Contact: Kat Kanning
603-499-4256
bookish_lass@yahoo.com
Will Buchanan: will@willbuchanan.com
It all started with a simple question. What can one person do to spread the message of Liberty? After 8 months, 3100 miles and 7 pairs of shoes Will Buchanan has found the answer. Will started the Walk for Liberty on April 14 from Cannon Beach, Oregon and will be crossing his last state line into New Hampshire Saturday Dec. 13th. The Walk for Liberty is a quest to let as many people as possible know about the loss of freedoms in the United States of America .
Each day Will has made a video of his trip. These videos are available on his blog at http://walkforliberty.com. If you want a primer on libertarianism and its interaction with the real world, watch these videos. As an added bonus, you can enjoy the stunning scenery – America on foot.
Even a activity as peaceful as going for a walk will get you hassled by police in today’s America. On day 163 of his walk, Will was detained by Whiting, Indiana police, who intimidated Will into deleting his footage of an oil refinery. More recently on day 198, Will was detained in Seneca Falls, NY when apparently some woman called the police to report the suspicious activity of a white guy walking. Police demanded ID and all sorts of personal information. The officer was polite until Will began questioning. Some woman being uncomfortable about a guy walking down the road is now “just cause” to detain a person who was admittedly doing nothing wrong.
The Walk For Liberty is fast approaching New Hampshire. Will has, for the most part, walked the whole of America by himself. It is symbolic of the Free State Project that once Will enters New Hampshire, he will no longer be walking on his own – he’ll be joined by Freestaters on the last leg of his journey to the Atlantic Ocean. There will be a welcoming party to meet The Walk For Liberty at the New Hampshire border. This is scheduled to occur December 14th at 11:00am on Route 9, at the border between Brattleboro, VT and NH. Volunteers from the crowd will then walk with Will to Keene, and later, to the seacoast.
Interview with Will Buchanan
What made you decide to walk across the country?
Brooke and I were going to be moving to NH from Hawaii anyway. Brooke had the idea, “why not walk to get there?”
What was the biggest highlight of your trip?
As of this writing, I’m still anticipating it. I think it will be the welcome we receive at the border once we arrive at our new home of New Hampshire.
What was the biggest hardship with this journey?
Trying to get up in the morning when the temperature in the RV is in the 40’s.
Do you feel like you accomplished your purpose for the trip?
Many people have told me that this is the most outside media attention the FSP has garnered in quite some time, so I’d say that’s pretty good. And yes I will be accomplishing my main purpose, which is walking to move to NH.
Your wife helped you on your walk. Was all this tough on your family life?
Brooke has helped tremendously. We’ve experienced some growing pains in our relationship, but I think we’ve emerged stronger for it.
How did you first hear about the Free State Project? What made you decide to join?
I’m pretty sure it was from Walter Williams’ website back in early 2003, after hearing him as a guest host when I had been listening to Rush Limbaugh at the time. Once I heard about it, it was a no-brainer.
Do you have a message for people thinking about moving to NH with the FSP?
What trigger would need to happen for you to decide to move to NH?
What do you plan to do once you get settled in New Hampshire?
I’m looking forward to getting to know lots of people and getting active. I intend to find work I can do which advances the liberty movement.
How did people along the way react to your trek?
One of the biggest surprises I’ve had is how supportive most people have been, and receptive to the message that government has gotten to big and too intrusive in our lives.
What’s the top message you’d like to communicate to readers?
If you have something you’d like to accomplish, don’t hesitate, just do it!
Any wisdom you’ve learned from this trip you’d like to share?
Live your life the way you want to, and don’t try to satisfy everyone else’s expectations of you.
