Out of My Libertarian Mind

Radio talk show host recently said Libertarians were “out of their minds.”

I was amazed. This guy claims to be “The Militant Moderate” and opposed to traditional left-right, black-white dialogue. I would expect someone like that to be better clued-in about political philosophy than this fellow seems to be.

I started my politically-aware life as a liberal Democrat. The only good gun was one held by a policeman (NOT a soldier … unless sent to serve in a “police action”) and aimed at a criminal. Humanity was capable of destroying or saving the planet’s delicate biosphere. The United Nations was the salvation of mankind from his destructive nationalism. Humans were well able to manage their personal, moral affairs, but cannot be trusted with money and business. The federal (and global) government was the solution to all our ecological and economic problems. (Government was our “Great Mother.” Play nice and share!)

Later I migrated to the conservative Republican side of the aisle. The only good gun was one in the hands of anyone capable of using it against armed bad guys, criminal or military. The ecology was quite capable of taking care of itself. The United Nations was a spineless front organization for impoverished third-worlders to manipulate the Major Powers. People were wise enough and ingenious enough to come up with business ideas that enrich the world, but they tend to be morally bankrupt and need to be “policed” against lewd acts. The federal government was the solution to all our military and societal issues. (Government was our “Great Father.” Get a job!)

Like most people I “bought into” the dualistic concept of left-right, black-white, good-evil, us-them. I mood-swung from one to the other, but reality kept wanting to drag me back toward the center of the swing. I was never happy as a Democrat or as a Republican. There were too many areas of disagreement between my internal sense of justice and party excesses and extremes.

So, in case this talk show guy (I may recall his name, but won’t promote it here) blunders across this article and decides to discover what libertarianism is about, here is the contrasting place where I “live” now, politically.

The only good gun is one used lawfully and safely for sport, or for self defense … including keeping the government from having too much of an upper hand in case it decides to go malignant. The United Nations is a poor substitute for national diplomacy and statesmanship. Citizens can use local courts to bring economic pressure against polluters and maintain good stewardship of the environment. Humans have no business deciding the every day morality OR business of others as long as the others “stay in their own yard,” harming no one except, possibly, themselves. Informed and “empowered” individuals, working together for mutually-selfish (!) motives, are the salvation of society.

And the Creator endowed us all with sufficient parents, natural or adopted or “step” or mentors, so that we don’t need bloodless, yet bloody, institutions to raise, nurture, correct and protect us.

I don’t need a marble Momma or pillared Papa in Washington, D.C. I was raised right at home.

(This is my own, personal take on libertarianism. I am not speaking for the capitalized Libertarian Party. To find out what this estimable political body believes, visit lp.org.)