It’s the end of an era. I’m sad to announce that Russell and Kat Kanning have moved out of New Hampshire. Songwriter and poet Richard Onley also just recently left. OTN’s Sam Dodson is leaving soon. Of course, they aren’t the only activists to have come and gone over the years, but they are well-known for their valuable contributions to the NH liberty movement.
News like this in tandem with the Free State Project‘s cancellation of the popular Liberty Forum event can certainly be a downer, even if you didn’t know all four activists personally, as I did. Does this signal the doom of the NH liberty movement and the failure of the Free State Project? Well, only the latter in that the FSP failed to put their event together, but that’s an indictment of the FSP’s bureaucratic and ineffective board, not of the concept of moving together for liberty. That’s the idea behind the FSP, and the early movers have proven that it is working.
There were unprecedented successes in just the last year-or-so in both politics (Knife ban repealed, 12 FSP participants and dozens more liberty-friendly granite staters elected to State Rep seats) and civil disobedience (Hundreds openly smoking cannabis without incident at events organized by liberty activists). More importantly, people are moving in greater numbers than ever before. More families and couples are coming these days as opposed to the initial influx of single, unattached males. For instance, a new couple in Keene are buying duplexes in town and families have moved into Dublin and the Peterborough area. What matters most is not who leaves, but who is coming to be part of the next wave of activism, and who stays. It’s a movement full of individuals with different stories. Many will come, and some will go. But why do they go? Here are some common reasons.
First, the recent exits and their known reasons for leaving:
Family
Russell and Kat Kanning decided to leave after visiting family in another state. They wanted to spend more time with their family. For many Free State Project participants, leaving family behind is the most difficult part of coming here. Ideally, you should be able to bring your family with you, but many times, they just don’t care enough about liberty like you do. For some, the difficulty of being away from their blood relatives can become too great. In the case of Russell and Kat, they were two of the earliest movers, and the creators and publishers of NHFree.com and the NH Free Press (formerly the Keene Free Press). Despite several years here in NH and being well-loved by many in their NH liberty family, they decided it was time to go back.
Unrealistic Expectations
Richard Onley moved here with lots of ideas and a vision for what was possible, but it’s likely his expectations were a little unrealistic. Not everyone was interested in the things he wanted to do and even fewer were interested in the level of organization that some of his ideas required. As Richard was entirely against politics, (where such organizational methods are more common) it was difficult for his ideas to take hold in the outside-the-system community. Interestingly, one of his pet projects with which he was never too successful getting people onboard – singing the songs he wrote – took off this holiday season, but entirely without Richard’s encouragement. The Grafton-based Peaceful Assembly Choir formed recently, has performed a number of times, and the bulk of their songs are those of Richard’s creation. His vision had become a reality, just not in the timeframe he may have liked. Frustrated by this and his observation that activists are more likely to attend social events than do activism, Richard decided to return to Oklahoma. I share many of Richard’s frustrations, but I take a longer view. Yes, social events are very popular and yes, I’d like to see more activism, but I understand that this is still a new movement and the people that move here don’t tend to know each other in the beginning. Therefore, social events are very useful in building the bonds that will last a lifetime. It’s also important to remember that many early movers are younger, so they do not have the free time that someone older and wealthier, like Richard, would have to dedicate to activism. They may need time to get settled in and integrate with the community. Another factor about young activists, is that many of them have never done this before. They love the ideas of liberty, but have never done outreach, or politics, or media, or disobedience, or anything “activisty”, ever. They need time and experience. Richard had both of these in spades, as one of the few senior-aged movers, and I think it frustrated him that most of the people here did not have the lifetime of (or any) activist experience that he does.
It’s important to come into this movement knowing what to expect. Yes, the New Hampshire liberty activist community is the best, most active, most exciting liberty movement that exists today. That said, it is not hard to make that claim, because the liberty movement is pathetically weak just about everywhere else. Approximately 100 activists would have outnumbered the libertarian movement in the entire state of Florida, whence I came, and we already have several hundred early movers here in New Hampshire. Keep in mind, however, that it’s still early. This is not a liberty utopia and there is much to be done. This is a lifetime project and the more people move sooner, the better.
It should also be noted, that the Free State Project’s official move has not yet even been triggered. All of the activism you’ve read about or seen video of has happened as a result of early FSP movers and other longtime granite staters and NH natives. I’ve been here over four years now and I’ve seen plenty of growth in that time. More people are coming here and getting active, year after year. The activism here four years ago was better than I’d ever seen in Florida, and now it’s even better than it was then.
Change in Priorities
Sam Dodson, the talented videographer behind the Obscured Truth Network, is leaving to live on his family’s farm in Texas. He has become convinced that devastating economic collapse is coming and he felt he’d be better able to weather that if he were near his relatives and out away from the city. I do not share his vision for disaster, but I understand why he is making his choice. Personally, I’d rather be going through such a situation nearby hundreds of my fellow liberty lovers, but he has a chance to lower his costs of living significantly by moving to the family farm and wants to focus on self-sufficiency. Maybe someday he’ll get to say “told-ya-so” regarding the supposed disaster, but that remains to be seen.
Those aren’t the only reasons people leave, so here are some more:
Ostracized
There is no “decider” in the FSP who oversees whether or not someone can join up. Since anyone can join, that means anyone can show up. While most movers have been honest, trustworthy people, some have not. Some moved here thinking they could mooch a free place to stay from other early movers and took advantage of their trusting nature. Some moved up and proceeded to really screw up in various irresponsible ways. Part of the problem with the early mover phase, is it’s easier for shiftless losers to move up than people with responsibilities and families, so we’ve had our share of the former. Typically after each occurrence, the loser/mooch/scumbag is ostracized by a portion of the community and forgiven by others. They are typically given the chance to make good on the harm they may have done, and if they continue down a destructive path, are ostracized by more people. Eventually, they pack up and leave. Prove yourself to be untrustworthy, and you’ll discover the granite state is a very harsh place to live.
Work / Career Opportunity
Again, as many early movers are young, chasing the dollar is still how they spend much of their time. If an opportunity arises elsewhere that pays more, it can be hard to say no, especially this early in the activism game. For example, Luthor Kingsley, early mover to Keene, is preparing to move to northern Vermont as he’s been offered a position in his company that has better pay. He intends to return someday and regrets having to leave the Shire.
Health Issues
Wes Bertrand of the Complete Liberty podcast left a few years ago to seek treatment for an illness in California, where an experimental method was being tested. He is now working his way back across the country with the intention of landing here in Keene.
Porc-Fading
For all those who have left for publicly known reasons, there are those who come and suddenly disappear, leaving us only with the ability to speculate as to why. Were they federal agents provocateur who came here expecting to be able to talk people into using violence against the people calling themselves “the state”? If so, they likely discovered quickly how dedicated this movement is to peaceful evolution and return to their federal handlers without any success. Why would someone who otherwise seemed to be getting along with people decide to leave without saying why? Your guess is as good as mine.
It should be pointed out that since the official FSP move has not yet begun, (it won’t until the FSP reaches 20,000 members, and then there is a five year window in which to move) it’s certainly possible that many who have left do intend to return. Good luck to all who have left, and I hope you make it back to NH someday (except the ostracized ones).
