Friday, June 24, 2011

Libertarianism and Individual Freedom

I identify myself as a "Libertarian". A Libertarian is sometimes described as fiscally conservative and socially liberal. The Libertarian party is not stemmed from either of these. Especially now because "Conservatives" and "Liberals" no longer exist. The party line is blurred to the point where there is no longer a definition for either of them. And frankly, it doesn't matter. What's fascinating is that the general public seems to think a Libertarian is an extremist or a tea party nutjob. Our founders were Libertarian. Libertarianism's main principle is LIBERTY. Personal freedom is all that matters.

Now having said that freedom is for every individual. You are completely capable and within your legal limits to believe anything and everything you want. You should be able to do what you want when you want, as long as no other individual or individuals are effected by it. "NO VICTIM, NO CRIME".

"What does this really mean?" you may ask...

Say you (an individual) prefers writing notes in pencil, but John (another individual) believes writing in pen is better because it is more legible. Your argument is that if you make a mistake you can correct it which you cannot do with a pen as easily. Your professor steps in the discussion and asks each of you to present why you should use one or the other.Then your teacher makes the decision that the whole class and every class from now on must write in pen.

This is an example of someone taking away your right to choose. Although you may think it is not a big deal the government does this everyday. Where did the Professor get the authority to tell you what kind of writing utensil to use? Did the student body have a say in this? What about his future classes? You may be asking well what kind of class is this? A math class would better off using a pencil or a journalism class may be better off using a pen.... It does not matter what you think someone else should or should not do. As long as the Professor is able to read the paper or problem then it is up to you to decide what type of utensil to use.

This is somewhat of a weak analogy but the others may be too controversial to start with. I know people want to help each other and people what to do what is morally "right". But who are you to say what is right and what is wrong? If someone is hurting someone else, or robbing someone else... then yes that person should be held accountable because there are victims in these examples. But if you want to certify yourself to carry a gun on you at all times, purely for the sake of self defense or even a random hunting trip out in the woods. If you have the correct experience to do this and you're not hurting anyone in the process, it is your right to carry your gun. (This is what I meant by controversial) Now I am sure you're thinking a lot of "what ifs" right now. Which is natural, but it is important to remember that every person is held responsible for themselves. As we start to pile on these laws for gun control, eventually the FBI will be going into each and every registered gun-owners home to make sure they comply with a thousand regulations to own the damn thing. Then you have the state AND local laws on top of that... It's never ending and nearly impossible to be fully aware of.

My own opinion is that guns are dangerous and I wish they were never created and firearms and explosives never existed... but that's unrealistic I know, I am just stating my opinion. It doesn't mean that the President should hear me and a handful of other citizens and then make it so.... No guns firearms or explosives anymore in America! No that does not work... but that is what's happening. Slowly but surely the military and cops will be the only ones able to carry guns because Susie and Jill down the street found out Jake owned a gun and they were scared that their children would get shot. Even though Jake may have never needed to take the gun out of his holster and he has been certified by the state to carry a gun. It baffles me that Susie and Jill would think for one second that Officer Bill is anymore qualified than Jake to own a gun. He isn't.

That's just another example of the infringement of your rights. States should have the ability to write legislation for their citizens without the Federal Government coming in to put their spin on what they think is right. This can be applied to thousands of examples. I don't even know how the Federal Government keeps up with all these regulations???!!!! Oh that's right they don't, and they can't. It would be IMPOSSIBLE to enforce all of these things. On average the American citizen commits 3 felonies a day. Most of which they didn't even know about! And this is why repealing and taking a step backwards.... is ironically the only way this country can move forward! It's crazy!!

So if ya give a hoot about keeping your freedoms ya gotta remember that other people deserve freedom as much as you do in this country, but you have to know what Freedom means... and all the responsibilities that come with it. It's not easy admitting that you push your own opinions on others and most of us don't even realize we are doing it, until it's too late. And then there will be backlash. None of us will be able to do anything without having multiple people constantly looking over our shoulders.

One last example... super controversial!!! Are you excited? I know I am!

Ok, we are in Iraq... duh. We are trying to "help" the citizens establish control of their country and spread democracy throughout the land. When a person says, "We are helping them, we did it so they can have the same rights as us and if we pull out now everything will fall apart! What about the women and children that are abused and treated terribly? What about that!?"

I feel the sympathy. I really wish that we could help everyone and bring justice to all those that have wronged others. This is unrealistic (kinda like my stance on gun control : ). In 1910 women did something extraordinary in this country. They went from being housewives and mothers and standing behind their men to demanding the right to be heard, demanding equality! It took a while but by god we got it done... with a few snags along the way. And nothing is ever perfect, especially when it comes to bringing about social change. The point of this is that people... individuals, will eventually band together for a common cause because they can no longer take it! Like women's suffrage, Apartheid, The Civil Rights Movement, and countless other internal battles. This is how people bring about change. Who came to our rescue when we were changing our social structure? I can't think of ANY specific country that sent MILITARY into our country to bring about social change... These are internal battles, of which each country must have on their own. All we can do is be a good example. People helping people is always a good thing if the help is wanted... but the Government does not help people, it pushes people. And as long as people are forced to do something the more angry they will get. Americans should know this all too well. The Government should be there to protect our rights and civil liberties, not put yet another heavy weight on our shoulders. Constantly having to watch your back and hope you're not doing anything wrong.

What makes me super annoyed is when I am driving down the road and I pass a cop. I could LITERALLY be doing everything right (or so I thought) and still be worried I am going to get pulled over ESPECIALLY in California lol. That just sucks. It really does. And they can pull you over for pretty much anything... You could have a decal on your back window, or stop too quickly, go too slow! It is just crazy! I don't know, hopefully I made my point! Thanks for reading and please do leave so comments!!

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