{"id":7351,"date":"2020-06-11T10:15:57","date_gmt":"2020-06-11T14:15:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/freethepeople.org\/?p=7351"},"modified":"2024-11-22T15:25:44","modified_gmt":"2024-11-22T20:25:44","slug":"america-is-on-fire-but-maybe-this-fire-can-shed-some-light","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/freethepeople.org\/america-is-on-fire-but-maybe-this-fire-can-shed-some-light\/","title":{"rendered":"America is on Fire, but Maybe This Fire Can Shed Some Light"},"content":{"rendered":"

America is on fire right now, and I worry about Her. It seems like we Americans are irreparably divided by just about everything\u2014party affiliation, race, neighborhood, and even our personal beliefs. Many mistakes created this tinderbox, but the spark that set it ablaze was an act of gross injustice, caught on camera, of a white officer killing a black man.<\/p>\n

Many Americans, specifically African Americans, rightly doubt that justice will be done. Many wonder if the ideals of our justice system\u2014a level playing field between law enforcement and the citizens they serve, and equal treatment under law\u2014are, and always have been, a myth.<\/p>\n

We could just throw up our hands in despair. Or we can lead forward, calling out structural problems in our criminal justice system and implementing fundamental changes.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

At Free the People, we have offered a number of reforms to policing, and also reforms that rethink all of the things that we attempt to police, that could restore public confidence in law enforcement. We have also worked with both Republicans and Democrats to enact criminal justice reforms that can make the system more fair and just.<\/p>\n

But we don\u2019t look to politics for structural solutions to structural problems. Politics, after all, is just political. It\u2019s how we got here in the first place.<\/p>\n

If we want justice, it\u2019s Just Us.<\/p>\n

So we have decided to release our first feature documentary, \u201cHow to Love Your Enemy: A Restorative Justice Story<\/a>.\u201d It tells the story of individual citizens, police, and social entrepreneurs in Longmont, Colorado practicing \u201crestorative justice,\u201d a process that emphasizes personal responsibility and the rights of victims over retribution and punishment through government courts. Through the restorative justice process, offenders are encouraged to own up to what they did, meet the people they hurt, and work together with the community to make things right. Not only does this benefit the victims, it also forces offenders to face the harm they\u2019ve caused other people.<\/p>\n

As the Longmont Police Department itself attests, the practice of restorative justice has repaired the reputation of local law enforcement. More important, recidivism rates have plummeted. There are fewer crimes committed, with one-time offenders returning as productive members of the community.<\/p>\n

So, yes, if we want real justice reform, it is Just Us. Restorative practices in Longmont have replaced top-down government-enforced \u201ccriminal justice\u201d with bottom-up community-based healing.<\/p>\n

America is on fire. But maybe this fire can shed some much-needed light on a big transformative idea. This seems like the perfect moment to replace a model based on government-imposed retribution with restorative justice practices that heal instead of divide.<\/p>\n

Originally, Free the People had planned to take \u201cHow to Love Your Enemy\u201d on the film festival circuit. In fact, in late February we won two awards at the Front Range International Film Festival\u2014Best Documentary Feature award, as well as Best Director for the film\u2019s co-directors, Sam Martin and Matt Battaglia.<\/p>\n

But you know what happened next. Shelter-in-place rules ended public gatherings, including film festivals. And then George Floyd was murdered, allegedly for attempting to pass off a counterfeit $20 bill at a market. He had lost his job after the Minnesota Governor closed restaurants and bars, including the one he worked at.<\/p>\n

Can we take these events and work for something good from all of this senseless tragedy? Can we help restore trust in our justice system? We\u2014you and I\u2014should do everything in our power to make things right for all Americans.<\/p>\n

Radical reasonableness\u2014personal responsibility and community-based problem-solving outside of government\u2014seems like the perfect antidote to the toxic politics of blame and division.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow To Love Your Enemy\u201d is an emotionally compelling story about real people working to make things right. It\u2019s also a tutorial for other communities looking to restore faith in their justice systems and law enforcement. The two stars of our documentary\u2014Longmont Police Chief Mike Butler and Longmont Community Justice Partnership Director Kathleen McGoey\u2014are true social entrepreneurs and seasoned practitioners of the Restorative Justice process. They want to teach, and they have spent years learning what works best.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

America is on fire. But maybe this fire can shed some much-needed light on a big transformative idea. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":7354,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[274,3477],"tags":[1039,1038,204,1109,847,504,505,313,1069,1028,485,1072],"content-type":[3493],"coauthors":[157],"class_list":["post-7351","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-article","category-how-to-love-your-enemy","tag-coronavirus","tag-covid-19","tag-criminal-justice","tag-george-floyd","tag-mass-incarceration","tag-police","tag-police-brutality","tag-protests","tag-quarantine","tag-restorative-justice","tag-riots","tag-shelter-in-place","content-type-article"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nAmerica is on Fire, but Maybe This Fire Can Shed Some Light<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"America is on fire. But maybe this fire can shed some much-needed light on a big transformative idea.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/freethepeople.org\/america-is-on-fire-but-maybe-this-fire-can-shed-some-light\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"America is on Fire, but Maybe This Fire Can Shed Some Light\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"America is on fire. But maybe this fire can shed some much-needed light on a big transformative idea.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/freethepeople.org\/america-is-on-fire-but-maybe-this-fire-can-shed-some-light\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Free the People\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/freethepeople\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/mattkibbe\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-06-11T14:15:57+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-11-22T20:25:44+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/freethepeople.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/america_burning_01.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"900\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Matt Kibbe\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@https:\/\/x.com\/mattkibbe\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@freethepeople\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Matt Kibbe\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/freethepeople.org\\\/america-is-on-fire-but-maybe-this-fire-can-shed-some-light\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/freethepeople.org\\\/america-is-on-fire-but-maybe-this-fire-can-shed-some-light\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Matt Kibbe\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/freethepeople.org\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cad4341cad847051af5d28906772a666\"},\"headline\":\"America is on Fire, but Maybe This Fire Can Shed Some Light\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-06-11T14:15:57+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-11-22T20:25:44+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/freethepeople.org\\\/america-is-on-fire-but-maybe-this-fire-can-shed-some-light\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":702,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/freethepeople.org\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/freethepeople.org\\\/america-is-on-fire-but-maybe-this-fire-can-shed-some-light\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/freethepeople.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2020\\\/06\\\/america_burning_01.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"coronavirus\",\"covid-19\",\"criminal justice\",\"George Floyd\",\"mass incarceration\",\"police\",\"police brutality\",\"protests\",\"quarantine\",\"restorative justice\",\"riots\",\"shelter-in-place\"],\"articleSection\":[\"article\",\"How to Love Your Enemy\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/freethepeople.org\\\/america-is-on-fire-but-maybe-this-fire-can-shed-some-light\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/freethepeople.org\\\/america-is-on-fire-but-maybe-this-fire-can-shed-some-light\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/freethepeople.org\\\/america-is-on-fire-but-maybe-this-fire-can-shed-some-light\\\/\",\"name\":\"America is on Fire, but Maybe This Fire Can Shed Some Light\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/freethepeople.org\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/freethepeople.org\\\/america-is-on-fire-but-maybe-this-fire-can-shed-some-light\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/freethepeople.org\\\/america-is-on-fire-but-maybe-this-fire-can-shed-some-light\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/freethepeople.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2020\\\/06\\\/america_burning_01.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-06-11T14:15:57+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-11-22T20:25:44+00:00\",\"description\":\"America is on fire. But maybe this fire can shed some much-needed light on a big transformative idea.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/freethepeople.org\\\/america-is-on-fire-but-maybe-this-fire-can-shed-some-light\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/freethepeople.org\\\/america-is-on-fire-but-maybe-this-fire-can-shed-some-light\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/freethepeople.org\\\/america-is-on-fire-but-maybe-this-fire-can-shed-some-light\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/freethepeople.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2020\\\/06\\\/america_burning_01.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/freethepeople.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2020\\\/06\\\/america_burning_01.jpg\",\"width\":1600,\"height\":900},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/freethepeople.org\\\/america-is-on-fire-but-maybe-this-fire-can-shed-some-light\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/freethepeople.org\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"America is on Fire, but Maybe This Fire Can Shed Some Light\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/freethepeople.org\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/freethepeople.org\\\/\",\"name\":\"Free the People\",\"description\":\"Free thinkers, unite.\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/freethepeople.org\\\/#organization\"},\"alternateName\":\"Free the People\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/freethepeople.org\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/freethepeople.org\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Free the People\",\"alternateName\":\"Free the People\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/freethepeople.org\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/freethepeople.org\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/freethepeople.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/11\\\/282873789_318682847093508_129724565035754006_n-2.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/freethepeople.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/11\\\/282873789_318682847093508_129724565035754006_n-2.jpg\",\"width\":600,\"height\":600,\"caption\":\"Free the People\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/freethepeople.org\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/freethepeople\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/freethepeople\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.instagram.com\\\/freethepeople\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.linkedin.com\\\/company\\\/free-the-people\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.youtube.com\\\/freethepeople\",\"https:\\\/\\\/rumble.com\\\/c\\\/c-1372972\",\"https:\\\/\\\/odysee.com\\\/@freethepeople:a61\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/freethepeople.org\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cad4341cad847051af5d28906772a666\",\"name\":\"Matt Kibbe\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/freethepeople.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/Matt-Kibbe-96x96.jpgabfa8f0aba846e54c4c7c1a9e2381109\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/freethepeople.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/Matt-Kibbe-96x96.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/freethepeople.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/Matt-Kibbe-96x96.jpg\",\"caption\":\"Matt Kibbe\"},\"description\":\"Matt Kibbe is President at Free the People, an educational foundation using video storytelling to turn on the next generation to the values of personal liberty and peaceful cooperation. He is also co-founder and partner at Fight the Power Productions, a video and strategic communications company. Kibbe is the host of BlazeTV\u2019s Kibbe on Liberty, a popular podcast that insists that you think for yourself. He was senior advisor for a Rand Paul Presidential Super PAC in 2016, and later co-founded AlternativePAC to promote libertarian values. In 2004 Kibbe founded FreedomWorks, a national grassroots advocacy organization, and served as President until his departure in 2015. Steve Forbes said: \u201cKibbe has been to FreedomWorks what Steve Jobs was to Apple.\u201d Newsweek pronounced Kibbe \u201cone of the masterminds\u201d of tea party politics. MSNBC\u2019s Keith Olbermann called Kibbe \u201cThe second worst person in the world.\u201d \u00a0 Dubbed \u201cthe scribe\u201d by the New York Daily News, Kibbe is the author of the #2 New York Times bestseller Don\u2019t Hurt People and Don\u2019t Take Their Stuff: A Libertarian Manifesto (HarperCollins 2014), and Hostile Takeover: Resisting Centralized Government's Stranglehold on America (HarperCollins 2012). He coauthored Give Us Liberty: A Tea Party Manifesto (HarperCollins 2010). Kibbe has appeared frequently on national television, including FOX News, HBO's Real Time with Bill Maher, CNN, MSNBC, and PBS. Before launching FreedomWorks, Kibbe served as a congressional Chief of Staff and House Budget Committee Associate. He was also Budget Director for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and Senior Economist for the RNC under Lee Atwater. Kibbe did graduate work in economics at George Mason University and received his B.A. in economics from Grove City College. He lives in Washington, DC with his awesome wife Terry, and their objectivist cats, Ragnar and Rearden. Kibbe is also a fanatical DeadHead, drinker of craft beer and whisky, and collector of obscure books on Austrian economics.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/mattkibbe\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.instagram.com\\\/mattkibbe\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/mattkibbe\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.youtube.com\\\/kibbeonliberty\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/freethepeople.org\\\/author\\\/mkibbe\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"America is on Fire, but Maybe This Fire Can Shed Some Light","description":"America is on fire. But maybe this fire can shed some much-needed light on a big transformative idea.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/freethepeople.org\/america-is-on-fire-but-maybe-this-fire-can-shed-some-light\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"America is on Fire, but Maybe This Fire Can Shed Some Light","og_description":"America is on fire. But maybe this fire can shed some much-needed light on a big transformative idea.","og_url":"https:\/\/freethepeople.org\/america-is-on-fire-but-maybe-this-fire-can-shed-some-light\/","og_site_name":"Free the People","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/freethepeople","article_author":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/mattkibbe","article_published_time":"2020-06-11T14:15:57+00:00","article_modified_time":"2024-11-22T20:25:44+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1600,"height":900,"url":"https:\/\/freethepeople.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/america_burning_01.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Matt Kibbe","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@https:\/\/x.com\/mattkibbe","twitter_site":"@freethepeople","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Matt Kibbe","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/freethepeople.org\/america-is-on-fire-but-maybe-this-fire-can-shed-some-light\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/freethepeople.org\/america-is-on-fire-but-maybe-this-fire-can-shed-some-light\/"},"author":{"name":"Matt Kibbe","@id":"https:\/\/freethepeople.org\/#\/schema\/person\/cad4341cad847051af5d28906772a666"},"headline":"America is on Fire, but Maybe This Fire Can Shed Some Light","datePublished":"2020-06-11T14:15:57+00:00","dateModified":"2024-11-22T20:25:44+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/freethepeople.org\/america-is-on-fire-but-maybe-this-fire-can-shed-some-light\/"},"wordCount":702,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/freethepeople.org\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/freethepeople.org\/america-is-on-fire-but-maybe-this-fire-can-shed-some-light\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/freethepeople.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/america_burning_01.jpg","keywords":["coronavirus","covid-19","criminal justice","George Floyd","mass incarceration","police","police brutality","protests","quarantine","restorative justice","riots","shelter-in-place"],"articleSection":["article","How to Love Your Enemy"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/freethepeople.org\/america-is-on-fire-but-maybe-this-fire-can-shed-some-light\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/freethepeople.org\/america-is-on-fire-but-maybe-this-fire-can-shed-some-light\/","url":"https:\/\/freethepeople.org\/america-is-on-fire-but-maybe-this-fire-can-shed-some-light\/","name":"America is on Fire, but Maybe This Fire Can Shed Some Light","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/freethepeople.org\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/freethepeople.org\/america-is-on-fire-but-maybe-this-fire-can-shed-some-light\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/freethepeople.org\/america-is-on-fire-but-maybe-this-fire-can-shed-some-light\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/freethepeople.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/america_burning_01.jpg","datePublished":"2020-06-11T14:15:57+00:00","dateModified":"2024-11-22T20:25:44+00:00","description":"America is on fire. But maybe this fire can shed some much-needed light on a big transformative idea.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/freethepeople.org\/america-is-on-fire-but-maybe-this-fire-can-shed-some-light\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/freethepeople.org\/america-is-on-fire-but-maybe-this-fire-can-shed-some-light\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/freethepeople.org\/america-is-on-fire-but-maybe-this-fire-can-shed-some-light\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/freethepeople.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/america_burning_01.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/freethepeople.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/america_burning_01.jpg","width":1600,"height":900},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/freethepeople.org\/america-is-on-fire-but-maybe-this-fire-can-shed-some-light\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/freethepeople.org\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"America is on Fire, but Maybe This Fire Can Shed Some Light"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/freethepeople.org\/#website","url":"https:\/\/freethepeople.org\/","name":"Free the People","description":"Free thinkers, unite.","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/freethepeople.org\/#organization"},"alternateName":"Free the People","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/freethepeople.org\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/freethepeople.org\/#organization","name":"Free the People","alternateName":"Free the People","url":"https:\/\/freethepeople.org\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/freethepeople.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/freethepeople.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/282873789_318682847093508_129724565035754006_n-2.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/freethepeople.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/282873789_318682847093508_129724565035754006_n-2.jpg","width":600,"height":600,"caption":"Free the People"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/freethepeople.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/freethepeople","https:\/\/x.com\/freethepeople","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/freethepeople","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/free-the-people","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/freethepeople","https:\/\/rumble.com\/c\/c-1372972","https:\/\/odysee.com\/@freethepeople:a61"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/freethepeople.org\/#\/schema\/person\/cad4341cad847051af5d28906772a666","name":"Matt Kibbe","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/freethepeople.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Matt-Kibbe-96x96.jpgabfa8f0aba846e54c4c7c1a9e2381109","url":"https:\/\/freethepeople.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Matt-Kibbe-96x96.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/freethepeople.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Matt-Kibbe-96x96.jpg","caption":"Matt Kibbe"},"description":"Matt Kibbe is President at Free the People, an educational foundation using video storytelling to turn on the next generation to the values of personal liberty and peaceful cooperation. He is also co-founder and partner at Fight the Power Productions, a video and strategic communications company. Kibbe is the host of BlazeTV\u2019s Kibbe on Liberty, a popular podcast that insists that you think for yourself. He was senior advisor for a Rand Paul Presidential Super PAC in 2016, and later co-founded AlternativePAC to promote libertarian values. In 2004 Kibbe founded FreedomWorks, a national grassroots advocacy organization, and served as President until his departure in 2015. Steve Forbes said: \u201cKibbe has been to FreedomWorks what Steve Jobs was to Apple.\u201d Newsweek pronounced Kibbe \u201cone of the masterminds\u201d of tea party politics. MSNBC\u2019s Keith Olbermann called Kibbe \u201cThe second worst person in the world.\u201d \u00a0 Dubbed \u201cthe scribe\u201d by the New York Daily News, Kibbe is the author of the #2 New York Times bestseller Don\u2019t Hurt People and Don\u2019t Take Their Stuff: A Libertarian Manifesto (HarperCollins 2014), and Hostile Takeover: Resisting Centralized Government's Stranglehold on America (HarperCollins 2012). He coauthored Give Us Liberty: A Tea Party Manifesto (HarperCollins 2010). Kibbe has appeared frequently on national television, including FOX News, HBO's Real Time with Bill Maher, CNN, MSNBC, and PBS. Before launching FreedomWorks, Kibbe served as a congressional Chief of Staff and House Budget Committee Associate. He was also Budget Director for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and Senior Economist for the RNC under Lee Atwater. Kibbe did graduate work in economics at George Mason University and received his B.A. in economics from Grove City College. He lives in Washington, DC with his awesome wife Terry, and their objectivist cats, Ragnar and Rearden. Kibbe is also a fanatical DeadHead, drinker of craft beer and whisky, and collector of obscure books on Austrian economics.","sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/mattkibbe","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/mattkibbe","https:\/\/x.com\/https:\/\/x.com\/mattkibbe","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/kibbeonliberty"],"url":"https:\/\/freethepeople.org\/author\/mkibbe\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/freethepeople.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7351","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/freethepeople.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/freethepeople.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/freethepeople.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/freethepeople.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7351"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/freethepeople.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7351\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/freethepeople.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7354"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/freethepeople.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7351"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/freethepeople.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7351"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/freethepeople.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7351"},{"taxonomy":"content-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/freethepeople.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/content-type?post=7351"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/freethepeople.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=7351"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}