‘The natural progress of things,” wrote Thomas Jefferson, “is for liberty to yield and government to gain ground.” Whatever our differences, William F. Buckley Jr. and I often found ourselves in the same trenches as we fought for a free society against a grasping government. Also like him, I have a “considerable — and considered — optimism” that freedom can overcome the collectivism that has taken hold in the classroom, civil society, and the halls of American government.
I have always been optimistic that freedom can prevail. That optimism is based on my conviction that the cause of freedom is just and can unite a majority of Americans. Previous freedom movements — the American Revolution, the abolition of slavery, the women’s-suffrage movement, the civil-rights movement — all succeeded because they struck a moral chord with the American people. They all sought to right an injustice. Those of us who pursue freedom today must be similarly motivated. We must right the injustices that are holding our country back — the injustices that are preventing so many Americans, especially the least fortunate, from pursuing and achieving their dreams.
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