Posted on 07/30/2002 6:46:04 PM PDT by RANDomScout
In this, my last scheduled contribution to Editors Links, I want to say a few nice words about libertarians a much-maligned, funny, quarrelsome lot of people who were kind enough to foot my bills this summer.
One of the great things about laissez-faire types is that theyre not in power and truth be told they have no desire to be. This is seen by some as a bad thing; a sign that libertarians arent serious people. But the approach is not without its benefits.
Right- and left-wingers are tethered to partisan political movements or political parties, which can be a weights of albatross-like proportions. Advancing a partys propaganda and interests often contorts and warps reality all out of recognizable proportion. For instance, a recent Washington Monthly review of right-wing bomb thrower Ann Coulters new book Slander relayed her claim that for about twenty years now, all new ideas have bubbled up from the right wing. The incredulous reviewer asked All new ideas? All? Air Jordans? The Macarena? Pizza Hut's Stuffed-Crust Pizza?
Across the aisle are odious pundits like Joe Conason who, in his Salon blog today credited big government with saving the Pennsylvania coal miners, reminded readers that Ted Bundy was a young Republican (only one step removed from Ralph Reed), and compared the Bush administrations attempts to have hiring and firing flexibility in the newly created Department of Homeland Security to the anti-union obsession[s] of totalitarian regimes and their imitators. He justified this last charge by explaining I am not making this up that if Ann Coulter could be nasty then so could he.
Libertarians are sometimes damned as purists, but at least they arent as predictable or as boring as their sniping counterparts on the right and left. Theyre also and I say this from experience a whole lot more fun. They lack the anti-corporate nervous tics of progressives (Oh, I couldnt order Dominos. Do you have any idea what kind of causes they finance?!) and the woe is us moralistic hang-ups of conservatives (There was sex on TV last night! Were doomed.).
A startlingly diverse group, the only common ground that all libertarians share is a desire to live in a society in which people are truly free of wars, of petty government regulations, of a creeping Puritanism that holds suspect any fun activity. That might be a pipe dream, but it's one Ive come to share.
Jeremy Lott is Reason's 2002 Burton C. Gray Memorial intern.
The STATE is designed to balance and define authorities among different jurisdictions and the central government is bound to the restrictions of a constitution. Can you show me exactly where in the constitution heroin use, procreating with your sister or sodomy buddies, killing your unborn baby is a guaranteed right? I have every right to elect a state, county or city legislature that can regulate certain behaviors, and that right is guaranteed to me by the 10th amendment. So if you want to have your porno store next to the high school in my town you better get the rest of your depraved buddies to elect the representatives that will help you out, otherwise move somewhere else.
You Liberaltarian wackos that think the only immorality is that which causes individual harm are selfish and irrelevant, matters of public interest shall be determined by the legislature, get over it. Spoiled brats that think you can do what ever you want, when ever you want, should go live in your hut in Montana and be a society of one, otherwise be prepared to live with the common sense rules of a community.
Of course not, the second amendment grants me that right, I simply did what I had to do not to go to jail.
Not really, many children 8-9 and up possess the minimum mental capacity for consent needed to be an emancipated individual, usually 70-75 IQ depending on the state. The only real reason they cant consent is arbitrary law. The physical development question is irrelevant, there are plenty of adults who can be over-powered by children.
beastiality People really do this?
Yep! What about their rights? What about the rights of incestuals? You Liberaltarians that protect one perversion over another are hypocrites.
I think it's some sort of Fruedian freedom envy.
I have NEVER seen any L/libertarian advocate any of these acts. In fact, L/libertarians almost never discuss these acts except in the context of criminal acts for actions violating consent or for acts involving consenting (human) adults in private.
You and those like you seem to have these vile and disgusting acts on the tip of your tongue at a moment's notice.
L/libertarians promote individual liberty, freedom, and responsibility.
Anti-libertarians discuss necrophilia, pedophilia, beastiality, and all kinds of assorted abominations.
Jesus said that you can tell what lies in a man's heart by what comes out of his mouth, or keyboard in today's vernacular. It is truly revealing to see the vile and disgusting things that are ingrained into your heart.
Wrong answer. The Creator has endowed us with our rights. The 2nd Amendment merely declares that right to be off limits to the government. It will still exist even if Congress or the SCOTUS 'outlawed' it tomorrow. Of course, that would be their last official act.
And if you believe that you have to jump through any hoops at all to exercise your rights, then you are really lost.
Laisezz-faire, between consenting adults or in activities that harm no one else, YES. But what you fail to realize or choose to ignore is the obtrusive nature that enforcement requires. Maybe I am doing something that you do not approve of and is 'against the law'. But to find ME in my bedroom, you have to look in a lot of bedrooms. That is what we oppose. Just because we do not want a particular activity outlawed, does not mean that we approve of, or engage in that activity ourselves. So no, the 'broad brush' is not valid.
"If you don't like being painted with this broad brush, I would suggest that you reexamine your priorities and either change your affiliation or work to change the Party Platform."
I am a registered, card carrying member of the GOP. I do sometimes feel dirty when I admit it, though. I am a small 'l' libertarian and am trying to help clean up the GOP from within.
You mention that you are no longer with the GOP. Do you mind telling us to which party you do belong?
I don't either. On the one hand, we (both BIG L and small l) are insignificant and can't garner even 1% of the vote. Then, on the other hand, we are responsible for every failure of mankind and our entire political system even though "WE" have never been in charge of anything. But they want it both ways, don't they?
I resent the the control freaks no matter which end of the political spectrum they find themselves.
Do you have any idea what you're talking about? If you do, please explain.
You got that right ....
Precisely. Your post has been recognized as a feeble attempt on your part to usurp JR's authority as founder of this forum to support your own agenda. IMHO, JR's authority on this forum is not an issue open to debate. His authority is absolute, and rightly so. This is his forum and he has the absolute right and authority to moderate content of forum discussion in any manner he sees fit. If he should awake tomorrow and decide he wants to change and limit the mission of FreeRepublic to the care and maintenance of saltwater aquaria and exotic fish, it is his right to do so. (I doubt that he'd do such a thing, and it'd make an awful lot of FReepers extremely unhappy, but I don't question his right to do so if he chooses.)
This is illustrative of the "narcissistic irresponsibility" I referred to earlier. Libertarians typically lack the self-restraint to respectfully concede to our host the authority that is rightly his. Furthermore, his opinions ARE NOT YOURS to be cavalierly brandished as a magic potion to ward off political criticism of libertarian philosophy. JR is not shy in expressing his own opinion as he sees fit. You should respect his right to do so rather than attempting to employ his authority as your own.
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