The Courage to Be Free

Florida’s Blueprint for America’s Revival

By Ron DeSantis

Category: Politics | Reading Duration: 16 min | Rating: 3.5/5 (81 ratings)

About the Book

The Courage to Be Free (2023) is an account of Ron DeSantis’s career so far, focusing on his work as governor of Florida. He reflects on his approach to leadership and outlines his vision for America.

Who Should Read This?

Republicans and anyone who has right-wing political views
People interested in US politics
Anyone who wants to know more about a potential future president

What’s in it for me? A bold blueprint for America’s future.

In recent years, the governor of Florida, Ron DeSantis, has become a household name. The Republican politician made headlines for his response to the COVID-19 pandemic. While other states were going into lockdown, in Florida it was business as usual. Kids went to school. The beaches remained open. There were no vaccine passports or mask mandates.

Chapter 1: Governing Florida: defense through offense

Was this recklessness? Or was it a common-sense strategy? Whatever your view, in this summary you’ll find out how DeSantis sees things, and why. You’ll discover what it’s like to lead a state, standing up for certain values in the face of opposition. DeSantis has a clear vision of how things should work, and of what America could become. As he’s got a good chance of becoming president one day, it’s worth paying attention. Let’s start by going back a few years to a key moment in his rise to power. In November 2018, Ron DeSantis was elected governor of Florida and his life changed overnight. The morning after the election, he went for his usual jog around the neighborhood. Only this time, he was followed by a group of security agents. This was the moment when it started to sink in. He had a new role, new powers, and responsibilities to match. Previously, DeSantis had spent five years representing Florida in Congress where he was just one of many politicians on a legislative body. Now, as governor, he was one man leading a state of 20 million people. He knew it’d be hard work. But the new governor had the support not just of the people, but of the president. In a tweet, President Trump described DeSantis as “a brilliant young leader. ” “He loves our country,” said Trump, “and he’s a true fighter. ” DeSantis had started out as an underdog. Just a few years before, he was virtually unknown. In order to get enough votes to be elected to Congress, he’d had to embark on a relentless door-knocking campaign. But his hard work paid off. By 2018, he was ready for the next stage of the fight and looking forward to being able to make some real changes. This was the way to do it, DeSantis thought. Not as a congressman, struggling to accomplish substantial policy. As governor, he’d finally be able to lead and make a difference. So, it was time to get to work. DeSantis was aware that at best, he had two four-year terms to get it all done. He had a bold agenda. It included healthcare reforms, tackling illegal immigration, and prioritizing law and order. But having clearly defined goals was just the beginning. DeSantis knew he needed to take action, and that strong, even aggressive leadership was essential. “The best defense is a good offense. ” That was his leadership philosophy. He was determined to make a stand, tackling key issues aggressively. In particular, DeSantis says he has no time or patience for so-called “progressives,” or the “woke indoctrination. ” As governor, he’s actively fought against it. For example, he views Critical Race Theory as left-wing propaganda. In his opinion, schools shouldn’t be teaching kids that America was founded on white supremacy. As a deterrent, he signed a new piece of legislation – the “Stop Wrongs against Our Kids and Employees Act,” also known as the “Stop WOKE Act. ” And he’s taken a similar stance on other issues, fighting against “wokeness. ” The way he sees it, he’s standing up for freedom and common sense. Not everyone appreciates DeSantis’s approach. He’s often vilified by the left and by the legacy media. But among the people of Florida, DeSantis has been hugely popular.

Chapter 2: Fighting for freedom during the pandemic

In the next sections, we’ll look at some examples of DeSantis’s most noteworthy decisions as governor. These incidents will give you a good idea of what kind of leader he is. And they’ll help you to understand why, according to him, Florida is the future. Remember the spring of 2020? As COVID-19 spread across the world, the US government announced “15 Days to Stop the Spread. ” But this precaution soon evolved into something far more extreme. Parts of the country went into lockdown. Schools closed and industries ground to a halt. Not in Florida though. DeSantis wasn’t going to get swept up in the hysteria. He just wasn’t convinced by the draconian recommendations from the so-called experts. Their policies were based on epidemiological modeling rather than empirical data. To DeSantis, it didn’t make sense. Why should he base decisions on an unlikely worst-case scenario? So, while everyone else was shutting down, DeSantis made sure Florida stayed open – and free. His approach was influenced by a text known as the Great Barrington Declaration. This open letter, written by an expert team of epidemiologists, recommended a more moderate response to COVID-19. They argued that the focus should be on protecting the elderly while normal life resumed for the rest of the population. DeSantis agreed. Of course, he was going to take COVID seriously, especially as Florida had an elderly population that was particularly at risk. But for everyone else, life had to carry on. After a few weeks of closures and restrictions, DeSantis made sure the state was functioning normally. The people of Florida should be free to make their own decisions. DeSantis quickly abandoned the distinction between “essential” and “nonessential” businesses. In his view, every business was essential for the people who worked there and should be allowed to remain open. Similarly, children were sent back to school. And Florida’s beaches stayed open. DeSantis got a lot of criticism from the media and liberal politicians. Florida was accused of being reckless. But in the end, DeSantis feels he made the right decisions. And he’s got facts to prove it. Interestingly, Florida had a relatively low COVID mortality rate. Adjusting for age, more than 30 states had a higher mortality rate than Florida. But mortality isn’t the only factor to consider. An in-depth study by the Committee to Unleash Prosperity examined state responses to COVID. As well as mortality, the study looked at factors such as education and the economy. Of the large states, Florida was the best performer in the nation. Looking back, DeSantis feels confident that he got it right.

Chapter 3: DeSantis versus Disney

But even during the pandemic, there were clear signs that things were working. By the end of summer 2020, tourism in Florida was starting to intensify. And more and more people were moving to the state. At one point, DeSantis even got a letter from Australia. During that nation’s strict lockdowns, a man from Sydney wrote to the governor to thank him. The state of Florida offered hope, the man wrote. “Thank you for standing up for people. ” DeSantis believes that in a world gone mad, Florida became a symbol of freedom. Let’s return to the issue of leftism. This is something that has troubled DeSantis since he was a student at Yale in the late ’90s. He was disturbed by the way people criticized America and made fun of people of faith. The leftism he witnessed on campus pushed him further to the right. Little did he know that he’d been offered a glimpse of the future. These days, DeSantis sees leftist ideology everywhere. For example, should kindergarten children be taught about gender and sexuality? DeSantis doesn’t think so. And he knows he’s not alone. The majority of people in Florida want schools to focus on skills like reading and writing – not indoctrinating young children in gender theory. And he believes schools certainly shouldn’t be allowing students to “gender transition” without their parents’ knowledge. So, as governor, DeSantis is fighting back. In 2022, Florida introduced the Parental Rights in Education Bill. Or, as the media dubbed it, the “Don’t Say Gay” bill. This piece of legislation banned classroom instruction on gender ideology and sexuality for young children. DeSantis thought the bill was common sense. But suddenly, he found himself facing opposition from an unlikely source – Disney. Previously, DeSantis and Disney had been on good terms. DeSantis even had his wedding at Disney World. And he recognized the importance of the company as one of Florida’s major employers. But in 2022, the relationship between DeSantis and Disney deteriorated. Here’s what happened. It started with Disney employees in California demanding that the company oppose DeSantis’s bill. Then activists and parts of the media joined in. And then the former CEO of Disney spoke out against the bill, claiming that it would be harmful to vulnerable young LGBTQ+ people. The pressure was building. The “leftist-rage mob” – to use DeSantis’s term – proved to be too much for the then-CEO of Disney, Bob Chapek. Ignoring a warning from DeSantis, Chapek caved to the pressure. Disney took the extraordinary decision to publicly oppose the Parental Rights in Education Bill, both before and after it was signed. The company even stated that its goal was to get the law repealed. To DeSantis, this supposedly family-friendly company was anything but. The corporation had turned into a liberal activist, pledging to attack a law that was aimed at protecting children. And if Disney was going to declare war… well, DeSantis knew how to fight back. For more than 50 years, Disney had benefited from its special self-governing status in Florida. The company enjoyed unique powers, legal privileges, and generous tax treatment. It effectively had its own local government. But not anymore.

Chapter 4: “Make America Florida”

DeSantis decided it was time for Disney’s special arrangement to come to an end. He signed a bill that revoked the company’s self-governing status. This was the equivalent of firing a shot – a warning to other corporations who try to use their economic power to push a political agenda. If you want to get political, says DeSantis, prepare for the consequences. The Disney incident is just one example of the challenges facing America today. Here’s another example: in the context of the Black Lives Matter movement, there are now calls to defund the police – a notion DeSantis views as “imbecilic. ” Or there’s the issue of Big Tech censorship – companies like Facebook and Twitter censoring posts or labeling them as “misinformation” when they dissent from leftist ideology. So, what’s the solution? What’s the path forward? For DeSantis, it’s a question of using common sense and staying true to American values. And of course, at times it’s necessary to take a tough, even aggressive stance, fighting the battles that need to be fought. As governor, that’s what DeSantis has done time and time again. It’s not easy, and he’s had to face intense criticism and media attacks. But he sees this as the price of strong, courageous leadership. And for DeSantis, it’s a price worth paying. Besides, recent successes in Florida show that there’s been a pay-off too. His work has had results. Under DeSantis’s leadership, millions of livelihoods were protected during the pandemic. Tourism bounced back, thanks to the lack of restrictions and the ban on vaccine passports. Florida was seen as the land of the free. Migration increased too. In 2020, in terms of adjusted gross income, the net migration to Florida was worth $23. 7 billion. And from 2020 to 2021, Florida welcomed more than 250,000 new residents – the largest gain in the nation. Why is this? Well, Florida’s excellent tax and economic climate is a big draw. But there are plenty of other factors too. Law and order, for example. Many families that relocate to Florida name safety as one of the main reasons for their decision. They feel safer in a state that they see as prioritizing public safety. Florida isn’t defunding the police or releasing criminals from prison. Instead, the state is recruiting additional law enforcement officers. These are just some of the reasons why more and more people are moving to Florida. Essentially, they’re voting with their feet. And in terms of actual voting, the numbers speak for themselves. In 2018, DeSantis won the election in Florida by a margin of 30,000 votes. But when he was reelected in 2022, he won by more than 1. 5 million votes. It was a landslide victory. He won almost 60 percent of the votes from Hispanic voters, as well as a significant percentage of those from Black voters.

Final Summary

In fact, it was the highest percentage for a Republican gubernatorial candidate in Florida in modern history. Clearly, DeSantis’s vision and values resonate with American voters. His election success suggests that nationwide change is possible. There’s a popular slogan that appears on clothes and merchandise – “Make America Florida. ” For DeSantis, that’s the way forward. Ron DeSantis believes that through his bold leadership as governor, he’s turned Florida into a model for other states. Although he’s often been criticized by the left and certain factions of the media, he stands by his decisions. In particular, his controversial response to the COVID-19 pandemic. DeSantis maintains that his strategy was the right one, with the results to prove it. Florida stayed free and thrived. The governor has acted according to his strongly held beliefs, defending freedom and core American values. In doing so, he’s won the support of the majority of Floridians, achieving extraordinary success in the 2022 gubernatorial election. Despite the challenges ahead, DeSantis is optimistic that with courage, determination, and strong leadership, there’s a clear way forward for America: Florida offers a blueprint for the nation.

About the Author

Ron DeSantis is a US politician and a member of the Republican Party. Prior to his career in politics, he studied at Yale and Harvard Law School and served in the military. DeSantis has been governor of Florida since 2019 and is expected to run for president.