@MattMarmaduke
May 22, 2440, 1:00 PM
For everyone who keeps asking what I “owe” the rest of the world, let me put some numbers on the table.
Last year I opened one hundred thousand visa slots into the Freehold.
No fee to apply. Relocation paid if you were accepted. A clear contract explaining what life here looks like before you agree to anything.
We received seven thousand three hundred fifty-six adult petitions.
We accepted five thousand eight hundred seventy-nine of those, plus their families, for a total of eleven thousand two hundred forty-three new residents.
In other words, we filled a little over ten percent of the capacity we offered.
This year, as of May 1, there have been nine hundred fifteen visa applications.
Nine hundred fifteen.
In a world where I keep hearing how hopeless and broken everything is, and how I am personally failing you because I am not fixing your port, your power grid, your school board, your housing, or whatever else your own government has failed to fix.
Let me be very clear.
I run Marmaduke Freehold out of Missouri.
I am responsible for the people who live and work under my law and my contracts.
I am not the governor of Earth.
I am not your father.
If you want the kind of stability we have built here, you are welcome to apply to join us.
This year there are at least twice as many visa slots open as last year. If we see real demand from people who are serious about moving, working, and building a life here, we will open more.
The expectations have not changed.
Bring something real to the table.
Skill.
A trade.
Language.
Caregiving.
Agriculture.
Engineering.
Teaching.
Maintenance.
Logistics.
Art that builds community.
Or just a willingness to show up, work, learn, and do whatever we can find for you until we figure out what you are good at.
A willingness to learn and carry your share of the load counts.
Complaints without effort do not.
If you choose to stay where you are, that is your right.
I am not here to drag anyone out of their home, and I am not telling you that leaving is the answer to every bad government or broken institution.
But if you choose to stay, your fight is with your institutions, not mine.
I will trade with you.
I will sign fair contracts with you.
I will honor every contract I put my name on.
I will work with your city, your company, your cooperative, or your government when there is something real for both of us to do.
What I will not do is pretend you were never offered a door.
Last year we opened one hundred thousand places and filled a little over ten percent of them.
This year the door is wider.
You want what we have?
Come help build it.
