Friday, July 7, 2006

Parties, Politics, and Persuasion

"You guys will never win an election."

Someone told me this in response to my declaration that I was a libertarian. I had to laugh a bit because I could really give a shit about winning an election or getting people like myself into public office.

There are two basic reasons for my peculiar stance. First of all, the Republican Party and the Libertarian Party have consistently sold out on any principles they may have had. The fact is that just about any libertarian candidate that did win would do so on a lot of compromise and then compromise even further to remain in office. This is the nature of politics.

Secondly, I see it as hypocritical to force a libertarian agenda. You don't make people free at the point of the gun. They must choose to be free.

The bottom line is that I see voting as a waste of time. It really doesn't matter who gets elected because democracy works. Those representatives will do exactly as they are told no matter what principles they profess. If they don't, they are out of office. This is why both Democrats and Republicans often resemble each other in practice.

So, what is a libertarian to do? My strategy is the only rational one and that is to educate the public at large. Like it or not, an enlightened government will only spring from an enlightened society. This may seem daunting considering how stupid the population is, but this is the same public that overthrew slavery and Prohibition and went against McCarthy's witch hunt.

To me, the libertarian mission is an educational mission. The true power of the movement is not in parties but in think tanks like Cato or the Mises Institute, thinkers, journalists like John Stossel, and popular culture such as South Park. In addition, libertarians often share common ground with liberals and conservatives on various issues. We are not the mainstream, but we aren't on the margins either.

I have no real interest in political power or movements such as the Free State Project which is essentially the same as trying to achieve freedom through force. I think the best thing I can do (along with any other libertarian) is to present my ideas in whatever forum is available and hope they catch on. This means writing entries in this blog, writing letters to the editor on specific issues, and telling people about my beliefs. It worked for Thomas Paine.

I also need to stress that freedom is a relative thing. America has greater freedom than North Korea. About the only thing a libertarian can do in NK is get the fuck out. In the absence of libertopia, I'll take the next best thing. Right now, the USA is it.

The fact is that it doesn't matter if you win an election or not. All politicians are beholden to their constituents including the President. Hell, even the emperors of Rome had to appease the horde. From this, we see that power is at best a momentary illusion. In addition, ignorance cannot last forever. Flawed governments will fail, and they do so out of logical necessity. The only difference is how long it will take.

So, what keeps someone like me going? It is the knowledge that I am right. They could pass a law tomorrow repealing the law of gravity, but it doesn't change shit. I can't unlearn what I know to be true. Reality always wins. Also, this fidelity to truth has already made a huge improvement in my life even if no one else buys into it. While everyone else lives in fear, paranoia, and guilt, I go on my merry way seeing the bullshit for what it really is. This is freedom even if it isn't complete freedom.

I admit that I probably will never see many of my ideas come to pass. But being a libertarian is essential to my sense of humor. Life may be a joke, but I can laugh at the joke.

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