Today is a special day for us here at McFloogle. Today marks the one year anniversary of our first blog post. It’s been a great year and we hope to have many more years here.
Now you’re probably all very shocked that I’m not writing about the most important stories of the past few days…a certain someone doing a certain dance at a certain event or a different certain someone getting a certain part in a certain film. I know, I know, these are both very important stories that have great impact on our very existence. It’s so much the case that I fully support the nonstop media coverage of such events.
Instead, I’m going to celebrate the anniversary with a rant. It’s my party, and I’ll cry if I want, cry if I want to, cry if I want to.
I am becoming absolutely sick of the people who take such moral offense to my views as a lover of liberty. My views of non-aggression and allowing people to live freely are literally met with anger and disgust. Why is that? What is so offensive with the belief that people should be able to live without being coerced?
Meanwhile, statements like “Edward Snowden should be shot in the face” (I’ve heard those words come out of someone’s mouth) received responses of “Yeah, what a jerk. He deserves whatever is coming to him.” I’m sure I’d turn more heads in a room if I stated “Taxation is theft.”
Does this make any sense?
I completely understand those who disagree with my beliefs. That’s fine, let’s debate. But do not act as though my view that taxation is wrong is one that threatens the very fabrics that hold society together. Tell me why I’m not correct about it.
The comfort with someone advocating for murder that people tend to have only shows how sick our society has become. We’ve become conditioned to not only deal with, but to accept (sometimes as good) systemic violence. War is hell they say, but we need to support whatever war the leaders drag us into.
Changing directions, I’d like to point out something about the recent murder of Christopher Lane, the college baseball player from Australia who was randomly shot because three kids were bored that day. I don’t want to exploit this situation for my own goals, but I cannot let this go without bringing something up.
If I had a dollar for every time I heard “How would a libertarian society prevent…,” I’d be able to retire by the time I’m 30. Usually they’re fantastic constructions whose chances of actually happening are one in a billion. But they need to be answered in a completely satisfactory manner in the view of the individual asking the question. If anything isn’t perfect with the response, they trash the whole ideas of libertarianism and voluntarism.
And of course, the question of how would random murders be prevented is asked? As expected, when the answer is that they can’t be, the libertarian gets scoffed at. So in a society with strict government control in our lives, why doesn’t the government get a big fat F for allowing a random murder to happen on its watch?
I needed this off my chest. Things can get pretty frustrating when you try to open a mind that’s been bombarded with statism for its entire existence. While it’s easy to get mad and easy to lose your temper, it’s important to remember to be patient and think of ways to smoothly get people questioning their views on liberty and government.
Re: defending libertarianism against absurd scenarios: Yes! It’s exasperating being discredited this way. I so feel you!
Re: rage against liberty: Of course they’re rageful – the detractors benefit from the sick culture of fascism at the expense of the rights of others. Did you ever hear of a slave-owner having a civil discussion with an abolitionist in the 1800s? Of course not – acknowledging that there is a moral higher ground exposes that their lifestyle is illegitimate! They don’t want that! Why do you think, for instance, that so many politicians have denounced Snowden so hatefully? It’s not enough to say “I disagree with Snowden’s actions” – that would imply that the very principle they have hijacked in order to secure their power is worth defending, which is not in their favor! With few exceptions, I consider detractors of liberty to be showing that they are morally evil, and I regard them accordingly.
Another thought: In “The Ethics of Emergencies” within “The Virtue of Selfishness”, Ayn Rand speaks about a very similar issue:
~~ The psychological results of altruism may be observed in the fact that a great many people approach the subject of ethics by asking such questions as:
“Should one risk one’s life to help a man who is: a) drowning, b) trapped in a fire, c) stepping in front of a speeding truck, d) hanging by his fingernails over an abyss?”
Consider the implications of that approach. If a man accepts the ethics of altruism, he suffers the following consequences (in proportion to the degree of his acceptance):
1. Lack of self-esteem—since his first concern in the realm of values is not how to live his life, but how to sacrifice it.
2. Lack of respect for others—since he regards mankind as a herd of doomed beggars crying for someone’s help.
3. A nightmare view of existence—since he believes that men are trapped in a “malevolent universe” where disasters are the constant and primary concern of their lives.
4. And, in fact, a lethargic indifference to ethics, a hopelessly cynical amorality—since his questions involve situations which he is not likely ever to encounter, which bear no relation to the actual problems of his own life and thus leave him to live without any moral principles whatever.” ~~
Tark I think you may be frustrated because you’re trying to sell libertarian ideology. My father in law makes cracks at democrats while holding republicans in esteem, as though they’re different somehow. As though John McCain is an ally, or GWB was a “good” president.
I don’t really ever defend libertarianism, mostly because I’m not one, but I do definitely use libertarian ideology to debunk current policies and ideology.
No system is perfect, shooting down other people’s ideas is pretty fun though. I think the only hope is to decentralize the federal government and deal with everything on a local level, but I only mention that randomly. Mostly I prefer to ask questions like Cheryl did the other day: “If the enemy wears a US flag, what do you do?”