Date: Sun, 29 Oct 2000 04:19:34 -0000
From: auvenj@mailcity.com ("Jason Auvenshine")
Subject: [lpaz-discuss] Re: Fw: Veterans Who Might be Interested in the Libertarian Party
To: lpaz-discuss@egroups.com
Reply-To: lpaz-discuss@egroups.com
--- In lpaz-discuss@egroups.com, "C. D. Tavares" <Tavares@a...> wrote:
> > Barry Hess and Peter Schmerl announcing with pride their
induction into the
> > LP ranks of a literal army of aggrieved government benefit-
seekers.
>
> Oh, I dunno. I'd love to be there after the great defection, the
first
> time one of the usual whiners goes on about what the gubmint ought
to do
> for him, and somebody Libertarian tells him he hasn't any idea what
freedom
> means. :-)
Certainly most of the vets have no idea of what freedom really
means. Most of the public certainly doesn't. The real question is,
are we going to try to teach them, make them feel welcome, and have
patience? Or are we just going to drive them away because they
haven't yet learned?
Ten years ago I registered Libertarian. At the time I supported the
War on Drugs, the minimum wage, public schools, and restrictions on
immigration. But Peter Schmerl said that it was OK to disagree on
those things, and the LP was a slightly better fit for the views I
did hold than any of the other parties.
Five years ago, I was still supporting the War on Drugs and public
schools.
Two years ago, I supported the entire LP platform, with some
exceptions such as public funding of education (I supported the
voucher idea at that time).
Somewhere along the way (I don't remember quite when) I joined the
national LP and signed the pledge, mostly thinking it just meant I
wasn't going to go blow up a building.
Last year (thanks to many on this list) I came to have a much better
understanding of the non-aggression principle, and a different view
of Mr. Schmerl and the group I had heretofore associated with.
But if ten years ago someone had gotten in my face, pronounced that I
had no idea of what freedom really meant, and made me feel unwelcome
because of it I venture to speculate I wouldn't be a Libertarian at
all today. I wouldn't be running a no-compromise Libertarian
campaign. I wouldn't be in a televised forum telling people we need
to get government out of the education business, eliminate the income
tax, and shut down the out of control state agencies. I'd probably
have ended up as a typical statist Republican.
NOTE: I didn't stick around for ten years because anyone hid the
fact that Libertarians were in favor of drug legalization, open
borders, no minimum wage, and an end to public schools. I knew those
positions going in. I stuck around because I was told it was OK to
disagree with those positions and still be a Libertarian.
So let's not compromise on principle with the new folks Barry is
bringing in, but let's not be rude and make them feel unwelcome just
because they haven't understood and accepted our principles yet.
Despite Peter's faults, there is something to be learned from his
approach.
--Jason Auvenshine
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