Not long ago I wrote a conclusion to one of my essays, that rings so true to me today, that I thought I’d share—

The only option is to choose; to make a choice when the options are clear, and the chaos and tension that accompanies conflict has not yet become overbearingly personal.

I made my choice early on, when I first encountered these people.  I made my choice before the huge successes and before the tragic business failures that have defined the last several years.  I’m not proud or happy about the business or financial failures that have so closely affected my life, and the lives of so many of my friends and loved ones.  Nor can I rest from my own labor to compensate for the ones for where I bare primary responsibility.  But failure, financially—short or long term, has never been the enemy of free citizens in America, or throughout history.   Failure, morally—to stand up for right, for freedom, and for truth—this is a failure that I consider the most serious enemy of all.  As economic freedom is threatened broadly, across all parts of the world’s citizenry, each of us are increasingly exposed the fact that we have an inescapable choice to make, individually.

How about you?  How will you react when you have your day in court (literally or figuratively)?  Do you think that somehow you can escape the consequences of the rocky cliffs ahead?  Will you just coast along the tidal wave of life that carries you about from day-to-day while you complain as you go that your life isn’t what you want? Or, will you stand up?  Will you say to freedom’s common enemy, “There is a certain point beyond which you cannot pass!”

I’m sure the slobbery thickness of brain-off emotionalism will continue to bring more people to my door in the future asking about some supposed, pretended, or actual indictment–or maybe even worse.  But, in the mean time, me and those who stand with me (including the consistently growing numbers of those who will be standing with me tomorrow and the next day, and the days after that), we will keep producing, educating, and organizing.  And, when we can squeeze it in (and I’m pretty sure it’s something we’ll not soon forget), we’ll also do what we can to make sure the complicit schmuck’s (including those in the media, the legal profession, and in key government positions) who keep overstepping their bounds, to the detriment of innocent and free citizens, are also made to face the legal consequences of their own wrongdoing.  I doubt that they’re any more anxious to face a just tribunal than have been any of history’s well known tyrants and their dimwitted, brain off accomplices.

- Thank you Ann, Clyne, Brad, Jason, Jewel, Tom, Sonny, Steve, and Israel.  Michelle was couragous, thank you dear.   Also, thank you to those who would stand / will stand – as we take the Project forward despite the challenges and obstacles in our way.  You never know exactly when you might be asked to make a decision to stand with a friend, or to stand for a cause or a principle.  Excuses are always possible, and conflicting choices by definition must be present.  But, all the talk in the world and friendly expressions built up over time — these don’t count the same as the simple, but difficult decision, to take a stand when defining moments come.

Friendship is a grand, fundamental principle (to paraphrase my greatest mortal hero) and words cannot express the feelings of friends, acting freely, to lend costly support—especially, when juding eyes are watching, gossiping lips are talking, and pointing fingers are mocking.

If you liked this post, try these...

• November 3, 2009 -- Koerbers Divorce
• June 29, 2009 -- Brain-Off, Mouth Open: Tom Grover Misses the Point
• April 8, 2009 -- Rick Koerber Indicted? Schmucks, Grand Juries, & the Trials Ahead.

I originally published this essay several years ago and also included it in early editions of the FreeCapitalist Primer.  As I’ve had repeated requests recently I’ve decided to republish the essay here.  There is also a .pdf download version.

The Hero’s Life – The Power of Taking Deliberate Action
by C. Rick Koerber

Many of us admire heroes from a distance, yet we often fail to make the choice to live the hero’s life ourselves. There is no modesty in failing to take on the personal mantle of being a hero in your world. The challenge for most of us is that we simply fail to grasp the simple concept that choosing to be a hero is ours to make and is the only way to effectively change the world.  The individual who grasps this concept can live the life of a hero, starting today!

I’m convinced that each human being, even the very simplest, wants to live a life that matters. I would argue that herein lays the truth regarding all human beings’ craving for the feeling of importance.  Individual heroes are our mind’s projection of our own personal desire for living a life we love. It is for this reason that citizens everywhere might make exceptional progress in their own affairs by cultivating a respect for heroes of all kinds.

Most of us fail to realize that we can cultivate the life of a hero through our own daily choices, waiting instead for someone else to rescue us when facing life’s most difficult challenges.  Yet, through our own observation and study of those who have gone before us in time or accomplishment, we are actually able to get in touch with a personal and valuable portion of our own consciousness.  Or to say it more simply, by choosing heroes for ourselves, men and women we deliberately choose to admire and whose lives and accomplishments we purposefully reflect upon, we find ourselves able to recognize the power of a hero inside our own lives.

The realization in the mind of a man or woman that he or she can actually transcend the normal victimhood of life and become a hero-increasingly able to make a difference in the lives of loved ones, and in the community around them -is a realization that gives the mind and heart a source of courage, a reservoir of faith and hope, and an example of how to face the challenges of life.

“Ye Are Gods”
The Lord says he created man to act for himself rather than to be acted upon. To me, this means the difference between living life as a hero and living life as a victim. More poignantly, it is the difference between living life as a god and living life as a devil. When the Savior was accused of blasphemy for proclaiming himself the Son of God, he responded:

Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods? If he called them gods, unto whom the word of God came, and the scripture cannot be broken; Say ye of him, whom the Father hath sanctified, and sent into the world, Thou blasphemest; because I said, I am the Son of God? If I do not the works of my Father, believe me not.

All of us are the children of God, yet the devil would like us to be miserable, to forget our royal heritage, and to live life as a thing acted upon rather than as one with courage and deliberateness, who makes the world a better place.

Do we do the works of God? Do we choose liberty and life?

Five Minutes That Changed My Life Forever

There is a clear difference between acting for ourselves, and being acted upon. The difference begins with perception.

A few years ago, I was in a business meeting with three of my top executives. We were having an unplanned meeting to deal with some of the pressing business issues of the day. During the conversation, it dawned on me that none of us had spent any time deliberately preparing for our discussion.

I noticed that we were being acted upon by the pressure of expectations outside ourselves, a pattern, in hindsight, appears to be something to which we had become habitually addicted. This is how a person assents to perpetual victimhood.

As I pondered our situation, an idea flashed into my mind.  I said to each of my associates there in that meeting, “I’d like to take exactly five minutes to focus in complete silence on this one very specific issue.”
I asked each executive to write down any ideas that came to mind while we pondered that one simple matter-very deliberately, together and in silence. The challenge I issued to them was to think of a solution, or more than one if possible, to this very specific problem our company was facing. I asked them, “If this challenge was left entirely up to you, what would you do?”

I asked them to consider all possibilities, no matter how bold. Once I confirmed that each understood, I looked at the clock and said, “Okay, five minutes; please don’t make a sound.”

The seconds began ticking by. I’m not sure much happened in the first minute or two, other than three grown men looking occasionally at each other-acknowledging the oddity of the moment. After about two or three minutes, one of the men began to jot down an idea. A few seconds later another started to write. By the time there was only thirty seconds left, we were all writing quickly. At the end of five minutes, we all had a bright look on our faces. The feeling in the room was much different than the pressure felt just five minutes earlier.

I next requested that each of us share the ideas we had written down. One at a time we began to do so. By the time each of us had finished sharing our ideas, the power of deliberateness was evident. The amazing reality was that in just five minutes of deliberate acting (in this case our action was simply to think) we made more progress than we had done in many months of discussion previously, on that very same issue.
That simple five-minute experiment has changed my life forever.

Walking Down the Middle of a Busy Street
On another occasion I learned more about the power of acting for myself, of being deliberate and choosing the hero’s life.  I remember making the decision to take a walk down the double yellow line in the center of a busy downtown street in front of my office building.

Now, before you rush to conclusions, this wasn’t something silly, nor was it a decision I took lightly, odd though it may seem. I had been given the difficult church assignment to work with two single women in our local church congregation. They were both single mothers who didn’t regularly attend meetings, lived in very poor conditions, and didn’t seem to like the idea of receiving assistance from anyone in the church.
For months, I struggled with my assignment. It was difficult to even obtain their phone numbers. I prayed about my assignment and made token efforts semi-regularly to reach out to them. Whenever I reached out, my efforts seemed easily and quickly dismissed. It had been nearly six months since I was first given the assignment when I realized, very clearly, that I was failing to make any difference in the lives of these two women whatsoever.

I felt bad about the situation, but I didn’t have any idea of what to do. I attempted to justify myself by remembering each of the times I had tried to reach out but had been rebuffed; however, nothing seemed to quench the gnawing within me-that seemed to be saying, “You’re failing.”

I was being acted upon, by my own fears and doubts, and I didn’t realize then that there was an external force inviting me to get out of my own victim story and write a new chapter-the hero’s story.
Long ago I heard it suggested that the universe has a way of giving us exactly the trial required for us to grow and improve.  One day as I sat in my office, a very strange thing happened.  I didn’t know it at the time, but it was one of those moments in life, an invitation-to face a very real and future altering test.
Unannounced and out of the blue, in the middle of a weekday, as I sat in my office focused on the computer in front of me, both women came into my office at the same time asking to see me.

My secretary came in to interrupt my schedule and asked, assuming I would say no, if I would see these two young women. I was a bit surprised to see them, to say the least. I agreed to see them without hesitation.  As they sat across from my desk, the idea struck me-how odd it was to have both of them, two very specific souls who I had been so concerned over but had felt so helpless to affect-now sitting together, directly in front of me.

They proceeded to explain that due to some unforeseen circumstances they were both facing a situation where they would soon be homeless. As a matter of fact, one of them was required to be out of her house that very day. They had successfully secured a new apartment, planning to move in together, but the new place was a mess, needed cleaning, and required some minor repairs. In addition, they had no help for the move.

They had no pickups, no friends to assist, and no plans for making the move happen; yet they had planned the move for that very day.  Now, here they were, sitting in my office asking for my help.
At first I was more than happy to agree.  I had been pondering for months over how I might reach out to them and here was my opportunity.  I agreed to help but explained that since it was the middle of the workday it would be several hours before I could arrive.

As I thought about my commitment, I envisioned myself showing up at about 5:30pm, helping load boxes etc., but really nothing more.  They both quietly expressed understanding that I was busy and that I would take the time to come by and help them later that evening. They smiled briefly and then politely left my office.

After they were gone, I sat pondering the situation. “Certainly,” I thought to myself, “I want to help them, but I have a huge workload today.” I even remember thinking it was silly to expect to move so quickly, and to schedule a move with so little planning.  Of course, they explained, it wasn’t their fault; it was unanticipated, etc., but I had heard such excuses many times before.

As I sat there in my office, justifying to myself that there was nothing else I could do, a feeling deep inside again started to gnaw at my core. The feeling was direct and poignant, and I could not deny it. I knew for certain that all my rationalizations meant nothing. I knew I had been praying for months for a way to reach out to each of these women, and for months the only thing preventing me from making the world a better place for them and myself was my own lame pattern of excuses.

I acknowledged to myself that I was not acting like a hero, and I knew it. I also knew that I was of no matter in this situation to these women or to the Lord; I had not chosen to be a significant source for good in the situation. The more powerfully I went over this acknowledgment in my mind, the more powerfully I felt inspired to do something about it.

I suppose it had been fifteen minutes since I had escorted the women from my office. I sat by myself in silence, tortured by the idea that I had failed, that there was no excuse for the poor choice I had made, and that the bigger problem I was up against was my own self-deception about my own intentions.
Not comfortable at all with the conclusions I was coming to, I began thinking about what else I could do.  I started to ask very specific questions, in my own mind, about the possibilities-rather than focusing on rationalizations for my limitations.

I pondered and then got on my knees and prayed. I knew I must do something. The idea then came to my mind that I must act very deliberately. I felt certain my failure to deliberately chart a course forward was the same as deliberately charting a course to nowhere; so, I started looking for ways to act deliberately in a manner to appropriately rectify this situation.

I committed to myself to do something right then, without delay. I had no way to reach either woman. This was a time before cell phones were common. They had errands to run and were planning to meet me back at the home where the move was to take place at 5:30 p.m. that evening.  It was only noon and I knew there was no way that I could wait five hours to do something. Or better stated, I knew I could make a difference and that I would not wait another minute to do it.

As I sat pondering, a very strange idea came to my mind. It was as if a voice said to me, “Okay, if you want to act deliberately, go walk down the middle of the street.” I’m not kidding. That is the idea that came into my mind.

At first, I chuckled. I wondered if the source hadn’t been my own frustration and as an expression of that frustration I was now telling myself to go play jacks in the middle of the highway or something similar. However, I recognized the source of the idea and knew that I could not deny it. I knew that I was prepared to act and was going to act, so I got up from my office chair immediately and headed out the door.

On my way out of the office, my secretary, surprised to see me heading out of the office so quickly and without warning, asked me where I was going. Not worried how strange it would sound, I simply replied, “I’m going to go walk down the middle of the road.”

This I’m sure sounded curiously alarming. He got up and started following me out of the building. As I made my way quickly down the stairs and outside to the sidewalk, he again asked what I was doing. I looked out at the double yellow line in the center of road. I remember thinking to myself that this was a bit crazy and wondering what I hoped to accomplish. I turned to my secretary and explained that I was going to help the two women that I had mistakenly dismissed earlier. I told him the only way I could change what I did was to take deliberate action. I’m not sure how convincing I sounded, but I took off for the center of the road.
When I reached the double yellow line, I decided to start walking west.

My secretary walked with me (staying on the sidewalk paralleling my course). I stopped responding to his questions and just kept walking, paying close attention and keeping my feet, one step after the other, on the double yellow line.

I soon approached a busy intersection controlled by a traffic light. I paused, wondering to myself how much danger I was really willing to put myself in, in order to keep walking the line. As I stood there, wondering how this action was going to make a difference, a car came turning the corner and almost ran me over. Of course, I couldn’t complain since I was the one standing in the middle of the road.
The car swerved to avoid hitting me, and pulled over to the side of the road. To my great astonishment, inside the car were the two women I was looking for. The woman in the passenger side rolled down her window and with a somewhat astonished look on her face asked what I was doing walking down the middle of the road.

I responded with a sigh of relief by telling them that I had been inspired to do so, that it was the only way I was going to be able to reach them, that I had made a mistake earlier, and I wanted to take charge of getting them moved starting that very minute.

The entire story is too long to tell, but suffice it to say, the mood between the three of us changed dramatically. We all recognized that something was much different than only a short time before.

I went to work. I called over 25 men in the middle of the day without any warning. I simply requested in a rather pursuasive way that they all meet me with boxes, trucks, hand-trucks, dollies, etc.

I was only successful at reaching a small handful; for the rest, on each of their answering machines, I left a very deliberate and determined message. I had no idea how many would show up. For some reason, I had no doubt that I could orchestrate and accomplish the task.  But, I had no idea what I was about to witness.

I arrived at the house to help with the move (ironically, my soon-to-be wife was with me that day, but that is another story). At first, we were the only ones there; not even the two women who needed the help were present to witness the miracle that was about to take place. After a short time, men and women began to arrive from all directions.

Almost everyone that I had called came to help, and many brought friends who had received word of the project. In what seemed like less than thirty minutes, we had so much help I couldn’t count everyone. We had trucks, boxes, and lots of hands. Literally, in just a few hours, we had the entire home packed and moved, including having cleaned and made the needed repairs to the new apartment.

I had spent almost the entire time simply directing traffic, so to speak. I had never before witnessed such an effective and heartfelt response to any similar situation. The people who showed up to help had a unique spirit about them, and the work was accomplished almost as a by-product.

When the two women finally arrived to help get the move started, they were astonished to discover all the work had already been completed. They were moved, and everything was already accomplished. I remember a brief moment while standing in the middle of the living room in the center of human traffic watching all the work being done throughout the house, being coordinated by my basic directions. At that moment, the feelings I experienced were the feelings of a hero. Not a hero in the sense of being recognized by anyone else as such, but a hero in my own mind. I knew that I had finally stepped up to the plate and had accomplished something worthwhile.

Heroes: The Power of Being Deliberate
There is a power that comes with deliberateness. In both of my stories, which were actual occurrences in my life, there were clear, small but significant moments when I learned something amazingly powerful. I learned something of the difference between acting and being acted upon.

I felt the difference between being a victim of circumstance and a hero who had chosen to act deliberately. In those minutes, a brief glance through the mundane in life, I knew that I had chosen to be an agent, a hero, and even in a very meaningful but humble way, a god-who had in those instances acted deliberately to create a better world.

Much of life is about finding importance and making a difference. The answer to our search is unique for each of us, as unique as the individual situations and challenges we face each day. I have learned through my own experience something of the sacred and amazing possibilities that lay at the core of why each of us is here on the earth. Through many small moments like the two experiences, I have come to know that what I have accomplished as a result of being very deliberate in my efforts has enabled me to tap into the power of a hero, which is literally the power to change the world.

I am convinced that within the immediate grasp of anyone reading this essay is the possible choice of living the hero’s life, the choice of being a god-or perhaps more comfortably, the child of God. But it is a choice.
The individual who grasps this concept can begin living a new life, today!

If you liked this post, try these...

• April 8, 2009 -- Rick Koerber Indicted? Schmucks, Grand Juries, & the Trials Ahead.
• November 17, 2008 -- Updated: Some Things are Worth Thinking About
• October 27, 2008 -- God is a Capitalist: Answering Ruble Fisher
• August 4, 2008 -- Initiation into the Secret Brotherhood of Dads
• June 23, 2008 -- My Support for Congressman Chris Cannon

Today, my three-year-old daughter asked me a question that I can’t stop thinking about. So, I want to share with you what Bethany actually told me, and even more importantly, what she asked me.  But, I want to put it into context first. Otherwise, I don’t think you’ll quite understand – when I announce my answer.

Doing what I do for a living, there is no shortage of opinion about the way I live my life.  On the average day I get a few emails, text messages, Facebook messages, phone calls and even the occasional written letter telling me someone’s opinion about “this or that” aspect of my life.

Recently, an old friend told me that after listening to my radio show he thought to himself, “That’s not the Rick I grew up with.”  In a letter I received today a complete stranger wrote to me saying, “I have been listening to you on the radio for more than two years.  You don’t know me and we’ve never met, but you’ve changed my life.  Your ideas have helped me and my family tremendously.  My wife and I got to talking about you and all that you’re up to and just wanted to write and say ‘Thank you, from the bottom of our hearts.’  We’re behind you 100%.”

I try not to think very much about any of these kinds of things.  If they are insulting or complimentary, I try to appreciate them for what they are and then move on.  Once and a while however, someone tells me something or asks me a question, that is just worth thinking about. Today, I was surprised however, that it was my 3-year old daughter.

I don’t mean to give you the wrong idea.  But, most people’s opinions about me and my life are so uninformed by the actual facts, that it’s really not worth spending  much time contemplating what they have to say.  I never imagined things would be this way, but when you put yourself out in public, every single day – via radio, seminars, courses, Internet, etc., there’s just no shortage of opinions – most of which are not worth much.  I, of course, usually like the compliments more than the insults.  I’ve received some meaningful messages that I’ve saved, and are close to my heart.  But, once again – very few are worth thinking about.

So, today when my little girl started talking to me about my work, it was a little bit unusual.  Of course, she sees me working almost every day (except Sundays).  She even knows a little bit about a few of the things I do.  I certainly care more for her opinion than most of the people I usually hear from, but she is only three-years old after all.  Actually, I’m sure she’d want me to clarify, that she’s “almost four.”  I think she turned almost four in her mind, the day after her third birthday.

There we were, today was a calm Sunday afternoon, spending some quality daddy/daughter time while mom and the two boys took naps.  Bethany tolerated as much football as she could stand, and then got out her spelling cards.  We worked on three and four letter words and also the names of about thirty colors.  I had no idea that a three-year-old could realistically be expected to spell magenta, let alone know what it means.  I’m still not sure I know what what it means without a few samples.

Anyway, we were going through three letter words, one letter at a time, and out of the blue she looks up at me and says, “Daddy I love you.”

This was an unexpected surprise.  I was touched, as any parent would be.  But, I was also a bit taken back.  It seemed unrelated to anything we were doing.  Then, as I look back in my minds eye, without much of a pause she looked straight up at me again and asked, “Dad, why do you work so much?”

I tried as best as I could to explain to her about my “work” and my schedule.  I’m not sure anything I said really sunk in – certainly not as deep as her comment and question had penetrated me.  Nevertheless, we finished with our spelling cards, and the evening went on, pretty much like normal.  Except, I just couldn’t stop thinking about her question.

Here it is 5:31am and while I am certain I’m going to regret not being in bed, I can’t find the end to my day without witting something that is at the core of my real answer to my daughter’s question.

I titled this entry, “Some things are worth thinking about,” because I highly recommend that if you’ve taken the time to read this far, perhaps you could spend some time coming up with your own best answer to that same question.  It has been richly rewarding for me to come up with my answer.  Of course, Bethany is asleep right now, and I better not wake her up to tell here I finally have a better answer now, than the one I gave her before dinner.

But, then again, if I take much longer, I could just tell her, first thing when she wakes.

Well, I’ll just write my answer down here, in case that doesn’t happen.

So, “Why,” is it that I “work so much?”

I think I’ve failed as much as I’ve succeeded at most things in life.  There are a few exceptions, but work is not one of them.  I’ve learned tons and that’s one of the reasons I enjoy working so much.  I love what I do.  I love standing up for what is right and I like helping people see what they haven’t been able to see on their own.

I’m driven, and have had a unique passion for my work since I was about seven years old.  I’m getting better at what I do, and despite all the failures and successes, I believe I have a work to do, here on this earth, that is unique to me and can benefit those I love and this wonderful country I would peacefully give my life defending.

The short answer is this…

I love my wife.  I love my children.  I have the love and respect of these and several other family members and dear friends.  As I picture in my mind, the faces of my wife, of each of my children, of my very close family members and friends, and even the friends and heroes of mine who have already departed this life—I realize unmistakably that I love my life.  I thank God for the many blessings that have been mine and the opportunity to do the work I do.

While I have much ground to cover, many mistakes still to correct, people still to build better relationships with, wrongs in my life to right, apologies to make, new relationships to build, new people to meet, several matters to resolve, complete and accomplish and some yet even to begin — I work because it is in my work that I find meaning and hope satisfied for all those who put their confidence in me and a satisfaction of my own hopes and values.  I would not be a good husband, father, or even a good citizen if I gave up on the work I do.  Alea jacta est.

I have enjoyed thinking about my own answer, and even more to the point, how it is that it took my three-year old daughter to bring me to this point of contemplation.  For those of you who don’t yet have any three-year olds and those who have long since passed up these days—you’re missing something, my friends, you really are missing something.

In response to my daughter’s comment that she loved me, I could only say, “thank you sweetheart for sharing that with me.”  Though she wouldn’t have understood, I might have added, “that sure makes all the difference.”  I feel the same about my boys – but I hope that my bonding, reflective moments with them, over the years ahead will involve fewer tears and more masculine expressions.  Whatever that means.

How powerful is a little, perspective adjusting reflection in the early hours of the morning!

If you liked this post, try these...

• August 4, 2008 -- Initiation into the Secret Brotherhood of Dads
• April 20, 2008 -- Dumb Dad of the Year Award
• December 3, 2008 -- Hero’s Life
• April 12, 2008 -- Are You a Capitalist, by 1886 Standards?

UTAH COUNTY, UT | 4 April 2008 | The Salt Lake Tribune’s least credible columnist, Paul Rolly, has recently demonstrated how scared and inept the democratic party loyalists are when conservatives get organized in Utah. Absent any credible criticism of Carl Wimmer (R – Herriman), Ken Sumsion (R-American Fork), Chris Herrod (R-Provo), Keith Grover (R-Provo) and Steve Sandstrom (R-Orem) Rolly decided to make a political argument by sarcastic metaphor, but like most liberals – he doesn’t quite come to grips with the power of action over rhetoric.

For example, Rolly whimsically claims that the GOP is out to “rescue its superheroes” because of a flier recently distributed for an event designed to support the “Fab Five” state legislators. Funny thing is that Rolly has no argument to back up why a normal, organized fund-raising event is a rescue attempt. Could Rolly imagine that the event might be instead, a victory rally?

Of course, Rolly doesn’t see it any other way, because like many in his camp he’s still too busy gloating over the Utah vouchers issue to see much of anything. In fact, Rolly’s only substantive remark in his entire essay is that “All five dutifully followed leadership’s admonition to vote for vouchers…”

The facts are however, as they say, stubborn things. They are especially difficult for Attila like bullies who call it a job to poke rhetorical fun at good men who serve their community.

Fact #1 – Vouchers.

Rolly argues that the GOP leadership is supporting these five legislators because they “dutifully” followed orders this past session. Funny thing is that three of the five campaigned in support of vouchers long before receiving any orders from anyone. Sometimes Democrats forget that to hold office you don’t actually have to wait for a leader to call you up and tell you your position.

Fact #2 – Stand-Out Legislation

Rolly glosses over all of the legislative details with a blanket accusation that none of these five elected representatives had any “stand-out legislation.” The first error in Mr. Rolly’s argument is t o think that Utahans, especially Republicans, send freshman legislatures into office solely for the purpose of writing new laws.

I think it is a serious surprise to most liberals to actually try and imagine a government whose effectiveness isn’t measured in the number of new laws passed. Additionally, Rolly ignores records like Wimmer’s where fully half of his “introduced bills” were proposed amendments to existing laws, on such important subjects such as child abuse, environmental crimes, toughening prosecution on those who hurt children, etc.

Other legislation sponsored by this freshman group included immigration reform, the rights of adopted children, and the reform of certain outdated criminal codes. Of course, this isn’t “stand-out” to Rolly because it left out global warming.

It is quite obvious that Rolly doesn’t count on educated Utahans to simply hop on the Internet and take 15 minutes to view the actual records of these freshman legislator’s – which records speak for themselves (with or without the support of leadership).

Fact #3 – Republican Challengers

It is true that four of the five candidates mentioned are being challenged by members of their own party, however it is far too early to tell how serious the challenges are. The state and county conventions will play their role, and the newly elected delegates will get to decide if any of the challenges are serious enough to merit a primary election. The irony is that Rolly lumps Wimmer into the same analysis (Wimmer is the Mr. T of the group Paul, just to answer your question) – when he is not even opposed by a Republican. Wimmer, as Rollly notes, is opposed by a “former” Republican who is now running as a democrat. Small details, I’m sure, for Mr. Rolly.

Think about this for a minute, Dave Hogue was in the state legislature for ten years as a Republican and has now come out of the closet as a democrat (which most of us already knew by the way.) Stubborn facts.

Rolly’s “ad hominem” humor is no substitute for “brain-on” activity. Thank goodness he writes for the Tribune, or else some voters who are actually affected by the decisions of these legislators might have been confused.

It does take a superhero these days to stand up against the politics of liberalism, socialism, and do-gooders who think that the reason a man or women is elected to office is to continue the plunder of previous legislatures. Rolly also ignores important events that are actually working to root out government abuse, waste, and corruption here in Utah, events that would not be happening without the support of men like these. For example, it will be interesting to see what tongue in cheek quarterbacking Rolly offers when the legislative audit of the Utah Department of Commerce comes out if it tarnishes the reputations of his fellow travelers such as Francine Giani, Wayne Klein, and Thad LeVar. But, we’ll leave that for a future day.

The truth of the matter is Rolly is simply trying to stoke the flames of some internal conflict with the Republican party, but as appropriate, the Republicans are best left to solving their own problems. In the end we can all be thankful that the “Superheroes” and the “A-Team” showed up this past legislative session because the alternative would likely have been some version of Mr. Rolly staring as Pinky’s “Brain” devising some new diabolical plot to take over the world. That is certainly frightening.

As for me, I’ll side with Representative Wimmer and his superhero colleagues, thank you.

If you liked this post, try these...

• June 29, 2009 -- Brain-Off, Mouth Open: Tom Grover Misses the Point
• July 19, 2010 -- Guess what I got from the Governor.
• December 6, 2009 -- Is Rick Koerber really the “Utahn of the Year?”
• November 3, 2009 -- Koerbers Divorce
• April 8, 2009 -- Rick Koerber Indicted? Schmucks, Grand Juries, & the Trials Ahead.

Rick Koerber, W. Cleon Skousen, Les McGuire

If you’ve never read Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand you’ll never fully understand this essay. So, before you go any further let me just recommend that if you’ve not yet done so, obtain a copy of that book and start reading. It has the potential to change your perspective on life. This was the case with me and it was also the case with my friend Les McGuire.

I remember hearing about Atlas Shrugged back in college, but for some reason I never decided to read it. Blank out (that’s for you objectivists). After going completely broke in 2001 I remember seeing my wife reading it and her encouraging me to read it, constantly. I even remember reading somewhere that President Ronald Reagan had reportedly said something like, “Next to the Holy Bible, I prefer to read Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand.”

Nevertheless, I still didn’t read the book. I remember hearing others joking around from time to time with the question “Who is John Galt?” but aside from knowing it was some allusion to Rand’s book, I just wasn’t that interested. As a matter of fact it wasn’t until another friend of mine told me that he could not understand how I could claim to believe in freedom, free markets and in America and still resist reading Ayn Rand, that I finally relented and read the book.

About my experience I can only say what is bound to be a serious understatement. I wish I wouldn’t have waited to so long to meet Dagny, Reardon, Francisco, Midas Mulligan, Ellis Wyatt and John Galt. I have since fallen in love with the book and its author. I don’t mean to say that I enjoy everything in the book, nor do I mean to suggest that when it comes to Ayn Rand I turn my brain off and give a blanket endorsement, of course I don’t mean that. But, I will say, that if you have any interest whatsoever in living a life that you love, it is time for you to get to know the characters of Ms. Rand’s book. Or should I say books? We’ll leave that for a different discussion.

It was reading Atlas Shrugged for the first time that I realized what it meant to be a man of the mind. Reading the book also helped me to remedy a number of intellectual contradictions that I’d been stewing over privately for years. Most notably, I was finally able to identify a rational explanation to my mental aversion related to the common notions of faith and religion. These concepts are, to me today, something entirely more useful than they were before I read Atlast Shrugged.

I could go on and on about the many different ways reading Ayn Rand quite probably saved my life. Reading Atlas Shrugged saved me from something much more profoundly disturbing than the demise of my physical body, mental death. The paramount hero in the book is John Galt, though the reader doesn’t really get a sense for this until at least half way through the book. In Galt’s famous radio address he says,

“Man’s mind is his basic tool of survival. Life is given to him, survival is not. His body is given to him, its sustenance is not. His mind is given to him, its content is not. To remain alive, he must act, and before he can act he must know the nature and purpose of his action…To remain alive, he must think.”

I had already reached a point in my life where after long struggle I had learned for myself the substance of what John Galt is here pointing out. However, it was Ms. Rand, through her characters, that gave me added courage to stay the course, and the idea that I was not alone.

Many objectivists are still surprised, that having become fully indoctrinated by Ms. Rand’s writings and speeches, I have managed to keep my “faith” and still hold my religious convictions. This too is a topic for another time and place, but let it here suffice me to say that thanks to Ms. Rand I now have a more firm grasp on many rational, conceptual formations critical to life beyond the typical mysticism so prevalent in the minds of so many today. I’m sure this could be discomforting to my fellow religionists and Ayn Rand disciples alike. But, like Ms. Rand’s classical protagonists, the discomfort of my associates does not tempt me to equivocate on matters of truth.

Over time, and after much study Ms. Rand and her fictional characters became prominent heroes of mine, and back to the topic at hand, also to my friend Les McGuire. A full description of the friendship between Les and I is, yet again, something for another time. But, it is important to explain that we were friends of the most rational kind. We were not friends because of mutual emotional affinity, childhood association, family or church connections, etc. Les and I became friends because of our common ideas and interests and this defined our relationship.

Unfortunately, Les and another friend of mine, Ray Hooper were tragically killed in an airplane crash in Provo, UT in June of 2006. With Les gone, I have found myself often returning to the characters of Ms. Rand’s novels for the familiar feeling that so closely resembles how it seemed when I was spending time with my friend.

Les and I did a morning talk radio program every day of the week for almost a year. We talked about subjects across the board, from silly to very serious. We shared our ideas together in a public form that was engaging and satisfying for us both. I’m not so sure we would have changed our pattern even if someone would have told us that the conversations weren’t going out over the airwaves, because the time we spent was rewarding all by itself.

One day, as Les and I sat discussing something – off the air – he turned to me and out of the blue asked, “Rick, if you had the opportunity to exchange your mind for one day with anyone who has ever lived, who would it be?”

The question was unexpected. The first thought that came to my mind was “I’d rather keep mine, thank you.” Les laughed and teased me from that day on for being so arrogant. I told him that if I was arrogant, then I was rationally so. My explanation to him was simply that in my estimation I had spent my life developing my own mind and it would be useless to exchange my brain with someone else only to return a day later with my own mind, remembering nothing from the experience.

I told Les at the time, “I’d rather have a good visit with anyone in history who had a brilliant mind and therefore be enabled to improve myself.”

“This,” I explained, “is why I read.” This is the point. Les and I agreed, that for both of us, reading had become a way to probe the minds of great men and women, to get to know them and their ideas, and to measure the value of their contribution to the intellectual marketplace of ideas.

“Improvement,” I later suggested in our conversation, “is my constant goal, not just an experience here or there.” I suppose each of us could answer the question Les asked me that early morning, and give different answers based on our unique life perspectives. But, to me, it boils down to one fundamental point. Do you love your life?

Are you living the life you would freely choose if nothing stood in your way? If you can honestly answer yes to these questions it speaks volumes about where you are headed in life and what you have to offer those you love as well. Improvement and progression are easy to talk about, but to live a life dedicated to such a goal takes more than simple wishing.

Just a few months before the plane crash Les started hosting his own radio program called “the Producer Revolution.” Every weekday morning at precisely 9:05am anyone in the world could tune in and hear Les make his bold yet quizzical pronouncement, “I am the man who loves his live.”

He started his show almost every day with this declaration. Of course, to the readers of Atlas Shrugged, he was obviously copying the statement of John Galt, early in his radio address – answering the then common question, “Who is John Galt?” But, why did Les do that? He even had custom plates for his Mercedes once again taking on the persona of John Galt. I don’t think very many of our friends have ever taken the time to think it through.

Les was a great example of someone who strived for perfection and progression in his life. I never saw him yield to the momentum of the tide of mediocrity. He loved his life and he loved those around him – starting with his wife, his children, his close family and friends. Anyone who spent any time around Les could easily see this, and could see that ideas like the one’s I’ve been talking about caused his entire demeanor to seem noticeably different than almost anyone who happened to be around him.

John Galt, in his radio address, goes on to answer, “I am the man who does not sacrifice his love or his values.” This, to me, is not simple fiction. It’s an invitation to live a different sort of life.

Not everyone is ready for Ms. Rand’s invitation (delivered through Galt), but in time – I’m convinced that almost all of us begin looking for it. Every man born into the world without serious mental defect has an innate sense that his life is important, that he is important, and that it is within his grasp to accomplish great things. It is not in the nature of man to be depressed or to harbor deep despair about the future. Apathy is not our natural state of mind.

Small children are the best example of how naturally hopeful and heroic the opportunity of life is to mankind. As Ayn Rand clearly explains in her introduction to The Fountainhead:

“It is not in the nature of man—nor of any living entity—to start out by giving up, by spitting in one’s own face and damning existence; that requires a process of corruption whose rapidity differs from man to man. Some give up at the first touch of pressure; some sell out; some run down by imperceptible degrees and lose their fire, never knowing when or how they lost it. Then all of these vanish in the vast swamp of their elders who tell them persistently that maturity consists of abandoning one’s mind; security, of abandoning one’s values; practicality, of losing self-esteem. Yet a few hold on and move on, knowing that that fire is not to be betrayed, learning how to give it shape, purpose and reality. But whatever their future, at the dawn of their lives, men seek a noble vision of man’s nature and of life’s potential. It does not matter that only a few in each generation will grasp and achieve the full reality of man’s proper stature—and that the rest will betray it. It is those few that move the world and give life its meaning…“

The key to living the heroic life is rediscovering that fire within. I have learned for myself that in order to understand the affairs of societies and nations, one must first come to understand the basic nature of men and their affairs.

In order to understand how to reform or improve a nation or a community, it is first necessary to clearly understand how to change individually. This is the tragic error of so many who set out to save the world with no real clue of how to save themselves.

There exists no shortage, in the world, of those whose own happiness seems eternally illusive to themselves and yet who at the same time naively and irrationally embark on a mission to save the world from their own despair. This is a dangerous condition for all those affected. No leader can be trusted who cannot first lead himself. No teacher should be trusted if he has not found in his own life the principled path to happiness. No politician, no businessman, no coach, no adviser, and no parent can effectively perform the sacred responsibility of guiding and directing others if they do not themselves know the ultimate destination of their prescribed path.

This is a critical difference between the producers and the consumers in the world. Beware of those whose own misery drives them to a constant and desperate search for escape from reality by ordering around others for their “own good.” Beware of those who have no vision of the future but thrive off of being a leader. Look instead for those who have a vision of the future and who have some principle-based reason for leading.

The greatest of all teachers has said, “By their fruits ye shall know them.” I know this advice to be sound and powerfully effective. There are innumerable voices in the world speaking to those looking for the reality of life, the path of freedom and prosperity and peace. It is important to discern between the voices of consumers, who simply seek to control and manipulate, from the voices of producers, who actually have a substantive desire and ability to lead.

Look for the producers, they are the men and women of the mind, who love their life. Most of us spend a significant portion of our lives yearning subconsciously for someone to help us find answers to discover this same state of mind. Unfortunately, too often were are unable to articulate the source of our gnawing discontent.

The metaphor created between the two main characters of the Wachowski brothers’ film The Matrix illustrates a similar situation.

Morpheus: . . . They got to you first, but they’ve underestimated how important you are. If they knew what I know, you’d probably be dead.

Neo: What are you talking about? What . . . what is happening to me?

Morpheus. . . I imagine that right now you’re feeling a bit like Alice, tumbling down the rabbit hole? Hm?

Neo: You could say that.

Morpheus: I can see it in your eyes. You have the look of a man who accepts what he sees because he is expecting to wake up. Ironically, this is not far from the truth. Do you believe in fate, Neo?

Neo: No.

Morpheus: Why not?

Neo: Because I don’t like the idea that I’m not in control of my life.

Morpheus: I know exactly what you mean. Let me tell you why you’re here. You’re here because you know something. What you know you can’t explain. But you feel it. You’ve felt it your entire life. That there’s something wrong with the world. You don’t know what it is but it’s there, like a splinter in your mind driving you mad. It is this feeling that has brought you to me. Do you know what I’m talking about?

How many of us have felt that exact feeling; a feeling of knowing something is wrong in the world but not able to explain it and not knowing what to do about it? It is no coincidence that most who come across this publication can identify with exactly what I’m saying.

A few years ago when I first met Les, after seeing that we had certain aligned interests, we talked about organizing our friends for the purpose of starting a revolution—a moral revolution that could sweep across the nation. We talked about the revolution’s ultimate objectives, what drove us in wanting to initiate such a revolution, the positives and negatives of doing so, and the most appropriate way we could do it.

Les later explained, while posting a response to a question online,

This is why I have the passion I do, because of the materialism and consumerism so prevalent in the world. I believe it will take a revolution to get us to that point where people live the lives they were sent here to live. When I first started to realize this, I asked myself, “What are we doing to save the Constitution of the United States?” Most everyone I knew then was basically broke, living paycheck to paycheck, selling their time for money. They were slaves; their time and energy were not their own. I met Rick; we talked about it, and we decided what we could do to prepare and help people get free. We agreed that if we could help them regain their labor and time back (financial independence) and then teach them the core principles of how to be a producer, we could effect massive change in the world.

Everything you see here, and everything we do, is aimed toward that end. If you understand this about us, much of what you see us do and say will make more sense to you.

Organizing a revolution is no small or temporary undertaking. If you are interested in the goals, mission, and purpose outlined here, then you are invited to join the revolution by making a public declaration, a personal commitment to live a principle-centered life. The following is what we call the FreeCapitalist Pledge™:

We who are not about to die, we who love our lives and who freely choose to acknowledge that ‘God governs in the affairs of men’;

Stand forth and individually pledge -

I choose to create more value in the world than I consume.

I choose to reject idleness, force, deception & graft.

I choose to think, to act and to govern myself.

I choose faith in principle not speculation or chance.

I choose liberty and life; happiness and peace.

In a world addicted to scarcity, I dissent.

I am a Capitalist.

This public declaration is the only cost of becoming a member of the FreeCapitalist Project, and it’s only the beginning. Individual members are invited to continue on a path of personal prosperity and civic service. Members are introduced to opportunities to learn, teach, attend local community councils, forums and study groups.

I am constantly grateful to have had amazing influences in my life like Ayn Rand and the characters of Atlas Shrugged. Even more importantly, I am grateful for peers, colleagues, family and friends who strive every day to exemplify the virtues and commitments of society’s producers.

If you did not know anything about my friend Les McGuire before June of 2006, I invite you to finish reading the FreeCapitalist Primer, and when you are finished I invite you to pick up a copy of Atlas Shrugged. Don’t put it down until you’ve read for a while. It will take some time, but the investment is well worth it.

The opening line of Atlas Shrugged reads, “Who is John Galt?” When you’re finished with the assignment I’ve just given you, you’ll have a better understanding of why I titled this essay the way I did. Perhaps then, when you are little more familiar the ideas this Project, will you occasionally take the opportunity to substitute the phrase and at just the right time ask a friend, “Who is Les McGuire?”

“Are you living the life you would freely choose, if nothing stood in your way?” When you are ready to be a man or woman who loves your life – no excuse will do.

* This essay is taken from the most recent version of the FreeCapitalist Primer which can be downloaded as a FREE eBook.

If you liked this post, try these...

• June 18, 2009 -- The Betrayal of Ayn Rand
• May 29, 2008 -- Top 25 Influences on the FreeCapitalist
• April 8, 2009 -- Rick Koerber Indicted? Schmucks, Grand Juries, & the Trials Ahead.
• December 2, 2008 -- Capitalism, Mormonism, and the Bible
• October 27, 2008 -- God is a Capitalist: Answering Ruble Fisher