Following are my remarks delivered at The Heartland Institute’s 17th Anniversary Benefit Dinner on October 26. Many thanks to the 500 people who attended and made the evening a great success.
If anyone thought, for even a moment, that our commitment to the American Dream of liberty and justice for all was shaken by the events of September 11, let them look upon this gathering tonight and know otherwise.
September 11
The World Trade Center may be gone, but the Statue of Liberty still raises her torch over Manhattan, a beacon of hope to repressed people wherever they may be, even and especially the people from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran, and the other nations of the Mideast.
The love of freedom is written in the hearts of all men. No amount of tyranny and terrorism can erase it.
We gather tonight to rededicate ourselves to the principles that were attacked on September 11: That all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, and that the purpose of government–the only legitimate purpose of government–is to secure these rights.
Tonight’s theme is “the triumph of liberty.” Some might say such a celebration is premature, and in some ways they are right. Liberty is not yet triumphant around the world. Millions of people still suffer under tyranny or at the hands of criminals.
And yet . . . the Soviet Union–the most murderous regime in all of human history–collapsed in 1992, and since then there has been a steady increase in the number of nations that embrace democracy and capitalism. Globally, the 1990s was a great decade for freedom. Tyrants still hold power in some remote corners of the world, but like Marx, Lenin, and Stalin, they are on the wrong side of history.
Liberty at Home
Nor is liberty completely triumphant here at home. Our property rights, our civil liberties, our traditions of freedom and self-reliance, are all under attack by national, state, and local governments that want to be our nannies rather than our servants.
Taxes are too high. Regulations are too pervasive and restrictive. The War on Drugs endangers our most basic civil liberties. Government runs too many enterprises that would better be left to private businesses.
But on the home front, as it is globally, the trend is toward more individual liberty and less government. Back in 1984, when The Heartland Institute was founded, few of us would have believed that welfare as a federal entitlement would be abolished in 1996, that a Democratic President in 1997 would declare “the era of big government is over,” or that in 2001, 10,000 children in Milwaukee would be using vouchers to attend private schools of their parents’ choice.
These are major victories, and there are others. Proposing to alter Social Security or Medicare used to be called the “third rail” of politics, but now we have serious proposals with bipartisan political support to partially privatize them both. The Kyoto Protocol on global warming is dead, as is the political career of former Vice President Al Gore.
We have a new administration in Washington at least part of which is committed to sound science and market-based approaches to environmental protection. And we recently elected a President who promised during his campaign to cut taxes . . . and, lo and behold, he did it.
During the past 17 years, there have been scores of similar victories . . . each a little triumph of liberty. The direction is right, even if the distance traveled is disappointingly small. We need to celebrate these triumphs, modest though they may be, because this is how wars are won.
Real Heroes
Wars are won one battle at a time, and winning battles requires heroes. There’s been a lot of talk of heroes lately. I’d like to nominate the thousands of advocates of freedom who made these little triumphs of liberty possible:
- Journalists, like Dan Miller and Terry Savage at the Chicago Sun-Times, who expose government corruption and incompetence and educate their readers about capitalism;
- Elected officials, like Bob Biggins, Ralph Conner, Tom Johnson, Terry Parke, and Pat O’Malley, who resist temptation and do the right thing;
- Business leaders and philanthropists, like the people who paid for tables and tickets to attend tonight’s Benefit dinner, who make it possible for people like me to be full-time freedom activists; and
- The countless part-time citizen activists who work on political campaigns, talk to their elected officials, and run for office; write letters to the editor and speak up at meetings of Rotary, the Chamber of Commerce, and other civic groups; and most importantly, who talk to their kids, neighbors, and coworkers about what it really means to be an American, about the tremendous legacy of freedom we’ve inherited, and then live up to that standard in their day-to-day lives.
These are real heroes. Chances are, you’re one of them; without a doubt, several are sitting at your table. Sometime tonight, thank them for their efforts, learn from their experience, and go forth and follow their example.
By God, We Did It!
Before I finish, I’d like to say a few words about how important this event is to me and to the rest of us who work at The Heartland Institute.
The first time The Heartland Institute hosted an anniversary Benefit dinner, in 1987, 21 people attended. Half were Board members, a quarter were staff, and the rest thought we were the Heartland Health and Fitness Spa giving away free trial memberships.
Every day for Heartland’s first 10 years, I walked past this hotel on my way to and from Heartland’s offices. Sometimes I’d sneak into this room and marvel at the balconies and the chandeliers, and I’d say to myself, “Someday, I’m going to fill this room with people who care as much about freedom as I do.” Well by God, tonight we did it.
These anniversary Benefits have become the highlight of each year for me and, I think, the entire Heartland staff. The enthusiasm, appreciation, and respect of the people in this room make all the frustrations and disappointments of the past year fade into the background. It’s easy to forget, when dealing with unsympathetic reporters, foundation executives, and elected officials, how many people share our goals and support our work. Your presence here tonight reminds us, as it does each year, that we’re not fighting alone.
If you aren’t already a Heartland member, I hope you will decide to join us tonight. If you are in a position to make a donation, please do so. We’re having our best year ever, but we’re operating right at the very edge of our resources. We’ll be in trouble financially unless some of the people in this room tonight stand up and give us a hand before the end of the year.
Thank you again for coming here tonight. God bless you all, and God bless America.
