LAS VEGAS—Each year Bates Neil travels from Honolulu to Las Vegas for FreedomFest, the annual event that bills itself as the “World’s Fair of Liberty.”
Neil enjoys the speakers; he loves the celebration of American art, culture, debate, and discussion. He has made lasting friendships, entered into business arrangements, and invested with business people he met at FreedomFest.
Neil remembers that one year the gathering featured a session on baseball cards and sports memorabilia. He decided to sit in on the session and found himself just a row behind Steve Forbes, the publisher who twice sought the Republican presidential nomination.
“He was interested in [baseball cards] also,” Neil told The Epoch Times at the event on July 8. “So that was pretty cool.”
He said the best part of his annual pilgrimage to the so-called “Entertainment Capitol of the World” is meeting with his sister and brother-in-law from Connecticut and gathering with like-minded individuals.
“It’s well worth the money to come do something different, get some ideas, get rejuvenated,” Neil said.
Since 2007, the libertarian event, founded by Mark and JoAnn Skousen, has brought together people from all walks of life to discuss and explore a wide variety of topics.
“It’s where people from every background come together to wrestle with serious ideas—and to laugh, celebrate, and connect as equals,” the FreedomFest website states.
Neil said his mind has been broadened by attending FreedomFest. He said the FreedomFest format helps him listen to ideas that he might be tempted to debate in a regular discussion.
“A lot of [the presenters] reinforce my point of view, however, and this is what I like about libertarianism: listening to the libertarians discuss an issue, sometimes I'll think, oh, I never thought of that. That’s what I look for,” Neil said.
Just a few yards from where Neil was explaining how FreedomFest is linked to his political and social views, an artist from southern Utah said she came to FreedomFest to understand the world through “philosophy and asking deeper questions to help you broaden your thinking.”
Ohna says she is an artist with Elemental Society. She said Elemental Society’s aim is to promote peaceful, civil dialogue and understanding among people.
She said that limiting discussions to political topics can leave out many important aspects of life. That is why Ohna is happy that FreedomFest includes the Anthem Film Festival and the Punching Up Comedy Festival. The arts help bring out the details that lie between the political left and right, she said.
Ohna said that creative people are willing to consider issues from various angles. They often don’t react well to societal demands to “fall in line,” she said. Musicians, painters, actors, and other artists are often drivers of change, she said.
“It takes creative thinking, which means you’re going to be somebody that’s kind of already on the outskirts or outside of the box, which is why it forms culture and it leads it,” Ohna told The Epoch Times.
Still, politics is a major part of the discussion at FreedomFest.
Prior to speaking to a standing-room-only crowd about Dr. Anthony Fauci’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) said FreedomFest can inspire and motivate people to work to make a difference in their communities.
The outspoken senator said that the best way to reduce the size of government, promote accountability, and reduce federal spending is to send people to Washington who will do the work. And the process for getting those people into office begins with the primaries.
“We got a lot of the wrong people being sent, so if you want better government, if you want balanced budgets, limited constitutional government, you’ve got to replace some of the people. We got to do more. It’s working hard in the primaries, trying to send better people to Washington,” Paul told The Epoch Times.
Kyle and Garnette Brown, a mother-daughter duo from Greer, South Carolina, said coming to FreedomFest was checking a box on their bucket list.
The women said it’s refreshing to be among people who share their willingness to discuss issues, even if they don’t fully share their worldview. Garnette pointed out that she sees eye to eye with many of her South Carolina neighbors on various issues.
But she is often disappointed when political discussions turn into theological debates. While she agrees that a person’s religious beliefs should be a primary driver in their life, she also believes that spiritual principles are better illustrated in practice than in debate.
“In your life it should be the main focus, but as far as being out in the world, you should show that instead of having to preach it every day,” she told The Epoch Times.
Dennis Ward sat on a planter across from the registration desk, watching people register for FreedomFest. The quiet, unassuming, retired salesman had a surprising solution to what he views as the main problem with government.
The soft-spoken man in the striped shirt and straw fedora is an anarchist who believes the government should be abolished. Ward said this doesn’t mean people would be allowed to run wild. He said that in his opinion, the government has generally failed and that people would be better off regulating themselves.
“It doesn’t take the government to control people,” Ward told The Epoch Times.
