About this Blog

I've been on a political, personal, and philosophical journey for a few years now. It started with my disillusionment with Pres. Barack Obama back in 2010 once I realized he had backtracked on most of his campaign promises and was actually no different at all from George W. Bush. I began seeking answers and alternatives. Coming from a liberal perspective, I naturally gravitated towards Ralph Nader and began reading one of his books. While Nader does an excellent job at describing problems and injustices, I found his solutions to be lacking. And although I generally liked and agreed with Mr. Nader on a lot of things, my husband encouraged me to look into other view points for a more well-rounded perspective. Boy am I glad he did!

I recalled a friend posting links and updates in support of Ron Paul during the 2008 presidential election. I thought I gave him a fair shake back then, clicking around his website for a few moments trying to comprehend his stance on the various issues before ultimately shaking my head and moving on in a mix of confusion and annoyance. "I did my due diligence and my homework," I thought about my 5 minutes of attempted self-education. But, agreeing to my husband's suggestion, I recalled my previous, brief encounter with Dr. Paul's ideas, realized I still knew next to nothing about him, and decided to pick up one of his books, The Revolution: A Manifesto. I haven't looked back since. This book literally changed my life. How many recent political figures can make that claim? Not only did I find out I agreed with him on more than I originally thought (hey, he's anti-war too?), I learned a lot more about America's political, and especially, its monetary situation than I had ever previously known.

He's the first politician I'd ever heard who didn't spend days grandstanding about America and her greatness and how he intended to make America even more great even though it's already the greatest country in the past, present, and future of the world. He spoke the truth, the truth that you and I and many other Americans see but that our politicians can't ever seem to figure out. He's the first person I had ever heard speak about the Federal Reserve and why it is so destructive to our economy. Prior to this, the only thing I knew about the Federal Reserve were cursory mentions in passing in the news as if this institution were a bona fide government institution as integral to our system as the three branches of government. Was I ever wrong!

It is no secret that while Ron Paul ran on the Republican ticket in both the 2008 and 2012 elections, that he is the face of libertarianism in this country and if not the world. Libertarianism is an ideology that is not given much face time or credence in the US, or at least it wasn't until Ron Paul sprang to prominence with his 2008 presidential bid in the midst of an economic crash that he actually predicted. Therefore, its ideas on its face might seem backwards or counter-intuitive. Like an animal that's been raised in captivity all its life and is taking its first steps out into the wild, libertarianism might seem scary and intimidating at first. Those unfamiliar with it might turn and run back to the safety and comfort of the narrow worldviews they have been taught by schools and the media since they were a child. For true survival as a species, however, it is necessary to keep taking steps into the wild to live like the free beings we are meant to be.

I intend, with this blog, to help shed some light on the issues of the day through the libertarian lens. I hope to take people by the hand and show them that, see, this isn't so scary afterall. I hope to dispel some common misconceptions about libertarianism. And I hope to find some readers who will help me along my journey as well. I don't know all the answers. I'm still asking many questions myself. But this is the beauty of the internet. We can all take our little piece of the puzzle and help put it into place and spread that knowledge to those beyond our limited circle of friends and family. And I intend to do this by raising my One Small Voice.

Some of you might of course have guessed the origin of my blog title. Ellsworth Toohey was the antagonist in Ayn Rand's classic work, The Fountainhead, who used his newspaper column of the same name to promote his socialist ideas. Naturally, I'm turning this on its head and using the One Small Voice moniker to promote the ideas of liberty. Somewhere in the inky darkness where fictional literary characters go to die, Ellsworth Toohey is spinning in his grave.

Thank you for joining me and for listening to my One Small Voice.