A New Direction: Liberty Remains

Despite my previous blog about no longer being a Libertarian, I still feel that Libertarians should have a strong voice in government. I still support Ron and Rand Paul for their efforts at ending wars, disassembling certain government agencies, promoting personal liberty and privacy, and reform in general. We need these voices to be heard and we need these discussions to happen, and no other party seems to give a shit.

Note: Anything with [brackets] around it can be replaced by multiple things. Your imagination can probably sort that out, but feel free to ask if you’re uncertain.

The Primary Libertarian Cause

For me, Libertarianism is attractive because of this basic (perhaps overly simplified) cause that they all seem to have: “Hey government, mind your own business“. The government should never intervene in anyone’s lives unless they are a danger to someone else or interfering with another person’s rights.

When people want to take away the freedoms of others, they generally speak about how dangerous [X] is when placed in the wrong hands. They use this for guns, abortion, drugs, knives, immigration, cigarettes, non-pasteurized dairy products, and anything else they want to take away from you. It is a bullshit argument that has continuously worked for decades, centuries, and perhaps all of political history. In the wrong hands, ANYTHING is dangerous. You can be killed with a pillow. A child can choke on anything it can fit in its mouth. Driving to work is the most dangerous thing most people will ever do.

Taxation

No one enjoys paying taxes, but they are half of the inevitable parts of life. I have no problem with the taxation of voluntary things, like sales tax. I hate income, property, and estate taxes. My general policy in these things is: If I can’t work, eat, and have shelter without taxes, something is wrong. If I can’t give money to my family without taxes when I die, something is wrong.

I have a separate point of view on taxes that is not Libertarian. It is sort of a compromise. If I was able to tell them what I want my taxes to go toward on my W-4, I wouldn’t mind it as much. If I could be guaranteed that my money wasn’t being stolen from me so that we could kill brown people or torture people, losing that 1/3 of my check wouldn’t sting so much. If I could be sure that it went toward education, healthcare, and domestic infrastructure, I’d be less opposed to it.

Guns

Guns (and nearly anything else for that matter) are only dangerous in the hands of criminals and crazy people. Don’t punish the sane and innocent with the intent to keep them safe. If it is a crime to own [a gun], only criminals will have [guns]. In the hands of a law-abiding and responsible citizen, a gun is only a threat to criminals and [deer]. If you want to say that even responsible people have accidents that could cost lives, I hope you like walking to work because a car has far more dangerous potential to have an accident with than a gun.

The reason why our Constitution explicitly says that we should all have guns is to ensure that our own government cannot oppress us. We do not live in some great “enlightened” age where violence is beneath us. If the police came to your house and tried to search through your private property without a warrant, Thomas Jefferson would tell you to shoot the assholes. If we finally get tired of the corporate slavery our corrupt government has put us into, and it becomes time for us to overthrow them, we should be just as armed as them. That was the intention of the 2nd Amendment, and it will never go out of style as long as greed and corruption lie in the hearts of politicians.

Privacy & Transparency

Our 4th Amendment has been taken away piece by piece since 9/11. We can’t fly without giving the TSA 3D naked pictures of ourselves or getting dry humped by one of their cronies. We have to wait longer and spend more money for a passport if we want to leave the country. Police can steal our property and enter our homes without a warrant. We need to put our government back in its place. They are not in charge of us; we are in charge of them.

In fact, WE should be the ones allowed to search all of THEIR houses and offices. Executive privilege is bullshit. Nothing should be a secret from the public outside of extremely specific military intelligence during a time of declared war (not the undeclared wars we’re having lately). We should know everything inside Dick Cheney’s giant safe. We should be able to see every photo (Ex: Bin Laden Death photos), video (Ex: leaked video of helicopter gunner killing innocent civilians), and report coming out of every warzone. We should never be okay with secrets being held from us. If my boss asked me what I was doing, and I told him I couldn’t tell him for his own safety, I’d get fired.

Right now, we are playing a game of poker with the government. They have forced us to show them our cards, but they never have to reveal their own. We just have to take their word for it when they claim to have royal flushes every time.

The War On Drugs

The War on Drugs needs to end as quickly as possible. It is a disgusting festering boil on our government. A bed of extreme corruption that has grown into the most horrific violence and human rights atrocities facing our country, our continent, and — in many ways — the entire world, as we are the ones who set the example for many developing nations.

There are so many ways that the War on Drugs is exploited to the benefit of those in power. Everyone benefits from it except for the average citizen… the 99%… us. Pharmaceutical and Healthcare companies benefit by selling legal products that perform the same functions as “illicit” drugs and function as government-protected monopolies. Weapons manufacturers benefit from outfitting all of our various drug task forces with extremely sophisticated and expensive equipment. Privatized Prisons make billions on non-violent offenders being crammed into their facilities at an accelerated rate and turning them into the equivalent of slave labor.

Finally, there is a hugely absurd idea that social conservatives have that goes something like, “if we legalize _____, then EVERYONE will do it!” In the case of some things, like Crystal Meth for example, anyone who would do that is already doing it. You can make the stuff in your basement with household products. People who want to do self-destructive things are going to find a way. I’ve never heard of anyone saying “Man, I really want to do heroine, but I can’t because it’s illegal”. Anyone who wants to pay a stranger for sex will do it. They’ll lose self-respect and contract whatever diseases they expose themselves to. Prostitution being legal won’t change me into someone who wants that.

Just because YOU don’t like something, doesn’t mean that it should be illegal for everyone. There is nothing in this world that cannot be abused by people with poor decision-making or sub-par brain function.

Military-Industrial Complex

Our country makes more money at war than at peace. This has been the case for several wars now, and some people even use it as a valid reason for taking military action. The only reason this is true, is because we have set things up that way. Military contractors and weapons manufacturers have hundreds of lobbyists that spend their time convincing our officials to go pick a fight. Every time we get into a fight, it is against a weaker and weaker opponent (we’ve spent ten years chasing a bunch of crazies that live in caves in 3rd world countries), and yet our military budgets get higher every year.

Separation of Church and State

Religion can make an individual a better person. It can drive people away from abuse, reduce depression, and get them through tough times. It has a terrible effect on people, however. A large group of people (a city for example) can make some terrible decisions when they are guided only by faith. This viewpoint has nothing to do with the real reason why we should never allow these two things to combine.

We live in a religiously diverse country. This is a great thing. Most people here are Christian, but even that isn’t very specific. There are Christians that think gay marriage is a good thing. There are Christians that think that using a condom will send you to Hell. There are Christians that thought the end of the world would come a few weeks ago. There are Christians that protest at soldiers’ funerals. There are thousands of differences in the beliefs of people just within ONE religion. Add to that the enormous melting pot of beliefs the rest of the country has, and we will never agree on anything. Passing laws based on any religious viewpoint is discrimination against everyone outside of that faith. It is unjust, unfair, and unconstitutional. Your faith is allowed to guide your morals. Your morals are allowed to guide your vote. But our leaders should keep religion as far from their minds as possible when making laws.

Immigration

Forcing every American to carry identification is wrong. Our country was built on the backs of immigrants, and it continues to benefit from the psuedo-slavery our government causes with its purposely inefficient naturalization policies. “Amnesty” presumes that people coming here are committing a crime. They aren’t. They are just moving. America should not be a gated community with the high fences, security guards, and conspicuous lack of minorities. The Home Owners Association should not rule over it with an iron fist. “Illegal immigration” is an idiotic phrase in any country where the Statue of Liberty stands.

Screw Israel

We never should have involved ourselves with the Israeli conflict. We never should have chosen a side. We shouldn’t continue to support these people who are just as bad as their enemies. Both of which are fighting over magic dirt and rocks.

We shouldn’t be involving ourselves in ANY foreign rivalries. We should not be policing the world. American embassies are sitting in 179 countries. We have military bases all over the world. No other country has military bases on our soil. We need to seriously cut back on our military, and stop imposing our will on other people. Our Department of Defense has been spending too much time and money playing Offense.

Diversity Is Key

This article speaks loudly about all the ways I agree with Libertarians, but don’t forget all of the ways I disagree with them. The fact of the matter is, just like any established religion, no one should fully devote themselves to any party. Everyone should have their own opinions and voice them accordingly. A party is a label used to game our current election system and nothing else. It is something people in power invented to trick us into making it easier for the same corrupt politicians to stay in office.

Being conservative or liberal about everything is just plain stupid in reality. It leads you into idiotic arguments if you commit to a specific stance on everything. Liberals could be pushed into an argument where they have to legalize marijuana for its medical uses or keep abortion legal because of rape victims. The only argument they should need is: Mind your own business! Conservatives can get pressed into arguments where they need to justify upholding the 2nd Amendment by talking about hunting and self defense. Once again, the response should be: Mind your own business!

Associating yourself with a party also opens you up to assumptions. Should I assume that everyone who voted for McCain/Palin are Pro-Life, Pro-War, Pro-Gun, Racist, Religiously Intolerant, and Anti-Environment? Should I assume that everyone who voted for Obama/Biden are Pro-Choice, Pro-Gay Marriage, Pro-Universal Healthcare, Anti-Gun, Anti-Religion in Schools, and Anti-Rich? Of course not! But then why do we compromise ourselves and vote for these people?

I’ve never minced words when it comes to Democrats, Republicans, and our disgusting two party system. The way that elections work today has completely deformed our sociology. We need electoral reform today. We need to trust modern technology. Only it can allow the transparency that we should have regarding elections and fraud if we build it correctly. Anyone who suggests that online voting is non-secure and easily manipulated needs to justify to me what makes them think our current system (a bunch of unknown politically-minded volunteers managing and counting votes) is so secure.

Instead of electing representatives by geography, we should be electing them by demographic. I believe the Senate should stay intact, as an equal representation of each state, but Congress should be reformed to be a national election. About 30% of the national population consider themselves “Independent” voters. There are currently ZERO Independent members of Congress and only 2 in the Senate. I would prefer that Congress would represent people by their ideas and philosophies rather than water down the results with districts and electoral colleges. The House should be a place of diverse ideas, not a constant chess game/circle jerk between two parties with outdated ideas and questionable motivations.

You know. Real change.

Finally, we need to take away incentives for being a representative. It was always meant to be a thankless, difficult job and it should go back to that. Every elected representative of government should have a fixed salary of the average per capita income of the previous year. Anonymous campaign contributions should be outlawed and all campaign contributions should be public knowledge. We need to crack down hard on corruption and conflicts of interest within our government instead of cracking down on average kids that want to smoke pot and listen to music before they decide to buy it or not. Not people who do 40 in a 35MPH zone. Not people who don’t want to pollute our world with another child (Abortion is Green).