Balancing Differences, Preserving Freedom: A Nudist Perspective on the New Year
I hope 2026 is a banner year for all of you. I plan to stay involved in local politics as California enters an exciting year, with Congressional maps redrawn mid-decade for the first time, with the goal of countering the president’s efforts to block his opposition and silence opposing voices. This is an unhealthy way for our democracy to act.
In 2008, California voted to create a commission to take redistricting out of the hands of legislators in favor of a system that offered community continuity rather than political expediency to dictate the borders of the representative districts for the state and federal legislative representatives. This system works and was used following the 2010 and 2020 census counts. Democracy demands that the voices of all the people are given weight in the decision-making process.
It is usually the case that the president’s party loses support in the midterm election. Compromise is part of the governing process in a democracy if all voices are to be given credibility. Bullying is in vogue in this administration. The thought of having to share power with Congress, an equal branch of—with a majority from the opposing party, is a challenge too great for this president to even want to consider.
The true work to counter that would be to listen to what the people want and try to mold your actions to meet the people’s needs. That is not the case with this white house. The effort to change districts so your party can’t lose is the antithesis of rule by the people. It’s a power grab to thwart the will of the people who have chafed under the direction of the administration and want change.
Nudists support the right of others to be clothed and expect them to support nudists to be naked. Nudists’ political views run the gamut from left to right. We share freedom and space with fellow nudists and look past the differences that divide us to focus on the things we have in common. When one group pushes to block nudists from exercising those rights, we move to counter their protest. We’ve civilly done that and used the law to protect nudists’ rights.
Nudists need to continue to fight for a dialogue on our differences and compromise, if possible, to protect our freedoms, while acknowledging the concerns of those opposing us. 2026 will be a year of fighting to protect our hard-fought freedoms and protect our rights to be nude, just like we have been up to today. Happy New Year.
Tim Mullins
AANR Government Affairs Chair
