Friend,

I was driving our trusty minivan past a supermarket near the house, when our daughter called out from her seat: “Papa, American flag!”

I was moved, more than I would have expected, by the fact that she already knows the flag when she sees it, even if she’s too young to grasp what it means.

As she and her brother grow, it will be up to me and Chasten and a lot of other grown-ups to help them understand the values that flag represents – and the duty we all share to preserve and defend those values, especially when it comes to freedom.

I believe that the best way to understand if our government is working is to ask if it is making us more free – sometimes by getting out of the way, sometimes by providing the services and protections we need to have a chance at living lives of our choosing.

That’s what government is for – to make us more free. Not by running our lives, but by clearing the path and securing our rights.

That can mean providing basic services from running water to national defense. It can mean preventing a corporation from harming its customers or employees. It can mean making sure you can afford child care and be able to keep your job.

It means you can worship, or not, as your conscience and faith guide you. It means you can speak up. Cast a ballot. Live openly, love freely, and know that you belong in your country.

This is fundamental to who we are as a country. But obviously that vision is being tested right now. Today, an administration with no regard for your freedom is working to silence opposition, consolidate power, and let one man decide who counts.

This isn’t politics as usual and it’s not American freedom. It’s a defining moment, and a test for all of us.

If you believe as I do – that freedom is worth showing up for – please chip in today and join our movement:

Thank you,
Pete