Michael Howell at Christian Patriots writes an Open Letter to the Liberty Movement, setting forth what he sees as the issues of the day to be addressed.

While open letters are commonly addressed towards a specific person and intended for the general public, in this case, I want to talk to a particular collective – the liberty movement. The purpose of this letter isn’t to call out the liberty movement in a negative way. It is, instead, meant to serve as a reminder of our goals and as a challenge for the upcoming obstacles impeding the complete liberty we seek. I’ve observed over the years the liberty movement has failed to keep our direction and our once unshakable resolve. We have compromised our beliefs as we’ve looked the other way in times when we should have stood on the principles we once advocated so firmly in the past to bring forth. The constitutional Republic can not continue the values and beliefs of freedom under the eternal plan of compromise to the political games.

To move forward, I feel we need to reflect back on what brought such a group of diverse people and ideologies together in the beginning. In my personal march towards liberty, I trace my participation to the message of former Congressman and Republican Presidential candidate, Dr. Ron Paul. It was his message that tore down diverse barriers that the establishment had built on their conquest to divide us, instead of the unity we all longed for. For many that I met along the way on my journey, it started long before Congressman Paul’s run for the White House.

So, what are the issues that started to unite us and set in motion the tidal wave of free and independent thought of the new collective known as the liberty movement? Well, once the veil of tyranny started to be pulled away, the concerns that we all feared were confirmed. We saw that not only are we a controlled nation on its way to losing our national sovereignty, but the attack was zeroing in at the level of the individual right. The tyranny was on all fronts of our daily lives, quickly steamrolling towards centralized global control of our resources, monetary system, judicial processes, and manipulation of foreign/domestic policies with nefarious intentions.

Too Big To Fail

As the liberty movement began to grow, one of the main topics surrounding the expansion of the collective was the bailout of the major banks, not only here at home but around the world as well. The Occupy Wall Street group was out in full force while another new group was forming during this time as well – the Tea Party. While both of these movements were eventually infiltrated and quickly dissolved, they did help bring awareness to the deception of the Central Banks odious practices of deliberate corruption.

For many Americans, the separation between the corporations and the people was reaching a boiling point. The incantation, or mantra that was coming out of Washington in the form of “too big to fail,” was beginning to fall on the maddening ears of the citizenry. Frustration levels reached resentment levels when on October 3, 2008, President George W. Bush signed the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act. The act was proposed by then-Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, and the 110th Congress would sign off on the $700 million bill that would bail out the banking industry.

Middle America, who already felt they had been slapped in the face repeatedly by their representatives, was now fed up and showing their displeasure on the campaign trail and anywhere else they could get their voices heard. As an independent journalist myself during the 2008 presidential campaign, I remember the high energy protests outside at all of the presidential debate halls. Our signs filled the air as our chants of “End the Fed” drownded out all the broadcasts from the major news channels that were reporting live on the air from the venues. It was a momentum towards liberty we, as a nation, hadn’t felt in decades – if not longer!

End The Fed

I must admit right off that it was my research into the draconian Federal Reserve central banks and the criminal practices of the fractional reserve lending system that first brought me to the liberty movement. Once I was inside the movement and making friends, I found that was the case for many of us. To me, this was when the liberty movement started to feel like a family – an entrusted and undivided unified family. Quickly I would come to realize that it was because of the works of G. Edward Griffin’s “Creature of Jekyll Island” and Ron Paul’s “End the Fed” books that gave so many of us the clarity and understanding of what was compromising our individual liberties and freedoms.

I remember in 2008, while I was at the CNN hosted Presidential debate in Jacksonville, Florida, the End the Fed signs outnumbered any sign that could be seen there. Whether you were Republican, Democrat, Independent, or Libertarian, there was no denying one common issue that was overwhelmingly bringing together everyone there, and that was the corrupt Federal Reserve. I often think of that moment at the CNN debate as my “awakening.” In actuality, it had come some time prior, but that day/night there was almost euphoric for me.

I had planned for some time to make the trip to a presidential debate and saved all my vacation time I had accumulated while working at a machine shop in my hometown in Louisiana. The time had come, and I was ready to make the 11-hour drive, not knowing what I was going to do when I arrived there. I just knew I had to go and see for myself. For many months leading up to this trip, I was occupying myself with a barrage of non-stop YouTube videos and learning all I could about a new candidate (well new to me) Congressman Ron Paul. What grabbed me initially about him was the way he spoke about the banking cabal and how it was this broken system that centered around perpetual debt as the only means for its existence. This was when I started hearing the term “debt slaves.”

I remember driving all night and arriving in Jacksonville, Florida, early in the morning. I arrived on the university campus before any of the crowds started to form, and just as CNN was setting up the stage area, they would be broadcasting from. I got out my cell phone and made all the necessary calls back home, letting my friends and family members know I had made it safely. A short time later, the large grassy area outside the debate hall started to fill up. The atmosphere immediately started to resemble what I had been witnessing in the online videos I had been watching. Almost instantaneously, the “Ron Paulers” presence was felt. I was at home!

Since I was so new to this movement and eager to learn as much as I could about the evident passion these supporters had for their candidate, I wanted to be a sponge and absorb as much of the message of liberty I could possibly find. Everyone and I do mean everyone I came into contact with did not disappoint. I arrived there alone and somewhat tired from the 11-hour all-night drive I had made, but quickly, I was rejuvenated by the political shift that I was in the presence of witnessing.

From group to group, I made all the rounds. The Occupy Wall Street group had their section. The anti-war crowd had their part as well. In fact, all political affiliations were there and representing. However, it didn’t seem divided or sectioned one bit. It was all-inclusive and rooted in the ideals of liberty. The main focus at this rally was without question streamlined around two things. Getting Dr. Paul elected and ending the Federal Reserve once and for all! Although our efforts to get the Congressman elected fell short (because of corruption from inside the Republican party), the message was clear. The Federal Reserve had to go!

Foreign Policy

“Blowback” is a CIA term first used in March 1954 in a recently declassified report on the 1953 operation to overthrow the government of Mohammed Mossadegh in Iran. It is a metaphor for the unintended consequences of the US government’s international activities that have been kept secret from the American people.

Blowback. This is a term that was not mentioned often until the birth of the liberty movement. Without question, we are seeing the harms of our foreign policy and just what ignoring the consequences of blowback can do while waging two illegal and undeclared wars in the Middle East.

I remember when I use to talk about blowback to people, and the reaction was like a deer caught in a car’s headlights. To me, the topic of blowback and how it is putting our troops on foreign soil in more harm’s way was always a tough sell to the masses. The cognitive dissonance that the public has, especially when it comes to our men and women in uniform, is alarming to observe…

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