Liberty Point
Posted in Liberty Points by R Lee Wrights on November 30th, 2006 by Brian Irving
“Of course the game is rigged.
Don’t let that stop you - if you don’t play, you can’t win.”
- Robert Heinlein
Libertarians are very passionate people. We’re often called weirdoes (we have our share) and fanatics, a characterization we embrace with pride, believing “extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice.”
As with most “revolutionary” movements, libertarians have formulated some basic tenets or wisdom we, more or less, accept without question: Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Politicians lie. Government doesn’t work. There’s no such thing as a free lunch. Taxation is theft.
Unfortunately, as with all too many revolutionary movements, this devotion, dedication and adherence to our tenets sometimes ignores reality.
“President Bush will have his war. He has made it clear that nothing will satisfy him short of Iraqi blood. Not even complying with his every whim and fancy will stop the war machine that is warming up all over the Middle East. It is sacrilege to say it is in the name of peace. It is blasphemy to kill innocent people and have innocent people do your killing for you, all the while proclaiming to the world you are doing it in the blessed name of Peace.”
We have a two-party system. Fans of this system say it gives us the benefits of an antagonistic system without the relentless coalition-building that often seems to force foreign nations (with stronger minor parties) into crisis when conditions change. Opponents say that it denies third parties a significant voice in the government of their nation.
Getting sick is high on my list of life’s biggest hassles these days! Excuse me if I am sounding like an “old fogie” when I reminisce about the “good old days;” but, I can’t help thinking back on my childhood (in the 50’s and the 60’s) when my mom and dad would call our family doctor who lived in the neighborhood.
Having gone on at considerable length about the Republican Party and its War on America, we now reach the momentary denouement: The Republicans have lost. 
A few weeks ago in an article titled, “Conscription, Standing Armies, and Love of Country” I wrote that the Federal Government had outlawed the state militia’s mentioned in the 2nd Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. This was incorrect. 
During my eight years in the libertarian movement I have observed that in many libertarian circles there is a debate not only on whether it is legitimate to vote, but also what is the most effective method needed to bring our ideas to the forefront.
There is a fundamental difference between statists and non-statists, one which goes beyond the acceptance of the NAP (non-agression principle) (or ZAP (zero-agression principle) if you prefer).
In last week’s column, I referred to myself as a libertarian, which I defined as “nicepeoplespeak for a ‘guy who doesn’t like government.’” After that article published, I got a letter from a guy named Mike.
I don’t know that there was anybody who knew much of anything about politics who didn’t expect Republicans to get spanked on November 7.
