One gentleman confronted me a few days ago about what got me involved in getting the word about the Congressional race in my district. Most individuals are not involved in politics, or they take very little time to get information.
The first time I became aware and involved in political matters took place after I read Milton Friedman's obituary in the LA Times — granted, an unlikely source for information on a leading free-market thinker, but a persuasive and respectable piece all the same.
I was surprised that this economist supported the same ideas which I had held dear: decriminalization of controlled substances, school vouchers, and respect for freedom and liberty.
I devoured the piece, and then I set out to read other books by this man and some of his colleagues, including Freidrich Hayek, whose work The Fatal Conceit outlined some of the historical trends which I had perceived yet up to that moment had not articulated them as fully or as faithfully as Hayek had. I believe that I have read over that book many times over, outlining, underlining, scribbling notes in the margins, making connections to previous sources which I read yet did not have a full appreciation for until after reading Hayek's work.
It was four years later, though, outraged as I was over the passage of ObamaCare, against the clear majority of Americans, both liberal and conservative, who opposed so massive an intrusion of the federal government into our lives. As soon as I learned that ObamaCare had passed, I fired off an angry letter to my local paper, only to discover the next day that the editors had printed the letter! I loved reading my own writing in the press. It was a stirring affirmation for me that I was not the only one who was upset with a runaway progressive government which felt entitled to do what ever it wanted at the expense of the people who sent them to office.
It was not until a few months later that I decided to follow the growing impulse, or at least the awareness of it, and beginning writing my own blog. I had always loved writing, and now was my chance to share my views with the world, even if the audience that read what I wrote did not care too much about what I had put down in writing.
The Tea Party movement also fire up my interest, and my love for history and limited government coalesced with the latent movement to get our government in line doing the enumerated minimum.
I love to write, much like breathing, which I do without really thinking about it! I do not strive or strain to do what I am doing, and because I can write from an undivided, regenerated heart, I find that nothing is stopping me in my tracks from getting the word out!
And as a writer, I exercised an option to make my voice heard on the sudden resignation of Congresswoman Jane Harman (D-El Segundo), a moderate-to-liberal Democrat whose support for Israel had commanded my respect, yet whose vote for ObamaCare soured me on her once and for all. The 300-word piece that I wrote, drawing on my recollection of all that she had done, for better or for worse, wound up in a taut letter for the Daily Breeze, who printed my letter the day after I had submitted it (February 13, 2011). I only knew about my letter getting published when I read a negative response two days later, yet I was able to find a paper copy for myself and keep the article in a portfolio.
I loved discussing politics, I loved thinking about major issues, I loved reading into the policies and discussions which were shaping our country and our government. As a teacher, I only liked teaching about government. I had no interest in American History apart from the role of the state, or the lack thereof.
The Daily Breeze and other local publications welcomed my submissions over the next few weeks, then months. I liked seeing my thoughts in print, and I registered the responses that people made for me, for better or for worse. In a sense, I was teaching, in another sense I was sharing the views which I supported, and engaged in a worthy discussion which has allowed me to brush elbows and war words with many people.
The Truth set me free, and so the facts and figures are easy for me to discuss and discern after that. I am interested in making my voice known on certain issues, and I have received glowing feedback from many who appreciate what I have shared and written and transmitted to others. I do desire to write as a career, and I anticipate that no matter what I do, I have nothing but a hopeful future awaiting me.