Recent LOLA Trips - DC & NYC
Whenever I come home from an important conference, especially one in the liberty movement, I do my best to share any major takeaways in this space. Typically, I am giving updates from either the state and/or national Libertarian Party (LP) conventions. I haven’t done that in a while because I was either focused on my senate campaign or focused on my work with Ladies of Liberty Alliance (LOLA). Quick side note though - the 2025 LPKS Convention was held back in April out in Garden City. It was not very well attended due to the rural location, but I was able to whip up the right attendees and votes to win our party leadership back from the LPMC. :-)
Back to my work with LOLA, after my campaign wrapped I started the Wichita chapter. From there, I tabled at a handful of state conventions across the midwest and eventually was asked to help the LOLA-USA team table at Freedomfest in Palm Springs. Shortly after that, I joined the LOLA-USA Board and continued tabling at conferences in Orlando, New Orleans, and most recently NYC.
My trip to NYC was a whirlwind. It was my first time in the city and my first time at an Atlas Network event. The Liberty Forum and Freedom Dinner were both extremely worthwhile. I didn’t have time to attend all the sessions I wanted to, but the final panel on “Working For Freedom Against Authoritarian Regimes” was worth the entire trip. The panel included speakers from Venezuela, Iran, and Russia. My takeaways from this panel are twofold:
“Elections are a means, not an end.” This is a direct quote from Pedro Urruchurtu that sums up what I’ve been feeling for a while. While political parties, candidates, and elections are important - freedom focused politicians have to be careful that amassing that power does not become the entire point. If all you are after is gaining and keeping power, then you are not truly focused on freedom. It takes both candidates and activists to move the needle, especially if we want the kind of freedom that doesn’t easily change under the next leader.
“Venezuela is the domino.” I can’t actually remember which panelist said this but basically - if the authoritarian regime in Venezuela stands, then likely more authoritarianism will spread. However, if we are able to overturn the authoritarian regime, then we can begin a freedom ripple that will likely be felt around the world. It’s so important that we look for ways both at home and abroad to support those bravely opposing tyrannical regimes.
Before NYC, LOLAs from all over the world gathered for our Annual LOLA-USA Leadership Retreat. The leadership retreat challenged me in many ways. From the planning and logistics, to different leadership styles at play, to an overall perspective shift. For sake of a good pattern I will limit my LOLA-USA Leadership Retreat takeaways to two as well:
The Great Libertarian Leadership Challenge - other libertarian parents and I often talk about the difficulty of raising porcupines. We want our children to obey us, but we also want them to be intelligent enough to disobey oppressive authority figures when necessary. This same dichotomy exists in libertarian organizations. Members are attracted to our organizations because of the principles, but actually leading a bunch of free-thinkers can be tricky. You can’t be overbearing, but you also can’t coddle them. Both strategies will turn members away quicker than you can say, “taxation is theft.” I don’t have the exact answer right now, except to say that it’s very important that leaders find a way to balance both sides of the coin. In my humble opinion, the best option here is to always err on the side of more freedom.
The Importance of International Perspective - as I said in a recent Facebook post, it’s not normally the actual conference content that stays with me when I am with my LOLAs. What is often the most impactful is the time spent with women from other countries and the perspective that brings. So many of the issues that we Americans fight over pale in comparison to some of the issues facing my friends in places like Venezuela, Ukraine, and Africa - especially as women. At the same time though, I know that my friends are counting on me to protect this country from authoritarians. Whether at the local, state, or national level - it’s on us to identify what rights are being infringed and hold the line. This deep love of liberty is what bonds all us LOLAs together and it’s absolutely beautiful. I am so grateful to LOLA, you can learn more about this international organization of women here. If you’re in the Wichita area and have been looking for your new group of besties, please consider joining us at our workshop on civic engagement on 12/7.
Until next time,
Olivia
