All our lives, we’ve been told one person can make a difference. Unfortunately, most of our lives have consisted of the majority ruling and one person being left behind.

Feeding from this experience, the Free State Project, a non-profit corporation, is trying to accomplish its goal along with 20,000 like-minded people. Their goal is to create a state where civil rights rule and the government’s only purpose is to protect life, liberty and property.

People of the FSP are organizing a mass relocation of individuals who sign up and promise to follow the movement. A state will be chosen by vote after membership reaches an appropriate level. As of right now, states with a population of less than 1.5 million are under consideration, except for Hawaii due to its “socialistic” nature.

No doubt this idea has stirred some controversy. How would you like to be a current resident of the state chosen by the FSP? Isn’t it wrong for the FSP to take over a state? Their FAQ at www.freestateproject.org tells us that a state will be chosen with a native culture conducive to the values of liberty. This attempt at justifying a state takeover does little more than dodge the question.

The obvious question is do the moral implications of overrunning the home state of others outweigh the possible evolution of our society? I don’t think so. It’s a fact that there will be some unhappy people should their way of life change due to the FSP. However, the existence of 50 separate states in our country wasn’t an accident — while we are all part of the United States, we have room to have different state policies. These differences will ultimately help our society evolve.

At the heart of the FSP is Jason Sorens, Ph.D., founder and president. While studying economics and philosophy at Washington and Lee University, he founded a College Libertarian organization. He then went on to Yale to earn a doctorate in political science. In the fall, Sorens will be a full-time political science lecturer at Yale.

Sorens and other Libertarians promote the end of unjust laws restricting activities ranging from ticket scalping to consensual adult sex. Basically, if the government is spending our money to prevent and punish victimless crimes, those laws should be repealed. More people are in federal prison now for marijuana than for rape or manslaughter. Considering the fact that about 80 percent of crime will occur without someone being held accountable, it seems we need to stop wasting money and manpower on crimes that only affect the perpetrator.

The hypocrisy that runs rampant in our country disgusts me. It’s legal for people to abuse legal substances and activities, ultimately constituting detrimental behavior, yet these activities and substances remain legal. Virtually everything can be abused to the point where it has a negative impact on peoples’ lives. Obesity in America is increasing rapidly — do we place restrictions upon food? This question has a seemingly obvious answer, so many will scoff at my attempt to use it. However, the idea of restricting or outlawing food because it can lead to destructive behavior parallels many ideas pertaining to restriction already in place.

The government’s job is not to protect me from myself — it’s a little thing I like to call freedom. It’s the freedom to do whatever I wish as long as it doesn’t negatively affect the freedoms of others. So please stop trying to punish the people living their lives as they see fit. In the end, it is their lives that are being “hurt,” not yours.

As of Monday, 4,876 people have signed up for the move. Approximately 40 of them are Iowans. Once membership numbers break 5,000, a vote will be taken to decide on a state — this is expected to happen some time next week. Sign-up began 10 days before 9/11. Membership rose to 1,000 approximately one year later. Now, the FSP grows by more than 100 members per week.

I’m interested to see what 20,000 like-minded people can do. I applaud the efforts of the Free State Project and wish them the best of luck. As for Sorens, thank you for showing us that one man can make a difference.