Libertarianism

The problem with the libertarian movement, is conditions must be right for them/it to exist. By and large, those conditions are gone in this country.

Our founders warned that our constitution is fit only for a moral and religious people. It's wholly unsuited for any other.. It's not coincidence that as we've abandoned the traditional Judeo-Christian values (though not necessarily the religion itself), they've Been replaced with a different god, the omniscient state.. Which ironically, most people agree is needed and necessary.

The government grew from leaving you alone in the Times of the founders, to the behemoth it's become today. A few examples are; controlling who can become a hairstylist or nail salon tech, who is/isn't allowed to dig in their own back yard and where, what things you may teach your children, what cable tv/pharmacology/healthcare/cell phone choices you have, who gets/is required to have a parking sticker, who gets mandatory paid leave for childcare, as well as non academic related considerations for entry into colleges using metrics such as race or zip code, which businesses are allowed/regulated and where are they allowed, what type of light bulb/water heater/ac unit you are allowed to have..

Being libertarian today is looked upon as being cold and indifferent to human suffering. The idea that one's community/religious institution/social club should not only contribute but be the primary vehicle for the care of each other is radical in a day when we are sold a promise that the state can swiftly come to provide aid.. This is so much easier, sounds super effective, and what's more, requires nothing from anyone other than a mantra such as, "I pay my taxes so they can go help those ppl out". Of course not only is it a fraud, in many cases the government picks who can and can't be aided by inhibiting private party civilian rescuers, e.g. the "Cajun navy" or Puerto Rico.

Beyond this, the "left and right" sides of being "libertarian" thing..??. Well I occasionally turn on Free talk live for background noise when I'm stuck doing mindless computational entry, and recently I heard a guest host claim they were libertarian but absolutely believed the state should tax people more in order to hand out more money to those who had less.. I was outraged.. Endorsing that some government entity has the right to take what is mine and give it to someone they deemed worthy based on an arbitrary metric is garbage.. That guy might be many things, but libertarian is not one of them. I'm generally convinced that most left wing policies and ideologies, which may sound humane, kind, and warranted are generally antithetical to the ideas of liberty, human agency, as well as small L libertarianism. Right wing policies can encroach on freedoms as well, but left wing policies generally operate from the premise that the state is this wise Oracle, dispassionate, fair and indiscriminate. That the common good and the collective interest outweighs individual rights or concerns, especially since those opposed to such are just bad actors, unconcerned with the welfare of the others, interested only in themselves..

I love my country, but at some point you have to realize the U.S. was great not because of the things it did, although it did great things. It was great because of the underlying values behind the people. Those values drove them to do great things, not the other way around.

We had thousands of men take up arms, sometimes against their neighbors or their own families to liberate groups of people from tyranny in the past. Now we have groups of people take up arms against statues that serve to remind us that evil lies in the heart of every man, because some of those statues are tributes to that evil.

We used to tar and feather those who told us we couldn't say things or that we didn't have the right to be heard, now we clamour and lobby the watchers to shut down voices that are offensive, that say things we don't like, to move those voices into "speech zones", away from those who might see or hear, not just on campus mind you, have you tried to hold up a sign near a congressperson, especially of certain political persuasions, you can very easily become a felon, and legislating things such as net neutrality... Only good can come from the state further regulating the communication superhighway..

As well, at one point young men ran out of boats knowing they were about to die to storm the beaches of an evil regime, they did it anyway. Today, one storms the beaches by hashtagging your strong belief in climate change or lambasting those who might be skeptical, and feeling good about yourself by putting your plastic in a blue bin so that it gets shipped to some third world shithole to get dumped into their waterways..

No, I don't think the conditions are even remotely conducive for libertarians and the ideas of liberty. In fact, I think it's rather the opposite.. Our country and people are increasingly Balkanized, and probably why we need more havens such as the free state project in New Hampshire. The government accelerates this balkanization.. I mean, what insane govt doesn't even require a common language for it's citizen services, it's no wonder people don't care about the country they live in any longer, there is no common thread among us, not even language..

In the absence of these conditions, society and the people look for explanations for the maladies in life from an incorrect place.. And not only do they seek explanations from the state, they seek Its remedies.. It's why the further socialist we go, the more certain freedoms must and do get curtailed, such as the first and second amendment. For old timers, it's horrifying. For a newer generation, it's a feature, not a bug..