It probably won’t come as a surprise that a newsletter/blog/publication called “freedom preacher” is going to make an argument for a free society. That is, in fact exactly my intention. I am realistic, however, and I realize that there have been countless arguments made over the centuries, not to mention the vast number of available today on the Internet, making the same argument. 

To provide any real benefit to the reader, I need to add something to the conversation. What might you find here that you won’t necessarily find elsewhere? 

Two things.  First, I will show how a free, peaceful, and rational society is not only possible – it is, in fact, the natural order of things. In the absence of long-standing manipulation, making us far more combative, hence easier to control, the current increasingly dystopian world would be left to the fiction writers. 

Brett Veinotte, creator of SchoolSucksPodcast, has estimated that our species has been set back a thousand years or more by the endless and unnecessary conflicts. 

The second and probably most important feature of Freedom Preacher will be information, ideas, and suggestions – action items whenever possible —  

So I will add a couple of features.  

My goal as a freedom preacher has three main sections: 

1. To demonstrate how coercion, or the lack of freedom, leads to a variety of individual and global problems.
2. To illustrate how freedom could help resolve at least some of these problems.
3. Most important: to point out the ways individuals can reduce or in some cases eliminate the negative effects of coercion by making changes in their lives. This is probably the most important of all, as it changes the message from simply more information about a problem to an actual guide to steps that can be taken to reduce the problem.

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Like many others, I am absolutely convinced that a genuinely free society would be a much better place to live than our current mess. One of many ironies about this is the fact (I see it as a fact) that it would not only be better for all of the “ordinary” citizens – it would also offer the chance of a much better existence for the damaged souls who are currently running and wrecking our existing society. I have no idea how many of these damaged ones would take advantage of this opportunity, but it would be there. 

Since it is glaringly obvious that not only is genuine freedom not just around the corner but in fact receding at an ever-increasing pace, what exactly is the point of trying to understand all the ways our lives would be better? It seems like an exercise in futility, “tilting at windmills.” 

It is a valid question. The simple answer is that an unfree society holds us back.

One of many ways the lack of freedom harms our lives is by changing us. This is an unpopular idea because most people would rather not believe that they have been influenced to the extent that I believe they have. But this is why it is important to understand the benefits of freedom: if we recognize how we have been changed, we can take steps to reverse at least some of those changes. This in turn can restore us to the way we were in the first place. 

We don’t have to wait for the world to become free and rational in order to benefit from understanding the value of freedom. Admittedly much of the damage done is out of any individual’s control. There are steps that individuals can take, however, to reduce at least some of the ill effects of our unfree society. This is the potentially enormous benefit of genuinely understanding the effects of freedom. 

I’m thinking of the freedom preacher as a reality-based guide to living the best possible life in a world that is increasingly determined to make life as difficult – if not impossible – as it can.