Are You a Libertarian?

Don't answer just yet.  First let me ask you a couple questions.  Do you often talk about how the government should do something?  Do you often talk about how people shouldn't be allowed to do something?  If so, you are definitely not a libertarian. You can stop reading now.

Libertarians believe in minimal government involvement, just enough to preserve people's rights. They also believe in maximum individual freedom except in the case in which an individual infringes on another's rights.  Here are some issues for comparison:

Gun Rights

• Democrats believe in very strict gun control or no guns at all.  States like California cannot have "assault weapons."  States like New Jersey can't even have hollow-point bullets.
• Republicans believe in limited gun control or no gun control.
• Libertarians believe in no gun control.

Government Spending

• Democrats believe in more government spending on things like welfare.
• Republicans believe in more government spending on things like the military and NSA.
• Libertarians believe in bare minimum government spending.

Taxes

• Democrats believe in taxing the poor less and the middle class and rich more.
• Republicans believe in taxing the rich less and the middle class and poor more.
• Libertarians believe taxes should be equal across the board or no taxes at all.

Gay Rights

• Democrats believe in gay rights because they should be free from oppression.
• Republicans believe that gays should not be allowed to marry because god finds it offensive.
• Libertarians wonder why this is even an issue because gays aren't hurting anyone.

Integrity

• Democrats and Republicans will change their political views from time to time depending on whether they feel change is beneficial or not. Notable examples are John Kerry and Mitt Romney.
• Libertarians are completely unwilling to admit they believe in something that they actually don't, usually to a fault.

Social Programs

• Democrats believe in creating more social programs.
• Republicans believe in fewer social programs.
• Libertarians believe in no social programs.

War on Drugs

• Democrats believe in the War on Drugs, most likely because it would look bad to voters if they didn't.
• Republicans believe in the War on Drugs because drugs are evil.
• Libertarians believe that although drugs are bad (mkay), it should be up to the individual whether they want to subject themselves to such substances.

Protection

• Democrats and Republicans like to tell you that the government will be able to protect you, whether we're talking about the military, NSA, or police.
• Libertarians believe that it's up to the individual to protect himself/herself.

In General

• Democrats are usually bleeding hearts.  They feel that the government should try to help whenever possible (eek!).  Their political views are generally driven by emotion.  They know what they believe and then seek evidence to support their position after the fact.
• Republicans are usually religious and elitist. They feel that the government should not tax the rich so much and somehow that will trickle down and everyone will benefit.  Their social views generally come out of the bible.
• Libertarians usually come off pretty cold as they feel that it's the individual's responsibility to improve their own situation. They do, however, support non-government volunteer work and philanthropy. Libertarians generally believe that society and the economy will take care of itself if you give it the opportunity.

These are just a few issues.  I've said it before and I'll say it again:  I don't believe in everything that the libertarian party does but my views are more closely aligned to theirs than any other party. I truly believe that most "moderates" in this country are actually libertarians and they just don't know it. Are you a libertarian?

Politics Are Not One Dimensional

Politics in this country are so over simplified that it makes me sick.  Either you are left wing or right wing.  It feels like more of a distraction than an actual explanation of political beliefs.  There are so many political ideologies that do not jive with the left/right spectrum and they are completely off the radar.  Libertarianism is one of the few that gets some time of day but it's rare enough that I guess Google Chrome doesn't consider it a word.

People (like myself) that consider themselves libertarian generally vote for one party or another because we have a winner-take-all voting system and we just don't like seeing our vote not count. That's just the nature of things.  The system we have promotes having only two parties in power and those two parties will not change the voting system because they know it may mean giving up power. The two party system is all we have ever known and people in this country see politics in a two sided (one dimensional) spectrum.  That's just not how political ideologies are categorized.

A quick google search will yield images like this:

This makes me want to vomit

I'm not really sure how a person can actually be willing to post something this ignorant. Maybe they take comfort in its over-simplicity. Thankfully there are also two dimensional charts that pop up from the same search. It gives me hope in humanity.

In actuality I don't 100% agree with any one of them but at least these people aren't one dimensional thinkers. If I'm feeling up to it, I'll make and post one of my own. Stay tuned folks.