Some groups will tell you things are fine right now. We just have a little more work to do.
From my perspective things are not fine.
We have systematic problems that have lead to the loss of rights.
While our Constitutional rights haven’t changed - there’s been no amendment to the US Constitution - our effectively available rights are less in 2022 than they were in 2019. Courts have, largely, upheld extreme governmental actions. Perhaps our rights are better in 2022 than they were in the valley of 2020 when the most extreme measures were taken - but we haven’t made “progress” for freedom compared to where we were pre-pandemic.
Sure, right now, the government officials in charge of using the laws that so quickly ake our freedoms in an “emergency” aren’t pushing those buttons right this minute.
Maybe there’s time to relax before the election.
If I had to guess those levers of government power won’t be heavily used until after November - when elected officials get mostly locked in place for 2 more years.
Even the non-elected officials in the government don’t want to go too overboard right now because too much use of power could lead to greater change at the ballot box in November.
But after November it’s a long time until the next round of elections.
A LONG TIME.
And yet the system is probably worse today than it was in 2019.
Sure there have been some spot improvements here and there for specific abuses.
Sure some executives (like Governor DeSantis) are not using the statutory power they have.
But the systems for abuse are on the books right now.
Waiting to be used.
Sometimes folks ask me why there are so many freedom groups in the world.
This is why. Some groups think things are fine and we can just make minor adjustments to where we are. Some think we need fundamental long-term change (this is where AFII sits). Some get upset about everything and go on wild goose chases about issues that are not likely to have a big impact on freedom long-term.
We try to balance reality and reason here.
And there’s hundreds of other groups with different styles and balances.
We need to push for laws that limit government power - so this can never happen again. Because next time the use of power and force may be even more extreme.
With that said I hope you’ll support AFII financially at some point in the near future if you can. We have some minimal expenses (office access/address, email, phone, etc) that are mostly paid monthly and little to no donations coming in.
We could really use a good fundraiser if anyone has any expertise at that.
I feel we’ve made progress together. I’d like to stay in the fight with you. Because I believe there’s still a lot of work to do.
If we can get over the financial hump we could use some regular help from folks that are good at organizing teams on projects and it would be nice to have a regular fundraising team to keep things going without these sporadic pleas for financial help.
Shawn
NOTE: While legal issues are discussed this is education and is not legal advice. It is not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. Please consult your own attorney on your situation and to get legal advice about your circumstances. Courts are unpredictable may disagree with the author’s opinions.
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