Fair Winds and Following Seas, my FRiend.
Ronald Reagan once said about the US Marines:
"Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they've made a difference. The U.S. Marines don’t have that problem."
Jim was a sailor, same as me, but that quote hits the nail squarely on the head and applies directly and appropriately to him. We are all mortal, we come and go as surely as the sun rises and sets. But Jim and his website have made a significant difference in my life.
I have met with dozens, if not hundreds of Freepers in person, via my honorary membership in the D.C. Chapter of Free Republic. I have forged lasting relationships with several of them, and visit with them anytime I can when I pass through the Washington D.C. area.
I was invited down by Kristinn back in 2004 (shortly after I signed up here) and I began making several annual trips down to counterprotest the Code Pink and MoveOn.org pigs outside Walter Reed. I ended up staying with Mr. and Mrs. Trooprally, whom some of you may remember. They treated me like family.
And I was fortunate enough to meet Jim personally outside of one of the Walter Reed Freeps and again at the 1st Annual Free Republic Tea Party Convention. It was a real privilege, and I am honored to have been able to shake his hand.
My posting history stands at 110,738 posts with far fewer threads started, less than 200. I come from the bluest, most Leftist state in the Union, Massachusetts. Before I joined Free Republic, I felt largely alone politically, and relatively isolated. All my lifelong friends are conservatives, and we flock together when we can.
But in the long intervals between seeing my like-minded friends, Free Republic has been my saving grace. Because of Jim Robinson, I have never felt as if I were isolated. Thanks to him and his hard work, I took inspiration from my fellow Conservatives here, and was able to engage in discourse, and make lifelong friends.
Free Republic is not perfect. But then, interactive discourse with people is not perfect. There are always sharp elbows, hot arguments, and regretted words being communicated. But that is what makes Free Republic, Jim's life work so special to me.
For me, Jim Robinson's work with this site is epitomized in this set of stanzas Diane Taraz sings in her traditional version of "Yankee Doodle":
The 'Vention did in Boston meet,
The State House could not hold 'em,
So then they went to Fed'ra! Street,
And there the truth was told 'em....
And ev'ry morning went to prayer,
And then began disputing,
Till oppositions silenced were,
By arguments refuting.
Now politicians of all kinds,
Who are not yet decided,
May see how Yankees speak their minds,
And yet are not divided.
We speak our minds here. Granted, we are absolutely divided on many issues here, but we are united at a fundamental level when it comes to the value of this Republic and the excellence of the Constitution it was formed under.
There is not a day that I willingly miss a chance to login and see how my compatriots at Free Republic are doing. What they are talking about. What they are thinking. How their lives are going. What their takes are on the events of the day. And just to go off topic, and talk about life.
I mostly stopped watching television back in the late Nineties, but when I joined Free Republic, I stopped altogether.
For the last 20 years, I login to Free Republic when I get up to have breakfast. I scan the sidebar to see major issues of the day, then go through the threads and look for news. I listen to the takes that trusted Freepers have on issues, and branch out, clicking links in threads to view various opinions, some of which are diametrically opposed to each other. I am not worried about getting conservative tunnel vision on this website. Too many people have discussions and opinions that prevent that.
And that is what I love. That is why I come here. That is why I pay voluntary dues.
When I sit here each morning, coffee (covfefe) in hand as I eat breakfast, I read the discourse people engage in. A day doesn't pass when I grin widely or even laugh aloud at the witticisms offered by someone on this website. As people here "crowdsource" the understanding of a given event or issue, all kinds of opinions are put forth ranging from "It's aliens" to scholarly-based discussions from people who clearly know what they speak of.
And, as the discussions ensue, the winnowing process throws out the theories and postulations that do not fit, and with time, we edge closer and closer to the truth, in a way the mainstream media has abdicated their responsibility in doing. This is how we find truth in this day and age now. It is a hard, circuitous, murky, often anger-inducing process to make sense of the world around us, but we have some damn fine people on here who can be depended on to help us navigate intentional and unintentional misinformation, bad information, and sometimes, just plain ignorance because nobody has all the knowledge. But a lot of people have more of it, and in this, we can navigate these rocky shoals that are sprayed with firehoses of unknown or dubious information.
In other words: We help each other out.
It is in this creation by Jim Robinson that I find the greatest expression of my conservative values, and it jibes perfectly with my firm belief in systems that take factual knowledge and input from many sources, because the truth can find its way to the top. I often contrast our conservative approach to crowdsourcing information to determine truth by making the comparison between a controlled economy which Leftist are pushing on us, and an economy that is run by an "invisible hand" as described by Thomas Sowell in his excellent book "Basic Economics".
I make that comparison, because even if you get the ten smartest people in a room, they won't be able to run an economy as efficiently as millions of citizens voting for what they want by paying money for goods and services, thus prioritizing via the profit motive what goods and services should be provided to us.
Free Republic does that for me with knowledge.
And we have some seriously talented people who post on this website. You want to know something about Archeology? We have people who know. Military operations? A lot of Freepers have real world experience and can share it responsibly. Energy issues? We have people here who have worked for decades in the Energy sector. Advice for the lovelorn? Well, we have Lazamataz!
And that is why I value this site. I have books of all kinds recommended to me. Movies for entertainment are offered by people who have seen them. Computer advice. Economic outlooks. Cars, planes, trains, travel, you name it.
But most of all, it is the entirely human interaction, personalized, and genuinely offered. I have read every post in this thread, and I see the familiar names of people I have come to regard as friends. Not "online" friends. Real friends. I don't do any kind of social media. And I don't view this as "social media" even though it is. But I have met enough Freepers in person, and every one of them, without fail, lives up to the impression I had of them conversing in the forums.
And Jim Robinson made all this possible.
So, when I say that Jim Robinson has made a difference, and doesn't have to "wonder if he has made a difference". He has, for me, and many people like me.
And more, he has made a difference for his country that he served and loved. And for that, I think you, Jim. I offer my condolences to Chris, John, his family and friends, and hope the time comes when his memory of Jim does not bring them pain and grief, but instead, brings laughter and joy.
HAND SALUTE.
TWO.
Journey well, FRiend. Journey well.
