Reflections On The Tennessee Freedom Summit

By Alan Mayes –

To be honest, I almost didn’t go. My excuse would have been that I had to get up too early to be there by the opening bell, and that excuse gained more credibility when the starting time was moved earlier by an hour. I’m too cheap to pay for a hotel 90 minutes from my home, so my plan was to go on Saturday and skip the Friday night intro, if I went at all; maybe show up late if I didn’t sleep well. Saturday morning, I woke up naturally (no alarm) early enough to make it by 8:00, so attend I did. I’m extremely glad I made the trip.

This was my first time attending the Tennessee Freedom Summit, as I had a schedule conflict last year. I was not disappointed. Much of the reason I wanted to go was the planned array of speakers. Senator Janice Bowling is a superstar of Tennessee conservative legislators, and I’m very pleased that she represents my district and lives in my city. Her lead-off presentation on Saturday morning set the tone for what was a great day. Each of the speakers was obviously dedicated and knowledgeable about the specific subjects focused upon, and presented their cases with heart.

Here’s what really impressed me about the entire Freedom Summit day, though. It was all of the people, not just the speakers. They (we) were smiling and happy. It dawned on me as I was driving home to Tullahoma – conservatives are generally optimistic and happy people. Compare that to the angry liberals whose vitriol permeates much of social media and mainstream print and broadcast media. I think some of those people haven’t smiled in years, and they keep looking for things to be mad about. Even when they get what they want, they’re not happy!

Let’s go back to the smiling speakers, though. People with an optimistic message carry and express themselves in a positive and upbeat manner. Our speakers, though certainly hoping and planning to make somewhat dire circumstances better, presented their thoughts and struggles with a smile. Obviously they were attempting to engage the audience in a way that we would take up their fights with them, and they did so successfully. With liberals running the education systems in many places, and many Tennessee Republican politicians somewhat less than conservative, there are still positive results to share and enough of them that we can have some optimism. I came away liking every speaker as a fellow conservative, even the ones I didn’t know beforehand.

The attendees were some of the nicest people I’ve ever met. Again, they were smiling, positive, and upbeat. It felt like being among friends rather than strangers. That’s because we’re of like mind, and we have a positive message to share. I’m a member of the local Heritage Action Sentinels group and the feeling is the same there. Conservative people are the cream of the crop, a joy to spend quality time with.

So, I say thanks to Brandon and his small Tennessee Conservatives crew, and to the speakers, panel members, and audience members. You all made my day and my week.