I’m writing this message not long after my 65th birthday, which prompts no small degree of contemplation. In most other fields this milestone would be marked by consideration of retirement or, at the very least, gentle application of the brakes of a heretofore hectic daily life before drifting comfortably into a life stage marked by leisure and wisdom.
Rereading the previous paragraph elicited a chuckle. In the world of ideas, there is no age at which you automatically hang up your spurs and, to paraphrase Dylan Thomas, travel gently into the good night. Especially as the free-market movement consistently faces threatened setbacks from government and its administrative henchman. Because 2016 is an election year, increased and renewed efforts on our behalf are imperative regardless of which candidate wins the White House in November.
The world of faith, in which we at Acton travel, also requires vigilant defense from a concerted secular effort to repeal religious liberties. We face an upswing in extremely well-organized religious groups that possess progressive agendas antithetical to freedom and prosperity. Rest assured, I anticipate many years ahead during which Acton staff and allies will fight the good fight.
And what wonderful staff and allies! Less than one week before my birthday, Acton wrapped up yet another successful Acton University. More than 1,000 attendees—many from far-flung locations—came to learn, network and share ideas of how best to apply properly understood religious principles to the liberty and free-market movement.
I would be remiss if I failed to mention this year’s winner of the Novak Award, Ryan Anderson. Anderson is the William E. Simon Senior Research Fellow in American Principles and Public Policy at The Heritage Foundation. You can learn more about him and his experience later in this issue.
I am proud of the Acton Institute’s accomplishments over the past 26 years. I am also confident that the future of Acton’s combined messages can be measured in the brilliance cast by the likes of such young people as Ryan Anderson and the many bright people inspired by the Acton Institute and Acton University. Together we shall rage against the dying of the combined lights of freedom and faith so important to us all.
