Lawrence Reed is a well respected author and expert on history. He was giving a speech at University of Colorado-Denver when he was attacked by liberal snowflakes who didn’t like his speech. His speech was routinely and rudely interrupted by people who didn’t want him to speak. Reed was there to GIVE a lecture and NOT to hear what the liberals had to say…

He was lecturing on “Lessons from Ancient Rome”. Reed’s lecture asks the question: ARE WE ROME? – That’s a great question!

Here’s a bit of the speech: Are We Rome? By Lawrence W. Reed

Monumental sums for bailouts. Staggering increases in public debt. Concentration of power in the central government. A mad scramble by interest groups with endless claims on the treasury. Mushrooming regulations on enterprise. Demagogic class warfare appeals. Higher taxes on the productive. Decline of virtues once widely embraced as essential for strong character. These things ring familiar in 21st century America just as surely as they dominated the ill-fated Roman welfare state of two millennia ago.

Both Rome and America were born in revolt against monarchy— Americans against the British and Romans against the Etruscans. Wary of concentrated authority, both established republics
with checks and balances, separation of powers and protection of certain rights of at least certain people, if not all.

Despite shortcomings, the establishment of the Roman Republic in the sixth century B.C. and the American Republic in the eighteenth century A.D. represented the greatest advances for individual liberty in the history of the world.

The history of ancient Rome spans a thousand years—roughly 500 as a republic and 500 as an imperial autocracy, with the birth of Christ occurring during the transitional years in-between. As demonstrated by the historian Thomas Madden in his 2008 book, Empires of Trust, the closest parallels between Roman and American civilizations are to be found in Rome’s
first half-millennium as a republic. We in our day can derive
the most instructive lessons and warnings from that period. The tyranny of the empire came after the republic crumbled—the truly awful consequences of decay, which America can yet avoid. Read more: Are We Rome?

Oh course, a liberal claims Reed is a racist. Typical!
You’ll love the comeback from Reed after he’s attacked and the clapping from those in attendance:

There will be more on the video above at FEE.org (Foundation for Economic Education) but here’s more on

Lawrence W. Reed
President

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Lawrence W. (“Larry”) Reed became president of FEE in 2008 after serving as chairman of its board of trustees in the 1990s and both writing and speaking for FEE since the late 1970s. Prior to becoming FEE’s president, he served for 20 years as president of the Mackinac Center for Public Policy in Midland, Michigan. He also taught economics full-time from 1977 to 1984 at Northwood University in Michigan and chaired its department of economics from 1982 to 1984.

He holds a B.A. in economics from Grove City College (1975) and an M.A. degree in history from Slippery Rock State University (1978), both in Pennsylvania. He holds two honorary doctorates, one from Central Michigan University (public administration, 1993) and Northwood University (laws, 2008).

A champion for liberty, Reed has authored over 1,000 newspaper columns and articles and dozens of articles in magazines and journals in the United States and abroad. His writings have appeared in The Wall Street Journal, Christian Science Monitor, USA Today, Baltimore Sun, Detroit News and Detroit Free Press, among many others.

He has authored or coauthored eight books, the most recent being Real Heroes: Inspiring True Stories of Courage, Character and Conviction. He is frequently interviewed on radio talk shows and has appeared as a guest on numerous television programs, including those anchored by Judge Andrew Napolitano and John Stossel on FOX Business News.

Reed has delivered at least 75 speeches annually in the past 30 years in virtually every state and in dozens of countries from Bulgaria to China to Bolivia. His best-known lectures include “Seven Principles of Sound Policy” and “Great Myths of the Great Depression,” both of which have been translated into more than a dozen languages and distributed worldwide.

His interests in political and economic affairs have taken him as a freelance journalist to 81 countries on six continents. He is a member of the prestigious Mont Pelerin Society and an advisor to numerous organizations around the world. He served for 15 years as a member of the board (and for one term as president) of the State Policy Network. His numerous recognitions include the Champion of Freedom award from the Mackinac Center for Public Policy and the Distinguished Alumni award from Grove City College.

He is a native of Pennsylvania and a 30-year resident of Michigan, and now resides in Newnan, Georgia.

 

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