Why libertarianism?
Why not believe in something more popular?
The days leading up to getting my driver's license back in the dark ages...(before seat belts were required, kiddies!) were some of the longest of my life. After years of relying on the kindness of strangers and family members to get from Point A to Point B, I was finally going to be able to rely on myself!
Its true that the anticipation is often better than the event; but few things were better than getting my license, climbing into that piece of crap '74 Comet, and being able to come and go as I damned well pleased. No more waiting on Mom or Dad or Aunt Julia...no more hoping that someone else was on time. If I was late for baseball or football practice, it was MY fault, not someone else's.
This feeling of freedom was so intense that I reflect back on it when people ask me about my Conservative/Libertarian views. I remember well the helpless feeling of waiting on someone else to determine my punctuality---of having someone else responsible for my freedom of mobility. I remember that feeling and don't want to revisit it
It is that feeling I wish to avoid if/when a doctor has to perform a major procedure on me some day. I don't want to experience that feeling of helplessness again when/if a stranger breaks into my home. I want no part of that "victim" mentality anytime someone in Washington makes a major ruling that ultimately impacts my ability to have a say in my destiny.
I am reflexively distrustful of any entity that can impact my liberty...especially when that entity is (for the most part) unaccountable. My default setting is to give them no more authority than is absolutely necessary.
The money I earn belongs to ME and not the government. I can decide how to spend my money far better than can people who have never met me and have no idea of what my needs may be. I cannot believe that ideals like this get so little traction in the national consciousness. I REALLY cannot believe that ideals like this get attacked by some. — Chuck Vipperman, 2019
The best thing about my libertarian philosophies is that they require nothing that would impact your individual freedom. If you want to help the poor, I will not stop you from working overtime and donating your last penny to the charity of your choice. If you want to help someone who cannot afford health insurance, I will not stop you from buying it for them, or raising money to do so. If you want start a commune where everyone can work for the mutual benefit of everyone else, my philosophies will not prevent you from doing so. Unfortunately, I would not have comparable options under the regime that a Statist would favor.
One of Thomas Sowell’s greatest quotes ponders the stupidity of putting important decisions in the hands of people who pay no price for being wrong. That is a natural requirement of political philosophies that de-emphasize the individual at the expense of the collective. If I’m going to be damned, I want it to be for something *I* did or did not do. If things go poorly for me, I want to be able to look in the mirror to find the primary source of blame.
“If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude better than the animating contest of freedom, go home from us in peace. We ask not your counsels or arms. Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you...” ― Samuel Adams
