My name is Thomas Holbrook, and I am running for the US House of Representatives in Missouri’s 4th District. Before trusting me with your vote, it’s important to know who I am, where I’m from, and why.
Freedom of Will is a concept I hold near and dear to my heart. After all, I know what it is to not have much of a say in things.
That has shaped my worldview throughout my life.
I was born at William’s Airforce Base in Arizona on March 9th, 1983. About a decade later, that base would close down as the B2 Bomber would be publicly unveiled.
I oppose unconstitutional war, advocate for freedom of speech, and freedom of trade.
In short, I prefer freedom of will be the prevailing factor when it comes to deciding our future. Let the people have a say in the matter. We’re adults after all and we should have the right to make our own decisions.
Though a good portion of my life may seem boring at first, there are some significant events that would shape my worldview for years to come.
To understand who I am, where I’m from, and why, it’s important to understand what significant events led to my world view.
Near Death By Bureaucracy
My dad was a member of the Air Force. We relocated to Missouri from Arizona about a year after I was born because he received a new assignment at Whiteman. Like many families of the time, ours changed as mom would divorce and remarry before moving to the countryside one mile outside of Leeton.
Shortly after I started Kindergarten, I fell ill.
Food would not stay down as there was no more room in my system. I was drowning from the inside and the protein count in my blood had dropped. Children’s Mercy Hospital would save my life by draining my clogged digestive system instead of removing any part of my intestines due to my young age.
This was after mom endured frustrating roadblocks erected by the medical center on Whiteman and the personnel of the base itself; my first taste in the dangers of overly bureaucratic institutions.
Children’s Mercy was able to stabilize me by draining my digestive system of blockage. My chest had a tube coming out of it to drain excessive fluid. I returned to school for a time but began to fall ill once more. Occasionally, I would feel extremely cold despite the surrounding temperature being normal. Ultimately, my temperature soared to such an extent that my mother hurriedly took me back to Children’s Mercy.
While I cannot claim that a worm consumed part of my brain before perishing, I can assert with certainty that I underwent surgery while conscious.
The tube had become infected and there was no time to put me under. As a small child, the pain was unimaginable. One of the nurses would later ask if I was still mad at her.
That would be twice that I nearly died due to bureaucracy.
Bullying and the Real World
Name calling and harassment took place due to being in special education for a time. Bullies would make my life miserable into high school.
Ironically, if I attempted to snap at any of them to leave me alone, I would be the one to get in trouble. It didn’t matter that I wasn’t the one who started things. The teacher just wanted the classroom to be quiet.
The bullying would die down towards the end of high school as my fellow students began to grow out of it with their own worries about their own lives.
Social standing in grade school no longer mattered as the real world beckoned.
Though I did not attend college right out of high school, I would go on to graduate the University of Central Missouri with a Bachelor Science in History in May 2011.
The real world would further shape who I am, where I’m from, and why.
Bureaucracy in the Workplace Shaping Who I am, Where I’m from, and Why
I have work experience in the following areas:
- Over a year in food service
- A decade in big box retail
- Nearly a decade in the tax preparation field
- Nearly a decade as a civilian contractor
No matter how large or small the working environments are, bureaucracy can hinder growth and the ability to get things done. It can even impact small businesses. Bureaucracies that enable bad behavior has consistently influenced who I am, where I’m from, and why.
That theme throughout my life is the reason why I am running for congress.
Who I am, Where I’m from, and Why
I am simply one who ran across the Libertarian Party while in college. I work in the world of civilian contracting (the boring paper pushing kind) and partake in various activities such as video games (World of Warcraft being among my favorites), watching professional wrestling and upgrading computers.
My entire life from the hospital to school to work, bureaucracy has interfered with and even nearly cost me my life. I will be that voice that speaks up and says, “No! We need to stop and think BEFORE we attempt to enact this change!”
By having more mindfulness in Congress and understanding the dangers of bureaucracy:
- Laws like the Patriot Act turning every American Citizen into a suspect will no longer pass
- Military incursions into other countries for purposes of “liberation” will no longer occur
- Laws such as the ACA that forces people to participate in goods and services (before the penalty was nullified) will no longer pass.
Laws have unintended consequences. As a member of Missouri’s 4th District in the US House of Representatives, I promise that I will do my best to ensure freedom of will prevails and that more civil servants will stop and think before trying to push through yet another idea that turns into a bureaucratic nightmare.
Now that you know who I am, where I’m from, and why you can know where I stand.