This is a speech I made at the 2022 Libertarian Party of Utah state convention. I hoped this would not only explain a little bit of who I am, why I am running & hopefully to get people excited for my run for Utah House of Representatives. I hope you enjoy the speech.
- Jacob J.
I never saw myself standing here giving this speech to all of you. Looking back, I was lucky enough to be raised to question everything. Especially if I thought I was sure of something. Paired with pride in being independent, an unwavering drive to never quit & a relentless relationship with improvement; I guess I shouldn’t be surprised.
I become familiar with libertarian philosophy toward the end of high school, thanks to Ron Paul. First time I heard his name was actually from an advertisement in High Times magazine. Right on man! Someone running for president was actually promoting the decriminalization and legalization of marijuana. Until then, I thought that was political suicide. As I listened to him & became more aware the other ideas he talked about sank in.
Whether it was my incessant need to question authority or my youthful attempt at trying to make sense of my world; the ideas resonated with me unlike anything else up to that point. The diluted history taught to me in government schools would have me believe our founding fathers beliefs, what they fought for & what they had written in those world changing documents were outdated concepts that held little bearing on our world today. Libertarian philosophy showed me those core principles were not only alive & well but they are anything but outdated concepts only read about in history books. Not for many years would I understand the impact this influence would have.
I never wanted to actively work towards any political end. I felt that living the principals, discussing the ideas & voting when the time came was enough. By the end of 2019 I was realizing my prevarication was unsustainable. A mere matter of steps into 2020 & any remaining delusion of inactivity had imploded. Regardless of numerous violations to civil liberties & violations of our rights for over a century, the last few years intimately revealed that the insatiable hunger & desire for control can never be satisfied.
The people who swore to uphold & protect are the very ones who enslave & abuse. Who rob us, send us to die in foreign lands, beat us in our streets while they pit us against one another; only to blame everything except themselves. Gaslighting everyone into thinking their expansion will solve the issues that their incompetence & wickedness has created. I am told there is a difference between the red, the blue. May I ask, where? My eyes cannot distinguish.
An increase in spending, expansion of power, beholden to the wealthiest corporations in human history, profiting from experimenting on the citizenry with weapons, medical treatments, & no-bid contracts for their friends & family. Selling our jobs, preventing the expansion of small business through overregulation while propping up monopiles through government subsidies & tax breaks. Sending our sons & daughters to die or be disfigured in a foreign land over backroom business deals. All while demanding more of our scraps of our so called "wealth" they allow us to keep after they have already taken a third. A wealth which continues to be devalued through out of control printing, borrowing & market manipulation. Both have continued to militarize the police, nationalize federal agencies, spy on citizens without warrant's, invade our homes and steal our property. On & on & on.
The last few years were not a realization. They were a radicalization. The weight of what we are facing became clear & evident. Our unfettered capitulation is our cross to bear. Compromise has been our drug.
I stand before you today, a man. A man who has realized the importance of his exposure to these ideas many years ago. I was always meant to be here in front of all of you, making this speech.
ALL men are created equal. Your mere existence guarantee's your rights to Life, Liberty, & the pursuit of happiness. If a government must exist, than that governments sole purpose is the securing of these right's, not the subjugation of them.
The government has become hostile to these truths & clearly abuses their only role. It is our right, our duty to alter or abolish such a system & establish a new foundation in such form as to protect these rights.
As a member, candidate & hopeful delegate of the libertarian party of Utah, I promise to vote and act in all favors that expand individual liberty, smaller government & lower taxes. If I ever act contrary to those beliefs I shall admit my wrong doing, apologize & remove myself from any position held.
I couldn’t figure out exactly how to finish this correctly so I will finish with a quote that is as relevant today as it was in 1775.
"Why stand we here idle? What is it that gentleman wish? What would they have? Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I knew not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!"
- Patrick Henry, 1775