There’s
Something in the Air in the Mile High City
By Chuck Muth
September 25, 2014
I’m
writing this week’s column from Denver, Colorado, where there’s something in
the air.
And
no, it’s not the unmistakably pungent aroma of a certain weed – though I
definitely got a whiff or two while walking around the fabulous 16th Street
Mall downtown. I’m talking about
freedom. And what a breath of fresh air
it is!
It
started at the Denver airport. Rather
than getting hosed by taking a traditional taxi to my hotel, I whipped out my
smart-phone upon landing and requested a ride from Uber…which probably saved me
at least twenty bucks.
More
so than that, the service was exceptional.
My driver, Ronald, didn’t make me come outside to look for him among the
flood of other cars coming and going.
Instead, he met me inside the terminal and graciously helped me with my
luggage. Try getting service like that
from a taxi!
Ronald
also told me how being able to drive for Uber, when he wanted and where he
wanted, allows his wife to work full-time and he part-time, in between taking
the kids to school, soccer practice, etc.
What
a great example of increased freedom this new ride-sharing service is, for both
the customer and the driver. The
Soviet-style taxi cartel that has controlled passenger transportation in this
country for generations, with virtually no regard to customer service, is finally
being subjected to true free market competition all over the country.
But
not in Nevada. Yet.
The
other big change here, of course, is the legalization of the recreational use
of marijuana. Prohibition is dead. Grown
adults can now legally purchase marijuana for any reason and partake of it in
the privacy of their own homes without worrying about being arrested and thrown
in the clink for an activity far less harmful than booze.
True
live-and-let-live freedom.
But
not in Nevada. Yet.
By
the way, I’m in Denver attending the annual State Policy Network
conference. This is a national
association of conservative, state-based think tanks – such as our own absolutely
fantastic Nevada Policy Research Institute – and you could almost overdose on freedom
talk here. In fact, the theme of the
conference is “Dare to Disrupt: Unleash Freedom’s Potential.”
There
are discussions about the freedom more and more parents are exercising in
home-schooling their kids. There’s the
freedom a growing number of adults are exercising to protect themselves by
obtaining concealed-carry weapons permits. There’s the freedom to get married if you’re
gay. And the growing freedom to work
without being forced to join a union.
Such
freedoms were almost unheard of just thirty short years ago.
So
while there may not be a tsunami of freedom sweeping the nation, there’s at
least a strong undercurrent. And it’s getting stronger. The republic has not been lost to the
socialists.
Yet.
(Mr. Muth is president of Citizen Outreach, a conservative grassroots advocacy organization. He can be reached at www.MuthsTruths.com)
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