What I Learned From Back to the Future

If you watched television news, engaged in social media, or weren’t living under a rock last Wednesday, you probably know that October 21, 2015 is “Back to the Future Day,” the date to which Marty McFly and Emmett “Doc” Brown travel in the 1989 sequel to the smash 1985 film. Special events across the country were held, including a coordinated showing with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra playing Alan Silvestri’s score, which I attended. I am a HUGE fan of the trilogy – I even held a Back to the Future 2-themed 10th birthday party shortly after the second film’s release.

To me, the most fascinating element, and subsequently, the biggest takeaway, from the film series is the significance that a single decision can make on the totality of your life and the lives of those around you. We saw these small changes affect the McFly family and parts of Hill Valley in the first film. In some cases, those decisions can have a profound reach beyond your circle, as we saw in the Alternate 1985 tangent, where Biff Tannen is incredibly rich and powerful and the Hill Valley that Marty and Doc knew was never realized.

Regardless of the size of the decision, we CAN affect change. What might have been, had the Sons of Liberty not met in those taverns in the 1760s and 1770s to fight the tyranny in the colonies?

With that in mind, how will you harness that power to affect change?

You may not have a DeLorean with a flux capacitor that facilitates time travel, but you can alter the course of events with your actions.

How could you affect change by brainstorming about market disruptions, instead of watching Grey’s Anatomy, Scandal, and/or How to Get Away with Murder tonight? Could you create the next Uber?

What if you chose to make phone calls for a libertarian candidate for office tonight, rather than watching the Bengals and the Browns on Thursday Night Football? Could you elect a candidate who puts liberty first to office?

Suppose you begin a recurring donation to a liberty organization (like the Advocates) this evening, forgoing your morning coffee a couple times a month? Could your support fund the efforts to move society in a more libertarian direction?

Whatever you decide, keep in mind that your decision can alter the course of history.

FIRED! SC School Resource Officer Assaults Student 
 

On Monday, Oct. 26, a video surfaced on the Internet of a South Carolina school resource officer throwing a female student across a classroom.

The incident occurred at the Spring Valley High School in Columbia, witnesses said, when the unnamed African-American student refused to put away her cell phone and then refused to leave the classroom after being asked by the teacher and school principal.

The officer was then summoned and asked her to leave again. She refused, and he told her she was under arrest.

Read more about the incident and discipline here..

Fact Check Last Night's GOP Debate Here! 

Should Daily Fantasy Sports Be Regulated by the Government? - Reason
One Alabama city is now considering banning mini-skirts and short shorts - AL.com
How to Steal $75,000 from the Poor in One Day's Work - FEE

 

NO LOVE: "The government cannot love you. Right? It cannot be your mommy or your daddy or your tribe, it can’t fill the holes in your soul or any of that kind of stuff." â€” Jonah Goldberg, National Review Columnist, October 9, 2015  **Hour-long audio interview

A CLEAR CONSCIENCE: “What can be added to the happiness of the man who is in health, who is out of debt, and has a clear conscience?” â€” Adam Smith, Pioneer of Political Economy

ECHO CHAMBER: â€œI knew if I remained in my echo chamber of moderate conservatives, I wouldn’t experience any growth. I thought, if I’m around people with extremely liberal ideas, I’ll be constantly challenged and countered, and my views will either change or become sharpened.” â€” Bryan Stascavage Former Wesleyan University student, October 22, 2015