The Santa Cruz Voluntaryists helped expose empty hospitals in what the LA Times called “The Epi-Center of Covid in California” forcing the takedown of hospital tents when our exposes went viral in the community. The group helped to reopen the beaches (and local businesses!) during the economic warfare and scam of “The Covid” through peaceful civil disobedience including beach parties, liberty bonfires, and free hug events mocking the local “government” causing Santa Cruz’s health officer, Dr. Gail Newel, to tell the LA Times: “It’s become impossible for law enforcement to continue to enforce the closures…People are not willing to be governed anymore in that regard.” When a local group gave Gail Newell an award for the lockdowns, the Santa Cruz Voluntaryists pulled a trailer up to the event for a pop up concert featuring the Funky Fathers of Liberty where they cranked up their song:“Gail to Jail” when Gail arrived and the event was going on inside while other members distributed information on the harmfulness of the Covid “vaccines.” Videos of their peaceful civil disobedience including maskless “Cash drops” at Traitor Joe’s grocery store generated MILLIONs of views helping to shut down the economic warfare of the plandemic and showing the outsized impact a single freedom group can make.

Etienne Note: Important – This is the companion article to a LIVE streaming event the Art of Liberty Foundation is hosting with CounterForce Alliance on Finding (OR Starting!) a Local Liberty Group in your area on Sunday, June 14th at 4:00 PM PST / 7:00 PM EST. You can register and find our list of local liberty groups at ArtOfLiberty.org/Liberty-Groups. Please e-mail us at Info (at) ArtOfLiberty.org to add your local liberty group to our list!

Finding the Liberty Movement (and Turning Awareness Into Action)

Why Freedom Feels Lonely… and What to Do About It

By Etienne de la Boetie2 & the Team at CounterForce Alliance

If the keyboard and doom scrolling isn’t cutting it, here are some pro-tips for finding, (OR starting!) your own Liberty-oriented community group from the Art of Liberty Foundation and CounterForce Alliance, a pro-liberty organization that helps train facilitators in how to start and run successful liberty organizations while providing a technology platform for managing your group.

This article starts with the WHY and then progresses into the HOW: Pro-Tips for finding (or Starting!) a liberty-oriented meet up in your area.

If you’re reading this, chances are you already see what’s happening.

You’ve done the research.

You’ve connected the dots.

You’ve felt the frustration of watching the same patterns repeat while real solutions seem just out of reach.

And yet, for many in the liberty and freedom movement, the hardest part isn’t understanding the problem, it’s figuring out how to find the right people, and what can be done…

You’re not alone in that.

Freedom can be lonely

There are millions of freedom-minded people in this world, yet so many feel isolated.

Many of us are carrying heavy realizations largely on our own. We’ve asked questions that made conversations uncomfortable. We’ve seen things we can’t unsee. And over time, some of us learned to keep our thoughts to ourselves, not because we don’t care, but because we don’t know where it’s safe, productive, or worthwhile to share them.

For some, speaking honestly cost relationships.

For others, it meant staying quiet to keep the peace.

And for many, it led to retreat… trying to figure everything out alone.

That isolation isn’t just emotionally draining. It’s strategically dangerous.

When people are isolated, they lose momentum. They second-guess themselves. They burn out quietly. And eventually, they start believing that meaningful connection, and meaningful action, just isn’t possible anymore.

That’s not a personal failure; it’s the predictable outcome of fragmentation. Freedom was never meant to be pursued alone, and community doesn’t happen by accident. It must be intentionally rebuilt, with shared standards and supportive frameworks that help new groups and communities grow in the right direction.

The deeper problem: why finding “your people” has become so hard

Finding the right people hasn’t become difficult because fewer people care about freedom. It’s become difficult because modern life actively works against connection.

We’re living in a world shaped by isolation-by-design: digital overload, algorithmic echo chambers, and fractured attention that keep people scrolling but rarely connecting.

Add to that, constant overstimulation and misinformation: endless rabbit holes, contradictory narratives, and very little traction and it becomes harder to know where to place energy that actually matters. Many of the tools people once relied on to gather and organize have also been co-opted. Meetups are shut down, groups are censored or throttled, and virtual communities scatter just as quickly as they form.

What’s left are one-off inspiration loops: a great talk, a powerful podcast, a moving event, followed by no follow-up, structure, or clear next step.

The core issue isn’t a lack of awareness.

It’s a lack of coordination, commitment, and continuity.

What most of us have tried (and why it didn’t stick)

Most people in the liberty and freedom movement haven’t been idle; they’ve tried to engage in certain ways available to them.

We’ve shared articles endlessly, hoping awareness would spark action. We’ve joined Telegram and Signal groups that were active for a while, then slowly dissolved or fractured. We’ve attended events that felt energizing in the room, only to leave without any clear next steps or a way to stay connected.

Many of us have waited for “the right leader” to emerge, instead of facilitating something simple ourselves. Others have started or joined groups without clear guidelines, defined roles, or shared commitments, only to watch momentum fade as expectations drifted.

When those efforts didn’t last, it was easy to internalize the outcome as a personal shortcoming.

But the truth is this: the failure wasn’t personal; it was structural.

People weren’t lacking sincerity or effort. They were missing the framework and support systems needed to turn intention into sustained action.

The real problem isn’t apathy… it’s fragmentation

From the outside, it might look like the freedom movement is stalled. But from the inside, we see something different.

We see passion.

We see intelligence.

We see people working hard.

What we don’t see enough of is coordination.

There are podcasts, expos, Telegram channels, Substacks, conferences, and conversations happening everywhere. People are informed; sometimes deeply informed.

But information hasn’t consistently translated into sustained, coordinated action.

There’s a lot of motion, but not always momentum.

Too often, people are:

● Working alone

● Starting things that don’t last

● Repeating work others are already doing

● Burning out instead of compounding effort

The issue isn’t that people don’t care. The issue is that people don’t have structure, support, or a clear on-ramp to action.

What we’ve learned is simple, but important:

Most people aren’t afraid of stepping forward.

They’re afraid of starting something without structure, unsure who to trust, overwhelmed by options, and left without a clear path forward.

That uncertainty isn’t weakness. It’s not laziness. And it’s not a lack of courage.

It’s a signal.

People don’t need more outrage, more urgency, or more information. They need support, structure, and clarity: a way to take action that feels sustainable instead of overwhelming.

You don’t need to be “the leader”, you just need to begin

One of the biggest myths holding people back is the idea that leadership means being the loudest voice, the expert, or the one on stage.

In reality, what movements need most right now are facilitators.

People willing to:

● Connect others

● Hold consistency

● Create simple structure

● Take the next small step

You don’t need to decide everything.

You don’t need to be perfect.

You don’t need permission.

You just need to say yes to trying.

Small, consistent action beats a grand vision every time.

What action looks like in the real world

Action doesn’t have to be dramatic to be meaningful.

It can look like:

• Supporting a local food co-op or buying collective
• Participating in barter networks or skill swaps
• Using alternative payment systems (barter, precious metals/Goldbacks, time banking, etc.) between small businesses
• Mapping and exposing the surveillance infrastructure (Flock Cameras, Red Light Cameras) in your community
• Joining a task force focused on digital privacy, food independence, parallel systems, etc.
• Building relationships with local business owners, farmers and community leaders

These don’t require massive numbers.

They require commitment, coordination, and repetition.

Taking the first steps out of isolation

Finding Others - HOW to Find (OR Start!) a Local Liberty Group

Check the list of liberty-oriented groups on the Art of Liberty Foundation Website at:

ArtOfLiberty.org/Liberty-Groups/

- Please let us know if your group would like to be added to the list by emailing us at Info (at) ArOfLiberty.org

• Register for our event on Sunday, June 14th 4:00 PM PST/ 7:00 PM EST while you are there.

Voluntaryist & Pro-Liberty Directory Apps

Check for a Freedom Cell in your area OR start a freedom cell in your area at

FreedomCells.org

– Freedom Cells are local, peer to peer groups typically consisting of 8 people. Cell members organize themselves in a decentralized manner with the goal of empowering group members through education, peaceful non-compliance, and the creation of parallel institutions. Think of it as your activist support network. The website has a geo-location capability to connect you with folks in your area.

Connector.App – Connector.app is a relatively new app to find and list yourself where you can find others with the same affinities as you have.

Pro-Tip: You can choose to stay anonymous by using an email alias, registering with a general location in your area, and an alias if you are worried about being on a list.

Liberty on the Rocks – A pro-liberty social club that is sprouting up in multiple cities. Details at: LibertyOnTheRocks.org

Starting Your Own Group

If there isn’t a group in your area then your strongest strategy is to start one yourself.

Leverage Your Own Network for the Nucleus – Drop your friends an e-mail explaining that you believe freedom is eroding, censorship increasing, and getting together with like-minded folks is important.

Have a Regularly Scheduled Meeting - Every 3rd Thursday of the Month or 2nd Saturday in the morning.

Mix It Up - Have different speakers each week, documentary screenings, BBQs, Potlucks, etc.

Make It Fun! - People come because they are concerned and want to take action, they stay because they have a good time! The Santa Cruz voluntaryists thrived because everyone had a BLAST!

Plan on it taking some time - It will take time for attendance to build, especially in the summer when many are travelling. Plan on persistence from the beginning.

Don’t Trust Meet Up or Facebook Events – We believe they censor. Meet Up is an online tool that is ostensibly designed to facilitate organizing and promoting groups based on affinities. We believe they censor pro-liberty and pro-freedom organizations. Facebook Events allows you to create a free event listing and easily send to your friends on Facebook which has the largest network of active users but we believe they are algorithmically censoring so make sure it isn’t your only avenue.

Use Other On-Line Event Listing Tools BUT… Understand that many will algorithmically censor you… - Even though we don’t trust Facebook Groups, we still recommend listing your group there and even testing Meet Up, EventBrite, and others depending on your budget and volunteer

Physical Flyers are the Gold Standard – Post them up at Coffee Shops, Book Stores, Comic Book Shops, University Commons, Grocery Stores, any place with a community bulletin board.

Example Flyer from a recent Voluntaryists of Austin Potluck/BBQ.

The group has over 1000 members on Meet Up.

On-line Flyers Are Just As Important – Use AI tools or Canva to create a digital version of your flyer that can be shared with Telegram, Facebook, or via SMS

Get a Table at the Farmer’s Market, Local Gun Show, Comic Book Convention, – Cheap and fun way to connect with folks in your community. The Advocates for Self-Government has a kit called Operation Politically Homeless

Use the Event Listing Service in your local paper and/or community paper – Some charge, some don’t.

Get Training on Facilitating a Successful Liberty Group at CounterForceAlliance.com

Where CounterForce Alliance fits

CounterForce Alliance was created out of this exact realization.

What CFA isn’t:

They don’t subscribe to party politics.

They don’t focus on ideologies outside of the principals of freedom.

And they aren’t a personality-driven brand built around a single voice or issue.

CounterForce Alliance is a community framework designed to help freedom-minded people stop acting alone and start building together.

Their mission is to unify the freedom movement, empower people to step into action, train and equip liberty leaders, facilitate local groups and national initiatives, and inspire a culture of liberty rooted in responsibility.

At the heart of everything they do, they ask three simple questions:

● How does this build?

● Who does this empower?

● How does this unify?

If something doesn’t align with at least one, and ideally all three, they reconsider it.

CFA doesn’t compete with other freedom efforts. They connect them. They provide structure where fragmentation exists and support where burnout usually sets in.

A home for growth, purpose, and action

CounterForce Alliance is built to meet people where they are and support them as they grow.

Join as a Member.

Grow as an Advocate.

Rise as a Leader.

● The Freedom path is free to join, connect with local groups or task force teams, meet like-minded people, and collaborate on solutions.

● The Freedom Advocate path focuses on personal growth, liberty education, and community engagement.

● The Liberty Leader path is for those who choose to step forward into facilitation and leadership, with training, tools, and support to lead a local group or task force team effectively.

Not everyone needs to lead, but those who are called to do so shouldn’t have to figure it out alone. We are committed to training and equipping (the right) people who choose to step into leadership, with integrity and clarity.

It’s time to step forward - together

We’ll be direct here.

This moment doesn’t call for more spectators. It calls for people willing to reconnect, collaborate, and contribute, in ways that make sense for their personal lives and to bring something of value to the freedom movement.

We cannot do this alone.

But together? Together we rise.

Together we build.

Together we empower.

Together we unify.

If any part of this resonated with you, we invite you to take a simple next step:

● Learn more about what we’re building and join the CounterForce Alliance network:

CounterForceAlliance.com

It’s free to join. There’s no pressure to lead. Many people start by simply observing, learning, and making one connection.

And for those with the skills, time, means, or talents to contribute more deeply: volunteer opportunities and partnerships are available. This movement will only endure if people step forward where they can.

You don’t have to be perfect.

You don’t have to be certain.

You just have to begin.

And you don’t have to do it alone. The freedom movement needs people like you and your unique contribution could make all the difference in what we build together.

Finding (OR Starting!) a Local Liberty Group in your area

Sunday, June 14th at 4:00 PM PST / 7:00 PM EST. You can register and find our list of local liberty groups at ArtOfLiberty.org/Liberty-Groups.

Please e-mail us at Info (at) ArtOfLiberty.org to add your local liberty group to our list!

The Best “Go Paid” Deal on Substack! You Get REAL Stuff!!

Go paid at the $5 a month level, and we will send you both the PDF and e-Pub versions of Etienne’s new book: To See the Cage Is to Leave It - 25 Techniques the Few Use to Control the Many and a coupon code for 10% off anything in the https://artofliberty.org/store/.

Go paid at the $50 a year level, and we will send you a free paperback edition of Etienne’s new book: To See the Cage Is to Leave It - 25 Techniques the Few Use to Control the Many OR “Government” - The Biggest Scam in History… Exposed! OR a 64GB Liberator flash drive if you live in the US. If you are international, we will give you a $10 credit towards shipping if you agree to pay the remainder.

Support us at the $250 Founding Member Level and get a signed high-resolution hardcover of “Government” - The Biggest Scam in History... Exposed! + Liberator flash drive + a signed high-resolution hardcover of Etienne’s new book: To See the Cage Is to Leave It - 25 Techniques the Few Use to Control the Many + everything else in our “Everything Bundle” of the best in voluntaryist thought delivered domestically. International pays shipping. Our only option for signed copies besides catching Etienne @ an event.