Tour Journal

Start A Brushfire Of Freedom

If you have a minute, check our new twitter feed located here. This is an aggregation of tweets from around the country and from tour participants under the hashtag #brushfire.

A few weeks ago, I started the hashtag #iamthemob.  It was an opportunity for us to fight back against the media narrative about just who and what those who oppose Obamacare really are.  The tag exploded and quickly became one of the most popular conservative hashtags on Twitter. Now we are on the American Liberty Tour, and one of the most important aspects of the trip is all of us, conservative activists and concerned citizens, figuring out just what to do next. That’s what the new hashtag is all about: what comes next.

Sam Adams once said “It does not take a majority to prevail… but rather an irate, tireless minority, keen on setting brushfires of freedom in the minds of men.” That is powerful imagery, and so descriptive of what the grassroots movement, both online and offline, really does.

Liberty is a fragile thing. Its flame can be extinguished by the cold howling of the winds of a change toward statism. But if those who cherish the freedom and liberty that are the essential and fundamental basis of the great American philosophy get out there and fan the flames then that which is quintessentially American can be restored. The little light that shines grows, and like a brushfire, the ideas and excitement of those who take action can spread fast and hot. We’ve all seen it this year in the many tea parties, the town hall protests, and the 9/12 movement. The burning desire for liberty in this nation is not extinguished, nor can we let it be. The torch held aloft by the Statue of Liberty represents that flame, that bright burning light of freedom the warmth of which the nations of the world have long yearned to feel.

So starting today, when I write about or participate in activism, I’m tagging it #brushfire, to symbolize our hope that the message of liberty will spread and grow.

September 10, 2009 | Defiance Not Fear, Tour Updates