Independence Day, my first as an American citizen

Aaron Withe
July 4, 2022

While this is not my first July 4^th celebration, it’s certainly the most meaningful to me..

In September of last year, after going to college and living in the country for ten years, I became a United States Citizen. It was a humbling moment and one of the proudest moments of my life.

On July 4^th, 1776, America took an historic step in gaining independence from my homeland of the United Kingdom. And today I’m proud to celebrate with you as a fellow countryman.

While there are certainly aspects of my native country which I’m proud of, the United Kingdom has sadly been on a socialist decline since the late Margaret Thatcher left office.

Unfortunately, America’s political left and big government unions are attempting to take this great country down the same socialist path undertaken by Britain. These anti-American forces are attempting to rewrite history and destroy our freedoms promised to us in the United States Constitution.

Ronald Reagan, in his 1967 annual address, reminded us of this when he said: “Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children’s children what it was once like in the United States where men were free.”

Rest assured, the Freedom Foundation is, and will remain, a pillar for defending freedom and the ideals which have made this the greatest nation on God’s earth.

Today, as a fellow U.S. citizen, I’m proud to join you in celebrating the 4^th of July and all it stands for.

Thank you for your support of the Freedom Foundation and for standing with us in this great battle.

- National
, 4th of July, Independence Day, July 4th

Aaron Withe

Chief Executive Officer

Aaron Withe is the Chief Executive Officer of the Freedom Foundation. Aaron began his career at the Freedom Foundation in 2015, working in the outreach department. He devised a full-scale outreach campaign that included having a team of door-to-door canvassers contact all union members throughout Oregon and inform them of their rights to leave their union. After various promotions the Freedom Foundation’s Board of Directors appointed Aaron as the CEO in 2021. As an immigrant-turned-U.S. citizen, Aaron recognizes America as the freest and most prosperous country in the world. However, he also recognizes the very real threat posed by the government unions attacking the foundations of the American dream. This is what fuels Aaron as he now leads the Freedom Foundation’s national campaign to free every public employee in America from union bondage. Aaron is the author of the book Freedom is the Foundation: How we are defeating progressive tyranny by taking on the government unions. Aaron has been a featured speaker for the Freedom Foundation at a multitude of events, including the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) 2019. He was the proud recipient of the Oregon Taxpayer Association’s 2019 Thomas Jefferson Award. He was formerly on the Washington & Oregon Advisory Committees to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. And he is a member of the American Enterprise Institute’s (AEI) Leadership Network. Aaron has often shared the Freedom Foundation’s message on TV, including appearances on Fox News, Fox Business, One America News, Newsmax, and The Huckabee Show on TBN. He has been featured on several national and local radio shows, including Sean Hannity and Lars Larson, and in print media outlets across the country, including the Wall Street Journal, the Hill, and the Daily Wire. He is a native of Birmingham, England, and is a graduate and former basketball player at Corban University in Oregon. In his spare time, he enjoys spending time with his wife Aubree and their daughter Amelia, as well as with their extended family and friends. He is active of his church and enjoys relaxing at several Pacific North West’s microbreweries. As an immigrant-turned-U.S. citizen, Aaron recognizes America as the freest and most prosperous country in the world. However, he also recognizes the very real threat posed by the government unions attacking the foundations of the American dream. This is what fuels Aaron as he now leads the Freedom Foundation’s national campaign to free every public employee in America from union bondage. Aaron has been a featured speaker for the Freedom Foundation at a multitude of events, including the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) 2019. He was the proud recipient of the Oregon Taxpayer Association’s 2019 Thomas Jefferson Award. He was formerly on the Washington & Oregon Advisory Committees to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. And he is a member of the American Enterprise Institute’s (AEI) Leadership Network. Aaron has often shared the Freedom Foundation’s message on TV, including appearances Fox News, One America News, Newsmax, and The Huckabee Show on TBN. He has been featured on several national and local radio shows including Sean Hannity and Lars Larson and in print media outlets across the country including the Wall Street Journal and Daily Wire. He is a native of Birmingham, England, and is a graduate and former basketball player at Corban University in Oregon. In his spare time, he enjoys spending time with his family and friends, staying active in many different sports and at the gym, he is active in his church and enjoys relaxing at several of the Pacific North West’s microbreweries.