PM me then if you want to discuss. It wasn’t an implied insult nor a direct one; rather a direct recognition of reality.
Most Libertarians identify strongly with Thomas Jefferson. Unfortunately today, Thomas Jefferson could not get elected as the town dog catcher in even a heavily Republican district.
Republicans and Dems are both the party of Big Govt. They just differ on what the money should be spent on.
I like this thread.
I like its purpose.
I like the idea of getting out viewpoints in a matter of fact way.
I would prefer debating type discussion be brought up in another thread.
I am not the OP so my opinion is just that. I am curious of the direction this thread may go weather it will end up a list of well though out personal viewponts that can be read and actually provoke internal thought by viewers or turn into a spiral of crap because people are unwilling for others to have viewpoints that differ from there own without getting the last word.
I am not directing this at anyone just the nature of GD in general.
Jefferson’s ideals (what I’ve read of and about them) were mostly good, though not perfect. Really, it takes the sum total of the founding fathers to get the documents that founded this nation. They each contributed and each have my respect and admiration. I wouldn’t likely trade any one of them away.
I identify most closely with Libertarian, along the lines of what Belmont described in his first post.
Socially liberal, governmentally conservative (as in smallest government necessary to do the best job possible).
I deeply feel that it is not the role of the government to tell people how to live their lives. The government should not be restricting the rights of citizens any more than absolutely necessary to keep peace and provide a modicum of security. The government exists solely out of necessity to establish common laws, provide for defense, and an ordered way to solve grievances between citizens. Otherwise, it should get the hell out of the way and let people go about their lives with minimum intrusion.
That is the ideal, anyway.
+1 for not fitting into a box.
I’m a small “r” republican, in that I believe a republic is the best type of government man has concocted to date. Perfect? No. Just the current best. I too side with Jefferson on most things.
I love our constitution, and I swear allegiance to it. But I also think it has some terrible flaws. I hope I live to see day that these flaws are fixed. (For the curious: the flaws center around not being specific enough in some areas, and in the federal 3-branch structure)
Fiscally conservative, socially libertarian. I believe in limited government safety nets. (That’s actually one of the constitutional flaws I was speaking of). And I don’t believe the US should police the world, nor do I believe we should appease aggressors; military action only when American lives, freedoms or economic interests are attacked.
I’m more a libertarian. I don’t want the government diddling with anything. That means speech, religion, firearms, abortion, healthcare. Nothing. Let people work, pay for their own shit, and enforce laws that existed decades, if not centuries ago, and stop complicating legislature, pandering to the able bodied and minded indigent, and let capitalism do its thing.
Don’t forget marriage, why does the govt. and tax laws need to be involved in what two consenting adults do, contract law is all that is needed. Then we would have one less thing to buy votes with.
I understand and agree. I don’t really worry about marriage as it’s not something I would do in the conventional sense. I’m not religious, and I don’t want the legal contract hassle if/when it goes bad, so I don’t think about it much, but you’re 100% right!
Like many here, I lean Libertarian, though I do not fit perfectly into that category. I do believe that government plays a legitimate and important role in many affairs, as long as it does not tread on the Bill of Rights or intrude into our personal lives. I do NOT believe that government should dictate morals or religion, thus take a hands-off approach to most of today’s hot social isses (gay marriage, abortion, etc.).
But most of all, I detest the size and influence of the federal government it now plays in our lives, its incompetence at solving our dangerous fiscal problems, and the special considerations they - our servants - get that we do not. I believe “career politicans” carry much of the blame and therefore there should be term limits for all of them. A line item veto for a president to trim the pork would be great too.
I have traditonally voted Republican only because I believe they had the best chance of winning - the picking of the lesser evil. Going forward, I may just vote Libertarian as that party generally represents my views the best. Some say Obama is intentionally trying to destroy the Replublican party - if they do not get their act together, he might very well succeed.
If you live with her long enough contract law will get you, most states have some form of common law marriage.
Arkansas (I plan on moving to NW, AR) has never permitted common-law marriage.
I strongly encourage those who voted “libertarian” to read Reason daily.
and mises.org
Excellent links, both bookmarked. Thank you!
This pretty much sums up the way I think as well.
Two points:
Small, limited government is not Anarchy.
And, remember that all spending originates in the House, which has been in republican hands for 16 of the last 20 years. So don’t pretend that Obama alone is responsible for bankrupting us. Do not give republicans a free pass on stuff like the Debt and the NDAA, Patriot Act, etc.
Both parties are corrupt and full of wannabe totalitarians
I think you come off, sometimes, as being overly pro-state for a lot of our tastes. Free men can’t stand statists and authoritarians. You really want to catch bad guys, which is commendable. But safety and liberty are opposing ideas, and there are some powers and abilities that government cannot be allowed to use, to ensure a free republican society. “You” probably wouldn’t abuse such powers, but government as a whole, would. It’s in it’s nature to grow, expand, seek more power, etc. Absolute power corrupts, absolutely.
Authoritarians come in right and left flavors. Typically, yes, nanny-staters tend to be lefties. But the right has had it’s fair share of bad anti-liberty pro-state policies too. So it’s a freedom vs oppression scale, not a left vs right. Nearly zero government vs nearly total government
THANK YOU.
I am so fucking sick of people who think my desire to not be over regulated about every aspect of my life translates into a desire to run around naked with a chicken tied to my head as I rape and rob strangers for fun and profit.
I understand small government won’t work everywhere, especially densely populated urban areas but we don’t need a government to do everything on our behalf. We are capable of doing many things ourselves.
I guess this would describe me best!!