Last week I gave my first public talk since beginning my Speaking Mastery training—and my first conference speech standing instead of in a wheelchair. The subject was one that has shaped my life’s work: “Subscribing to Governance, Not Submitting to It.”

We’re used to unsubscribing from services that no longer serve us—cable packages, gyms, streaming platforms. But when it comes to government, almost no one has ever “unsubscribed.” We submit because we believe there is no alternative. Free Cities challenge that assumption by treating governance as a service, where people are customers with real choices.

I shared a story from early in my career that opened my eyes to the problem. In 1981, a district court in Portland bought expensive electronic typewriters it didn’t need—machines that actually made staff less productive. Why? Because budgets reward waste. Bureaucrats gain status by expanding their budgets, not by saving taxpayer money. What I realized that day is still true now: waste isn’t an accident in government, it’s built into the system.

And this dysfunction goes deeper. Governments justify their monopoly by claiming to protect life and administer justice, yet they routinely fail at both. Police forces are funded by taxpayers but leave citizens unprotected, as seen in the shocking murder of a Ukrainian refugee on a train in North Carolina—committed by a man arrested 14 times and released 14 times. Courts, meanwhile, are costly, slow, and often unsatisfying for victims.

Free Cities offer another path. In places like Ciudad Morazán, governance is voluntary and contractual. Safety is tied to customer satisfaction. Disputes can be resolved through independent arbitration. And leaders are incentivized not by inflated budgets but by keeping residents safe, satisfied, and willing to stay.

The response to my talk encouraged me. People didn’t just listen—they leaned in, asked questions, and wanted to know what comes next. That’s why I believe speaking is essential to spreading this vision: it helps people see that alternatives to coercive governance are not just theory, but already taking shape.

You can watch the full 34-minute talk on YouTube, and if you want to explore these ideas more deeply, join me at the Morazan Model Membership.

The future of governance is voluntary. The time to build it is now.

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