We are constantly brainstorming new ideas for future articles and what the theme of an edition might be. The April Edition morphed into a double theme that we attempted to overlap as much as possible. Our list of issues we wanted to focus our attention on included ‘Environmentalism from a libertarian perspective’ and ‘Native American Sovereignty’. We always make room for many other interesting articles that are off theme from great writers willing to share their work with us. But we try to be true to the theme of the issue and work to have the Edition’s Cover reflect the content of the e-Zine. This month’s cover is an optimistic view of a thriving native culture integrated into a modern lifestyle.
What would life be like in America if Native American property rights were respected? How much of the native cultures, and the 150 native languages just in the USA and Canada, would have been integrated into our present way of thinking and organizing our society? Had the new settlers to the Americas respected human rights, would the 600-700 languages spoken in Central and South America provided us with some wisdom that we now lack? I couldn’t get out of my mind the idea of what might had been if European settlers told the truth and negotiated voluntary contracts that were honored. Around the world we are known not only for our actions there, but our history here.
I asked Scott Bieser to work with the 18 year old daughter of a good friend on this month’s cover. Athena is a talented artist that is self taught and homeschooled on a farm in Missouri. She was responsible for all of the background, but I felt more comfortable working with Scott to make sure our FreedomsPhoenix woman was… the center of attention. A special thanks to Scott for helping me encourage the rise of another graphic artist in the LOV3olution.
I remember several of my favorite books involved diverging timelines and parallel universes that helped explore the idea of how small differences, in thinking and actions taken, have enormous impacts on the lives of millions.
My hope is that we embrace a new beginning and live up to the promises we have made to others and to ourselves. With even the slightest examination we can clearly see the damage we have done ourselves and our environment when we don’t respect the life, liberty and property of other human beings. Honoring the property of others has a much more beneficial impact on our environment than what we are now allowing in our American culture.
There is a new beginning coming our way and I am enthusiastic about what Generation Next will do with it… and all of us at FreedomsPhoenix are going to help.