Dr. Larry Arnn, president of Hillsdale college, accepts the Heartland Liberty Prize at The Heartland Institute's 40th Anniversary Benefit Dinner at the Hilton Chicago on September 13, 2024.
The very definition of a liberty society, Dr. Arnn said, is for people to choose how to live their lives and organize in the ways they see fit. The growth of the size and power of government — especially the federal government — makes that increasingly difficult in modern America. So-called independent federal agencies keep growing and keep making laws without the consent of the governed.
Elections in the United States are manipulated now in ways we have never seen, and even beyond any other Western nation.
The Heartland Institute is important because it stands up for the people. And the people are losing control of their government, and government is the most dangerous earthy power.
Dr. Arnn also talked about how COVID lockdown policies threatened to shut down Hillsdale College. And since those at Hillsdale know something about the Constitution, they fought back — against a Michigan governor forbid the selling of garden equipment, but permit seeds; permit canoeing and forbid power-boating. The shutdowns were illegal, so Dr. Arnn said: "OK. We're Americans. We will not obey."
Dr. Arnn closed his speech with: "I believe, having studied it all my life, that we may be losing control of our government. We may live in a despotism. If we do, we can be the ones — Heartland, each of you — we can leave a record, so in the future, when it comes, someone can look back and say, 'You know, they knew it was wrong, even then. And that is a service to our country."