Law & Principles

We must get uncomfortable so others can be free

August 28, 2025

Jonathan Small

[Editor’s note: At the 33rd Annual Meeting of the State Policy Network, OCPA President Jonathan Small received the 2025 Thomas A. Roe Award for Excellence in Leadership. The following is a lightly edited transcript of his remarks delivered August 27 in New Orleans.]

As I think about receiving the State Policy Network’s Roe Award, I know that really this is an award for all of us working to shape culture, policy, and politics for freedom and opportunity in Oklahoma.

A driving mindset for us here at OCPA is this reality: Millions of Americans are trapped; how will we free them? 

Imagine that you are Phylicia’s mom, and your daughter comes home every day and tells you that she is not learning at her government-assigned school, that she hates being bullied every day, and she wants to commit suicide. How uncomfortable would you be willing to get in order to free Phylicia?

All around us are millions of people, most of whom we will never meet, that are trapped by the failures of government.

The best possible ways to free them are found in the work being done by you and so many Oklahomans like you who allow us to be on your team. Represented in this room are people pursuing policies designed to increase federalism, provide universal school choice, cut and eliminate tax burdens, cut and eliminate regulations, promote merit and do no harm, pursue corrections reform, and hold government and politicians accountable through journalism—and the durable freedom infrastructures necessary to make these solutions a reality.

Americans need our heroic work and willingness to get uncomfortable to make sure our ideas are adopted so that they can be freed.

What makes someone a hero is their eagerness to get uncomfortable to solve a problem.

When I think of heroes who got uncomfortable to free others, the first is the greatest hero, my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, who I was introduced to by my parents, Jonathan and Darcel Small. It is my decision to follow Jesus Christ and God’s word, and the sacrifices made by my parents and their example, that put me in the position to help others. This is why I am so blessed to have made it on your team at OCPA.

They led me to pursue my vocational mission, which is to free as many people as possible from government dependency, so they are free to be who God created them to be.

But there are other heroes, like 2012 Roe Award winner David Brown and Ann Noble Brown, whose vision was to “make Oklahoma better.” Dr. Brown’s sacrificial service lasted more than 30 years—advancing opportunity by serving the Heritage Foundation and then founding, fueling, and leading OCPA. Dr. and Mrs. Brown helped to improve the lives of thousands and someday millions of Oklahomans, most of whom they never met. People like Phylicia, who was able to use an OCPA-advanced and OCPA-protected school choice program to get into a school that met her needs and helped her thrive. 

Even today, members of the Brown family are actively and sacrificially involved in the work of OCPA. I truly believe this award goes to them, the Noble family, our board, our staff, and past OCPA president Michael Carnuccio. They have allowed me to be on their team as we try to follow Dr. Brown’s advice to me: “Jonathan, copy a winner.”

To Tracie Sharp, Lynn Harsh, the SPN Board of Trustees, and the entire staff, I want to thank you for the honor of the Roe Award and your dedication to the power of networks and iron sharpening iron.

To my wife, Kristina, my best friend, thank you for allowing me to be on your team. Thank you and all that you and our five daughters sacrifice so that, together, we can help set Oklahomans free.

Yes, it is true, government is a powerful, deadly force. When the government has someone trapped, those who work to give freedom and opportunity to those trapped are going to face obstacles. They will have to get uncomfortable to see their ideas win and see the captives of government set free.

We get uncomfortable at OCPA. When we decided that Oklahomans like Phylicia were trapped by major government failures, and that we were going to be as serious as the opposition is, and we freed people like Phylicia, we experienced enormous attacks.

When people ask me what keeps me going, two thoughts come to mind.

First, I remember incredible advice from a mentor I try to copy, Dr. Ed Feulner: “No permanent victories, no permanent defeats, only permanent battles.” Second, I think of the faces of people who are trapped by the failures of the Oklahoma government, people like Phylicia, who can only be freed if we get uncomfortable.

Are we willing to get uncomfortable and do what it takes to shape culture, policy, and politics so that those trapped by government can be freed? 

Let’s continue to get uncomfortable, and let’s get after it. Millions of Americans are trapped; how will you free them?