstopper.
It was not easy to look at. (I couldn’t believe my eyes at first; I wanted to look around the room to see the expressions on other people’s faces, but I couldn’t look away.)
The silence was so total, the experience so transfixing, I think, because most of the time we see that symbol, it implies hatred and violence. But here, the fact that Davis had it was a testament to love, to understanding, and to the human capacity to change. Weird, isn’t it, how much context matters?
Davis attributed his success — he’s known as “The Klan Whisperer” — to understanding that everybody wants these five principles:
-To be loved
-To be respected
-To be heard
-To be treated fairly
-The same things for themselves and their families that you want for yourself and yours
Davisholds up five fingers to represent his five principles that everybody wants.
“I did not get this through fighting,” he said of the Nazi flag its former owner no longer wants. “I did not get this through violence … If you have an adversary with an opposing point of view, allow them to express their views. You don’t have to believe their views, but allow them the opportunity to express them. And then converse about them … I did not respect what [klan leader Roger Kelly] had to say. [But] I respected his right to say it. You understand the difference, don’t you?”
We do, Daryl. Freedom of speech — even, maybe especially speech we disagree with — is one of our most cherished values, and we’ll never stop fighting for it.
Are you a student interested in getting involved in pro-liberty activism? By applying to join Students For Liberty’s Local Coordinator Program, you can be supported in promoting the ideas of liberty while also developing your skills and meeting many like-minded students from across the world. Click on the button below to find out more and get involved!
This piece solely expresses the opinion of the author and not necessarily the organization as a whole. Students For Liberty is committed to facilitating a broad dialogue for liberty, representing a variety of opinions.
Technically, LibertyCon International, 2025 didn’t start until Friday, February 7th. But for me, the mad, glorious, and adrenaline-and-caffeine-and-passion-fueled rush of it all began the night before, at the Cato Institute.
I was there listening to a panel of SFL alumni.
From left: Moderator and Cato Legal Associate Ethan Yang; Pericles Niarchos, who works at Cato as Associate Director of Libertarianism.org; Rachel Altman of the Foundation for American Innovation; and Trace Mitchell, who works on a House of Representatives subcommittee for regulatory reform (among other things).
From there, I was planning to walk to Union Market, where Young Voices and the American Institute for Economic Research were hosting a debate on sports betting. But as you’ll see, sometimes at LibertyCon, you just have to go with the flow.
Thursday
Thursday, 5:46 p.m. — Already stayed at Cato too long … Google said it was a 45-minute walk, and the debate starts in 44 minutes … but I just can’t bring myself to leave yet; I’m loving this conversation.
5:58 p.m. — Ok, no choice now: I’ll Uber in a little bit.
6:17 p.m. — I should have checked earlier; Uber tells me it’s 21 minutes (to drive 1.9 miles). I guess D.C. traffic really is that bad.
6:19 p.m. — You know, I can probably RUN two miles in less than 21 minutes …
6:21 p.m. — And I need the exercise anyway; let’s go.
6:28 p.m. — I should not have eaten so many cashews this afternoon.
6:42 p.m. — Exactly 21 minutes after leaving, I’m a block away from the debate venue. And oh, hi, LibertyCon Director Andrew Freo and wife, Erica! No … I’m … not … out of … breath. Why?
8:51 p.m. — Debate was fun! Verdict: the government is not fit to restrict sports betting (or any other peaceful, consensual activity). I walk back toward Cato to check out the post-panel social at a rooftop bar. Surely it’s over by now.
9:32 p.m. — Wrong! The rooftop is full of SFL alumni and staff from all over the world, all exuding that jet-lagged desire to stay awake until a normal bedtime.
9:57 p.m. For me, however, this is a normal bedtime, and it’s gonna be a busy weekend. I pull the old [insert one of various nationalities here; many claim it as theirs] goodbye tactic, where I leave quietly, without telling anyone, so as not to bring the mood down.
Friday
Friday, 10:03 a.m. — I meet Mike Sertic, President of The Advocates for Self-Government. I’m interviewing him for a video about how SFL shaped his life and career. He’s about the humblest person I’ve ever met (but I get him to brag about himself, just a bit).
11:24 a.m. — Most of the signage is up; people are trickling into the conference center … 🎵It’s beginning to look a lot like LibertyCon 🎵
11:51 a.m. — I step outside for the first time today. Hey, a bench, right in the bright sunshine? Don’t mind if I do!
12:08 p.m. — Should I have another coffee? Eh, I don’t think I need it.
1:06 p.m. — Interview #2 for the day, this time podcast-style with professional wrestler Nic Nemeth, aka Dolph Ziggler. I’m a sports fan, but I have to admit: Wrestling is new to me.
2:18 p.m. — As we’re finishing a fun chat about the meritocracy of sports and the recent intersection of hand-to-hand combat sports and politics, who should drop by? Former Wrestler and current Mayor of Knox County, Tennessee, Glenn Jacobs. Leam, our resident wrestling aficionado, is beaming, seeing two of his heroes up close, in person.
4:00 p.m. — Registration for LibertyCon begins. Lanyards and tote bags are being handed out, badges and nametags are being affixed … it’s go time.
4:34 p.m. — Pro tip: The Cato table always has an impressive stack of free books. (One of the reasons we gave out those nice, green tote bags!) I pick up a few; the woman behind the table says, “All I ask for in exchange is that you tell me who the face in at the top-left of the book cover is.” It’s Modern Libertarianism: A Brief History of Classical Liberalism in the United States by Brian Doherty.
“Well,” I say, “I can tell you Rand is at the top-right … Milton Friedman is lower-left … Hayek is lower-right.” She says, “I know, those are easy. But who’s this guy?” She points again to the top left.
4:34:30 p.m. — As I leave, the man behind me approaches the table. He recognizes the woman I was talking to; they seem like old friends. “Did I hear right,” he says, “that you and your husband were potentially going to reproduce?”
5:27 p.m. — You know how your feet start to hurt at a museum, because you’re on your feet for hours straight, but not actually walking, just kinda shuffling, and therefore not properly distributing your body weight? That’s my life right now, as I shuffle from table to table in the exhibition room.
6:01 p.m. — I arrive at the main stage for the opening remarks, but they are not going to start on time.
6:03 p.m. — You know what? OF COURSE they weren’t going to start on time; they knew stragglers like me would be late. Be the change you wish to see in the world, Trevor. Be punctual from now on.
6:06 p.m. — As a few final stragglers trickle in, Robby Soave from Reason takes the stage to applause from a packed auditorium.
7:03 p.m. — I literally — in the true, pre-Millennial sense of that word — cannot believe what I’m seeing: a KKK robe and hood and a Nazi flag on the main stage. Except tonight, they’re trophies won by Daryl Davis, a black musician who convinced their former owners to give them up for good. I’m thinking about what those symbols typically represent — the fear and hatred they’ve conjured for millions of people — and then I think about what they mean, here and now, in this context: symbols of how love and communication and understanding can conquer hatred. Davis said: “Why do I have these? Because [their former owners] no longer have use for them. They don’t believe in these anymore.” I’m so happy I could cry.
Editor’s note: Although in Mr. Davis’s hands, those images represent how people can change, they were still difficult to look at. Truly — I shuddered at first. Should you want to watch it, his entire presentation, along with the rest of Day 1’s main-stage programming, was streamed by CiVL, HERE.
7:55 p.m. — Jeez, this debate between Bryan Caplan and Daniel Di Martino debate on immigration is getting HEATED! I love it.
8:43 p.m. — Hi, Rashid! I run into a friend of mine, and one of our three nominees for Student of the Year, in the lobby. He’s making a documentary about the history of SFL, and he asks to interview ME, of all people, for it. Meet downstairs at 9:00? Sure.
8:44 p.m. — See you in a few, Rashid, I’m just gonna run up to my room for a minute and … oh and hi, Stephen Kent! Another friend, author of How the Force Can Fix the World, and featured expert for What Makes a Disney Villain Work has arrived. He’s here for Liberty Jeopardy!
8:54 p.m. — I catch the upward elevator with a co-worker. I press the button for the 16th floor and he presses the one for the … SECOND floor? “You couldn’t take the stairs up one floor?” I ask, my tone more serious than I intended. I’m in a hurry; I don’t want to be late again, but that’s no excuse for being rude. I’m sorry, Florian.
9:03 p.m. — Rashid asks me about SFL’s impact around the world, and it’s impressive. (Just read the Annual Report.) But at the end of a day full of running around and shaking hands and interviews and lectures, I’m not sharp, and the numbers don’t come to me. I hope he finds someone much, much more qualified than me to interview.
10:27 p.m. — Liberty Jeopardy! is an absolute joy to end the day with. Granted, it’s hard to keep track of the scores without a scoreboard, but the questions are great and host Brian Lambrecht’s energy is contagious.
11:14 p.m. — I’m sure there’s a party going on somewhere, but now I’m in bed. Do I have the energy to crack open my new copy of John Mackey’s The Whole Story? I read a paragraph about … Zzzzzzzzzz.
Saturday
Saturday, 8:11 a.m. — The CiVL coffee meet and greet is the perfect place to ask: “Hey, who’s this face in the upper-left-hand corner of this cover?” Two people say practically the same thing: They immediately identify Rand, Friedman, and Hayek, but they’re stumped on the fourth and we’re no closer to solving our mystery.
9:00 a.m. — I’d always wanted to take a deep dive into the 16th Amendment and the Internal Revenue Code, and Peymon Mottahedeh delivers. He says, with a lot of supporting evidence, that the federal income tax applies only to residents of Washington, D.C. I definitely need to stop by his Freedom Law School table to ask some follow-ups.
9:59 a.m. — In the foyer, Keaton Powell tells me, “There’s two seats left for Judy Shelton … she was nominated to the board of governors of the Federal Reserve. It’s in Salon F. Wanna come?” Why yes, I sure do.
10:28 a.m. — I leave her panel a few minutes early; I had promised Mike I would come by his lecture, introducing attendees to, and asking them for suggestions on how to improve, the World’s Smallest Political Quiz. And I walk in just as he takes the mic.
11:02 a.m. — Have I eaten yet? No. Is the hotel still serving breakfast?
11:04 a.m. — Yes! In honor of Ron Swanson, who appeared on a life-sized cut-out at the Being Libertarian table I visited earlier, I eat all of the scrambled eggs and bacon.
11:40 a.m. — I set up my camera outside Salon E to ask people to re-tell their stories of online censorship under the guise of safety, so we can report back to NetChoice, who sponsored this session. If you think censorship is bad here in the U.S., just talk to some folks from Asia.
12:00 p.m. — I want to be on time, and I’m glad I am because there aren’t many seats left, for David Friedman’s lecture about market failure.
12:08 p.m. — He makes me wonder: What do I believe that isn’t true, just because it’s in my best interests to believe it?
12:21 p.m. — Aha; that’s it! I believe that cheering loudly at sporting events can affect the outcome, even though I know in reality, it probably doesn’t. This comes to me when Dr. Friedman says, “Consider why people attend football and baseball games, where teams are associated with their cities or universities. Part of it is so they can cheer for their side and think they can make a tiny difference in the outcome. The same phenomenon is at play with voting.”
12:33 p.m. — I ask the guy sitting next to me, “Hey, whose face is this?” He responds, “That’s Murray Rothbard.”
12:34 p.m. — “Let me see that again,” he says. “Yeah, it’s Rothbard. I’m pretty sure.”
2:19 p.m. — I’m panicking: I have misplaced my green tote bag with all my notes in it, plus my copy of Doherty’s Modern Libertarianism, without which I might never find my answer. It’s not in my room. It’s not in the staff room, either. And there are, like, a thousand other identical green bags at this conference.
2:31 p.m. — (It WAS in the staff room.)
3:01 p.m. — I drop by the Liberty Seeds table and meet Alex Yershov. He gives me four packets of liberty seeds: artful business cards with inspirational, liberty-oriented quotes from famous classical liberals on the back. I’ve been “planting” these seeds by slyly leaving them behind in lockers at the gym, in cupholders at basketball games, even on a friend’s easy chair.
“Free enterprise capitalism is not only a possible system to end world poverty, it is the only morally desirable system to achieve it.” -Javier Milei, viaLiberty Seeds
3:03 p.m. — Back in the exhibition room, the CEO of Freedom Law School answers all of my tough, direct questions rather convincingly. He says none of their clients have actually been imprisoned or had their wages garnished by the IRS, and they’re going on 30 years in operation.
4:13 p.m. — Random guy I walk up to: “Could it be Ronald Coase?” Me: “I truly don’t know; I’ve been asking people all weekend.” A woman who overhears our conversation: “I think that’s Mises.” Another guy nearby: “That’s Barry Goldwater, right?”
4:25 p.m. — Bah god, that’s Dolph Ziggler’s music! He takes the main stage as part of a panel of entertainers who tell how they came around to classical liberalism.
You can watch all of Saturday’s main-stage programming, including this panel, HERE.
5:13 p.m. — I am hearing reports that it’s raining outside. If I step out for some fresh air, will my suit be ruined?
6:30 p.m. — I missed Robby Soave’s closing remarks; I wasn’t emotionally ready for LibertyCon to be over. And when I walk into Salon F for the Bastiat House (learn more about them HERE) debate tournament championship, it’s clear that Marcos Batista and Co. are not ready, either. They’re just getting started!
7:26 p.m. — I swing by the VIP room and oh boy oh boy oh boy is that who I think it is? See, I met this good-looking lady at LibertyCon in Miami a couple years ago, we had nice conversation, but I never saw her again … until now, I think?
7:26:01 — Suit survived the rain … but my hair might still be a little damp. Does my breath smell like bacon? Is that a wedding ring or an Oura ring?
7:27 p.m. — Before I can find out, everyone is ushered down to dinner and I lose her in the crowd. Eh, we live half a continent away, it never would’ve worked.
8:34 p.m. — Glenn Jacobs takes the stage as keynote speaker. He’s read Human Action and grew up a St. louis Cardinals fan! If I lived in Tennessee, he might just have my vote.
9:23 p.m. — At the end of a gracious and humble speech, our Alum of the Year, Aimable Manirakiza, deviates ever so slightly from that humility and gets a big laugh. “Long life to you, long life to Students For Liberty, and long life to me,” he says.
10:02 p.m. — Is that SFL’s very own North American Programs Director, Florian, at stage left, playing bass for Daryl Davis!? I guess he didn’t lose too much sleep over my bad elevator etiquette.
10:34 p.m. — The Brazilians are coming; the Brazilians are coming! Three of our Brazilian students have requested the band play a samba and have taken over the microphones.
10:39 p.m. — The Cato folks left a big box of books behind on their table … and Modern Libertarianism is sitting there on top! Having left my green tote bag securely up in my room, this is a sign from above: I’m gonna get my answer.
10:41 p.m. — Dennis Jose, SFL’s South Asia Programs Manager, is standing just outside the ballroom. I ask him. “That’s Barry Goldwater,” he says. I say: “How sure are you?”
10:42 p.m. — He opens a facial recognition app and scans the face. But it’s a drawing, so that’s no use.
10:43 p.m. — “I’m positive,” he says. I say back: “Alright, tell you what: If you’re so sure, I’ll give you a dollar right now. If I find out otherwise, you’ll donate your next paycheck to SFL. How’s that sound?” He thinks about it for a second: “That’s a win-win, but I’m sure. Deal.”
10:58 p.m. — I drop by the VIP room again. No sign of anyone this time, just an abandoned table full of international hors d’oeuvres: Japanese peanuts, Mexican dulces, Chinese White Rabbit candies, seaweed from … wherever seaweed comes from. We’re an international organization, after all.
And It Stoned Me by Van Morrison is playing softly over the speakers and you know how sometimes, the perfect song is playing at the perfect time at the perfect place? This is that; slow and soft and melancholy notes fall over the empty room because LibertyCon is now officially over and we have to wait another year for this wild and stressful and inspiring and reinvigorating and just plain fun runaround of a weekend to return. (Unless you can make it to Prague for LibertyCon Europe in April.)
I think about that old line from German poet Ludwig Jacobowski: “Don’t cry because it’s over; smile because it happened.” And then I see that Van Morrison himself said this song is about a time when, “For five minutes everything was really quiet and I was in this other dimension,” and that’s exactly what LibertyCon is, if you put your heart and soul into it: a vessel to another dimension, another state of mind, where you realize how awesome people are and how beautiful life is and how much better it will get if only we can make our message of free minds and free markets ring true, the world over.
11:04 p.m. — Ex. Haus. Ted. My right wrist hurts from so many handshakes. Business cards and pins and liberty seeds and pamphlets and little scraps of paper with notes on them spill out of my pockets as I change to get ready for bed. Let’s see if I can make it through that chapter about Mackey’s … Zzzzzzz.
Hey Brian, I was at LibertyCon over the weekend and picked up a copy of Modern Libertarianism … I started asking around, and no one could be 100% sure that the face in the upper-left-hand corner of the cover was Barry Goldwater. We even ran a facial recognition scan. It IS Barry Goldwater, right?
11:53 a.m. — Dennis, you’re off the hook. But if you or anyone else wants to donate to SFL to help us get a start on next year’s LibertyCon, here’s your chance: <<DONATE.>>
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