The New Politcal Spectrum.

Everyone in the world who reads these blogs have probably heard of the World’s Smallest Political Quiz (Link), and the Political Compass. (Link). Politics in four dimensions. Usually the political role, and then a moral or an economic one.

Now I like this. It makes sense for the times that we face and what is going on in the world, having all of these various political philosophies out there.

For the times it works and makes sense because politics and Government affects a lot of areas of our life.

But I think ultimately, this is wrong. This is the wrong way to look at politics and the political spectrum.

Politics and Government should not be this all-encompassing all-powerful all intrusive part of our lives.

It needs to be small, concise, and contained. We need to shrink politics back into its proper box in the cover. Even though I agree that the conversation the political conversation can be had on many aspects of our lives, we need to shrink it.

In fact the only question, the ONLY question, that needs to be asked is what role will the Government have on any given issue? That is the only question.

What is ones position on the size of Government on any given issue?

To this end the two poles are on one end you have Libertarianism, small Government, and stat-ism, large Government. And any position would grow the Government or shrink the Government.

Where on any position, any position at all, you have three possible options.

One that will grow the Government greater than it currently is, one that shrinks the Government, or one that maintains the role of Government or does not change it that much.

So for me on every single issue I am either for maintaining the Government role and spending, or reducing it…sometimes drastically. There is no issue where I favor increasing the Government.

This would make American Progressive-ism, Conservatism, and Liberalism moral philosophies. They are philosophies of what the Government must be morally obligated to do, in large part, especially the big Government tendencies in all those ideologies.

Which is also why American Liberalism, and Conservatism, are chock full of Libertarian philosophy and both of them do have their small Government tendencies within the movements. People who are for Small Government who consider themselves a Liberal or a Conservative.

Which is why that many Reaganites, Regan Conservatives, and many of my friends who are Conservative and consider themselves Conservative do have strong Libertarian tendencies and do have strong Libertarian streaks in them. They have a strong desire for a much smaller, much more Constitutional Government.

Not to mention the people who I watch and admire.

In fact it is easy to be Libertarian in today’s climate, it is easy to want smaller Government.

When our Government is so big, so out of control, so fiscally irresponsible for whatever their reasons are, done so by both ‘Conservative’ and ‘Liberal’ Governments it is easy to be Libertarian, or at the very least to lean in that direction. Libertarianesque.

It is easy to find yourself cast out and refugees. And many Libertarians do not like this.

They do not want people to be a part of their ideology unless you are lock stock and barrel and arm step with them and their Libertarian party.

Right.

When it is easy to have a Libertarian ideology and easy to want to shrink our Government.

Which brings us to Anarchy. Anarchy is not part of the normal political process.

Anyone can call themselves an Anarchist who is just against the current Government.

They may like their own Government, they may like no Government at all, but they do not want a Government so they cannot be apart of the conversation.

And they are apart of all ideologies because they will be Anarchist to bring about the societal changes that they want to.

My Ideology.

OK, I think it is time for a bit of an update on something. Specifically my ideology, political, moral, and religious.

I think it is time for an update because, despite my speaking eloquently on this subject time and time again, and debating the issues, there seem to be a lot of people who have no idea where I stand on anything and continue to make up opinions about who I am.

Secondly, its been about a year since I have ‘outed’ myself as a full-blown Libertarian. And as with any major change, as with any major declaration, you learn a lot in your first year or so. You grow into it, or you reject it and say,I am not one of these people. And I have been doing a lot of growing the last year when it comes to spirituality. Or politics. And a lot of learning about who I am, and exactly which people I am not.

I think I have been always pretty libertarian, but now I know what that means.

So…I am a Libertarian politically, conservative moral, non denominational God Follower, constitutionalist, but I do not like orthodoxy when it comes to religion or politics.

Primarily though I am a Libertarian. I guide myself by the ideals and the belief in the supremacy of the individual, that we can succeed, or fail, and stand on our own. And my belief in the smaller the Government that we can get, the better it is, and the more we can grow and help each other on our own.

But I am not orthodox in anything that I do. My thinking is grounded in the Constitution, in fiscal responsibility, and in my own view of the universe and how best to bring about a positive Libertarian change.

I arrive at this ideology through very much my own lens. I try to figure things out at a day-to-day basis. I talk to people, I go out there and learn from people and then information and articles. And then I reach my conclusions, and change if I am wrong and always try to forge forward and dare I say it…progress.

Which is why I do not like orthodoxy so much, and which is why I rub a lot of my fellow Libertarians the wrong way.

Because I am not going to let any party, group, or individual, tell me who or what I am. Tell me what I believe, and tell me that I should be this to be in your club.

I have had this conversation before with one of my friends. That I am not a Libertarian, a big L libertarian, I am a small l Libertarian. Because I am not a member of the Libertarian Party, or really agree with them on party line all the time.

Now first off, I disagree, ideology first, party second.

I will not let a party, a church, or anyone else tell me what I believe, I will go out there and find the one the label that matches me the most. And I am very Libertarian. I do believe in small Government and much smaller Government then we have now.

That I have core principles that are my own, if they match X then I am X. If not, well then I will have to take my business somewhere else.

Libertarian Pop Culture (A List.)

I wanted to do the first actual real life non BOW blog with this idea…before getting back to the grind of politics and philosophy.

I want to create a list of Libertarian ‘pop culture.’ Shows, movies, TV, Books, songs, that can have potential Libertarian themes in them…or that Libertarians can learn a great deal from.

Now this is by far not a complete list, and in fact the plan is to update it with a new blog each and every year that this blog can be up and running and posting to update it with new suggestions. Suggestions from friends and commentators on all the places that this blog is.

I will try to get to them, can’t make any promises, but I will recommend and pass along the thought.

So without further delay, the list:

Movies: Harry Potter Series, Lord of the Rings Series, Robin Hood (Crowe Version).

TV: Babylon 5,

Books 1632 Series, Lord of the Rings Series, Harry Potter Series, Tom Clancy Series,

Songs None at this time.

Though you know…this blog has never just been a ‘political’ blog.

It has been a blog about everything that I can comment on. Politics, Philosophy, Religion, Pop culture…and there is going to be more of that in the new year.

As I have said…I think this year is going to be rough for us. But it is a year not just for politics.

It will be for that to, and I will be talking about that too. But in the upcoming days and months will be more discussion on philosophy, and in a place that I have rarely ventured…religion.

That is what the immediate future holds.

That and… more politics of course.

Glenn Beck Vs. WikiLeaks

Ah yes this keeps on growing and growing until now I am writing two blogs about it…though this is a little late.

Something has occurred to me in thinking about this case though, naturally several things actually…but this is a study in tactics of two groups. Of tactics and the modes of thoughts in two groups.

This is a study in ones personal responsibility to the truth and to information, about getting information, how you get the information out, and what you do with that information when you get it out there.

It is literally about the knowledge of power, and having people using it for good, or for evil.

We have a case of two very divergent tactics, two seemingly opposite sets of political ideologies, in the case of Glenn Beck and Julian Assange. But I think the differences here are striking, and can help us determine who Julian Assange is and what his intentions are.

We have one man, constantly trying to expose the facts of the case, give his opinion, and then encourage people to take responsibility, prepare, get this information out there, and to be the highest people you can be.

Then we have another just giving out information…and says he is doing it to bring down Governments and for Anarchist tactics. Worse the people around him are actively trying to bring down our system of Government.

We have one man who does not have all the information, who does not have all of the facts, who is not really in the Big Government circle, but can draw conclusions from the facts and statements and information that he does have and still encourage people to be ready and continue to find information…properly.

Then we have another man who is getting information by any means necessary, including through hacking and obtaining information from hackers. Who has a seeming disregard what this information might do as long as people know the truth…which is not bad but I would like to see some responsibility.

We have one man’s group of fans and followers and political activists who, for the most part, do not commit criminal actions, are not really into the whole revolution just a restoration, and who are trying to prepare. And even if someone commits acts of terrible violence or crime in his name, he opposes it, rejects it, and condemns it strongly.

Then we have another man, whose followers and people who are aligned with him..again for the most part there are people who are legitimately protesting his treatment…who are hacking and then trying to shut down any website or group that opposes the man that they are trying to support. And yet I have not heard a peep condemning these possibly illegal, but definitely stupid and dangerous tactics…that serve no one.

Julian Assange: He is either a hero, a villain, a devil, a saint, a terrorist, a messenger, a danger, a threat, a man who is trying to expose Government, or an anarchist.

I do not know what he is.

But its interesting that he is either a free market Libertarian that just wants to see transparency, (story).

Or he is a person who is engaging in Anarchist tactics and trying to hunt for the scalps of people and bring down the establishment using WikiLeaks. (Story).

It is tough to pigeonhole him, tough for me to find out and divine his intentions. It is tough for me, and it is tough for him to do that either. By his own admission in the Forbes article.

But it is so tough to judge him. And I have come up with two possible scenarios.

Based on the people around him and he has surrounded himself by, and aligned himself with I have come up with two possibilities.

He is either part of this agenda, to help end the United States Government and Governments around the world and collapse them for whatever reason into a Global Structure. He is complicate with that agenda or whatever his agenda and those of his allies are.

Or he is being used.

You see, I get complained at for being a fan of Glenn Beck an awful lot. Oh he is an opinion maker! Oh that is dangerous and you should make your own opinions on the facts! Oh he is using and manipulating the facts to serve his own agenda! Fine fine, if you believe it, good for you.

But what this comes down to is what I like to call weatherman Journalism, where its a balmy 78 out and we have a low pressure system moving in…versus Context Journalism…opinion Journalism. People who try to connect the dots and do the best to give us much-needed context.

Because you see if Julian Assange was being used, if he was being manipulated and the facts that he is exposing were being twisted by those who have a different agenda then his then he has a personal responsibility to expose it.

You see he has a personal responsibility to go out there and to encourage people not only what the information was, that the Government is screwing us….uh…watch Beck sometime…but also what to do with that information.

To go out, get the information out there, take your protest out on the streets and peacefully try to get the information out there. To vote at the ballot box and try to get the people out of there that are dangerous to liberty and to the free people everywhere.

That he would encourage people to find legal recourses to bring about a change of Government.

Because if he and his information that has been released was being manipulated and used to cause tension and to collapse the system then he has a responsibility and a duty to fight those people.

It’s what I would do if someone was using this blog as a motivation for violence and revolution, I would be pissed and I would and do condemn those people.

If he is complicate and his agenda is in alignment with all these people…the bad people who have an agenda to collapse the US Government…then he is a threat.

A threat to liberty and our way of life.

Not one we have to deal with legally, not one where we have to create new laws that will crush our liberty, but one we can still oppose and counter and condemn him and learn the proper principles.

We can still learn from him, but lets not become him or support him. If he is a threat.

And on a final note, its interesting to me. Beck does everything he can to advocate peace, and brotherhood, and to be our best selves, and he is accused of starting a violent revolution and to be dangerous. Meanwhile Julian Assange uses words like ‘Anarchist tactics’ and ‘taking people’s scalps’, and he is called a hero by many of the same people who are against Glenn Beck.

Interesting.

You know Something is Wrong When your Enemies Act Like Your Friends.

Something has occurred to me that is something that is a bit amusing.

You know there is something rotten in Denmark when your friends are acting like the people who you would call an enemy.

I suppose the real reason for the blog is to warn people, all people. Its to warn the Republicans to not have a short memory and look at people, and its to warn Democrats and say, look at Obama, he is doing the exact same things you used to roast Bush on a spit for!

This idea goes into Obama is creating more Libertarians than anything. Is creating more people who look at the situation and knows there is something that is deeply wrong.

That his actions are causing people to run from his party, and its causing people in the Republican Party, former anyways, to look at and say, wait a second…wasn’t this what George Bush did? Isn’t this what the last Government did?

That’s not to say they both did everything exactly similar, and the political arena is a very complicated and far-reaching one.

But what this is saying is look at the record. Look at what they have done over the last ten years alone.

Both Parties have increased health care, and entitlements, both parties have increased the size of Government and Government spending, both parties have fought two separate wars…but at the same time not really, wasting American time, effort, lives, and money, both parties have bailed out Big Business and redistributed the wealth.

Both parties have failed to address the various crisis that was gathering in our financial systems and failed to take proper action in preparing the American people or fixing it. Both Parties have failed to enact proper welfare, health-care, Social Security, and other much-needed reforms in our country. Both parties have failed to grow freedom. And Both parties constantly blame the other party for the problem while promising to ride in and save us all.

I was having a conversation with one of my Facebook friends, a friend that has an important pulse on the Libertarian movement, even though I am one he provides a much different perspective. But the debate was about how Democrats should look at Obama and flee.

My basic point was that they wouldn’t, because they would just say, well we were wrong about Obama, he does not match us, or is not as strong, or what have you.

Then I had a debate on Youtube…first youtube debate that I believe I have mentioned.. with someone and I laid out the actions that Obama does that have just continued from where the Bush administration left off.

Oh you are crazy what are you talking about, after all its the big business Republicans and they are giving money to the rich and stuff… which is in some ways a lot of hooey.

But why should this be?

Why aren’t people running from Obama screaming in absolute panic. Both parties have done pretty much the same thing. Variations on the theme, sometimes they have done good.

But it’s still been a glacial like movement growing Government.

In the upcoming elections we have to look at these people, skeptically. Sure they might prove to be good in the end or start moving us the other way.

But we must make a stand on principle and learn to look at these people as individuals and separate ourselves if they no longer match our ethics.

We must not be swept up in being against the other guy, but being for something, for building a freer, better America where the individuals can do their thing for the future.

Lessons Learned from O’Donnell’s Election.

Wow it has been a while since O’Donnell has won the primary and she roused the establishment out of their sleep and into a war of epic.

Well I guess this is the Blog of the week.

O’Donnell, she is the latest interesting political candidate that has come out of what has been a very long and….interesting…political election season. As she has come out of nowhere only days before the election and I go, oh ok, so who are you?

Candidates like Scott Brown (no I have not forgotten you), or Rand Paul, candidates galore.

Over the course of the last week though, mostly in the days immediately after the election, several important lessons and thoughts banged around in my head just waiting for a regurgitation onto a page.

You see I like her. Out of the things that I have heard, and read on her, I like her. She does seem to be a good candidate for her state and right now, if the election were today, I would vote for her.

And perhaps the principle lesson here is that the tea party is trying to do some good and is uprooting Establishment Republicans and putting in smaller Government people. Eight to date.

Despite this though she has done a few things that has caused me concern.

Now this is based on things that I have heard and read and listened to on her and about her, so I am not a personal expert on her or her character.

My two main concerns have to do with her actions, and the reaction to her candidacy by certain people.

Apparently in the past she has gone several years without paying her taxes, and she has called herself a college graduate over several years of not actually being a graduate because she did not complete all of her classes and she had outstanding debts.

(Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christine_O%27Donnell)

You see even though I do not know of her personal life story and how these events unfolded they still leave me concerned.

The principle reason for this is has she learned? Has she grown and is she now following the law?

Because we, as a movement, complain when any Big Government progressive fails to pay their taxes or even has any debts, we make fun of them.

And rightfully so. Even though the law is ridiculous, moronic and evil, it is still the law.

So again has she learned? Has she grown? Has she moved past this?

And this question needs to…needs to…be asked of any other Republican right now.

Republicans like JD Hayworth, Sarah Palin, or John Boehner. If they have supported big Government Big Money, Big Spending programs like TARP, Cap and Trade, and No Child Left Behind and expanding Government control of health care.

And heck this can go for Tim Pawlenty, Mitt Romney, and John McCain.

Have they learned? Are they now willing to follow the Constitution and some semblance of the Will of the People? Are they willing to be for small Government, and for Liberty?

The other thing that has occurred to me is that we cannot get into a battle of the ‘Establishment’ versus the Small Government / Libertarian/ Tea Party/ Freedom Lover, ethos. We cannot allow ourselves to be drawn into this paradigm.

True this is where the battle is, but we cannot allow ourselves to be drawn into pure groups.

Here we are trying to break ourselves away from the Democrat and the Republican paradigm and we are so hell-bent into replacing it with this?

What I mean is that we cannot take everything that an ‘establishment’ person says as Gospel and we cannot go to any Tea Party Candidate can do no wrong.

Clearly they can, they both can.

You see Karl Rove, I think he is wrong about several of the things he has said. He was very unfair to O’Donnell and was mostly an idiot, which takes away from his little credibility.

But he did bring up several good points. He has concerns and he has opinions of her candidacy.

I do not think that any of this is crippling, but it is still something that concerns him.

And yet he is the devil for coming out against her. And she? While she can do no wrong and there is apparently absolutely nothing to be concerned about.

We cannot be drawn into this, no one is above scrutiny. This is my advice and my warning.

In this issue and with her candidacy we have to deal with them as individuals. Deal with her, not that she is a Tea Party member, or a Republican, but deal with her. What she has done, and what she will try to do.

And deal with Karl Rove and his issues and positions.

True he is a part of the ‘Establishment’ and was a key member of a very Progressive administration.

But we have to deal with him individually.

Disagree with him, agree with him. But we need this is what we need to do.

On a final note bits on her religion have come up where she will be unelectable because of her theology.

That she is against masturbation and created a group that tried to spread that specific message.

The key issue for me,and any Libertarian…where I think a lot of Libertarians get stuck when people strongly talk about social issues and have strong opinions on them…but the key is what will you do about it.

She said though, that she will follow the Constitution as her guiding star for her positions. That she will follow it rather than her own personal opinions.

(Source: http://www.theblaze.com/stories/tea-party-pick-odonnell-addresses-conservatives/)

Now at first I was like…yeah yeah, that’s not much…all politicians say that, right before twisting the knife.

But then I thought: No they don’t.

We have politicians that mock it, laugh at it, say it does not guide their decisions.

Did you know that Constitution day was last week? I did…but even then I did not ‘celebrate’ I did not do anything. And I did not see one single major conversation about the Constitution or the Founders outside of perhaps Facebook.

Here we are, in a day and age when we hardly talk about the Constitution. Not pillow talk, not between teenagers at lunch counters, we barely think about it. Here she is using it in determining political positions. Or at least she will say so.

Bravo.

Elections are Stop Gaps.

It be interesting the coincudinks of the universe sometimes. On the night I mention this, Beck ruins this with something. But I still think the point needs to be made.

I do not know if anyone has ever noticed (maybe it is just insane me) but the Elections are gradually getting more and more important since 2004. The stakes are getting higher and higher and the consequences are getting much greater from year to year and election to election.

But I think, well as for me, we need to divorce ourselves from the system, and our expectations. And I have been doing this myself lately in leading up to the blog, though not because of the blog.

Elections are just stop gaps now, that is all, that is it.

Sure the best we can hope for is we will elect a super hyper majority of doom and rejuvenation and can say hallalleu of Republicans and Libertarians and heal the nation and than we can go back to real concerns like sex, sports, and food.

But that just ain’t realistic gang.

What is the most realistic outcome is this will buy us time.

Because we can always count on the Republicans, various Republicans…must plug that now…, to just continue to grow the Government and to ruin our lives.

But for whatever reason, this is the hope, that the Republicans are still for much smaller Government then your ‘typical’ Democrat. And they grow it much more slowly then that of the Democrats.

So again this is to partially buy us time.

Because some of them will be for big Government, and some of the people we have coming in will be enthralled and mind controlled by the power elite.

The John McCain’s and Trent Lott types of the world.

Yes my friends…you are getting very sleepy.

What we need though is time.

I mean have you noticed Obama? We must get Health Care done, now, we must get our taxes in, now, we need immigration reform, now, we must fundamentally transform America…tomorrow.

Because he knows he is on the clock. Part of this is because he does not trust the Republicans, even though many of them will be for the same things he is for, and the same things just different and in their own unique way.

And no, I am sorry, I do not see a mass swelling of Libertarians instantly healing the sick and wounded and rising the body politic of this nation out of the grave.

So, what we need is time.

Whether it is a Libertarian, whether it is a Republican, whether it is an Independent or a Conservative, or even a “true” Democrat, not the progressives who have hijacked that party, we need time. And yes there really are progressives in all parties but not in as great a number.

Time to heal the nations own wounds ourselves and reform ourselves and our nation back to the way it should be.

Elections are not the key.

We are.

From the ground up.

In time elections will follow, in time elections will come, in time elections will again be effective and meaningful…I mean they are now.

But in time our Government will follow because our culture will follow.

And then we will not need this Big Government to do these things.

Remember, we get the Government we deserve.

Fight For Things, Not Against Them.

A while back I read a comment in the Libertarian Facebook group where a person basically said ‘I call myself a Libertarian because I would rather, and it is easier, to be for Liberty then to call myself an Anarchist which is against Government.’

Now this did not get me thinking at the time but in thinking about this blog, I realized that it is all apart of a point.

A little later a quote had suddenly shot into my head, it was for one of my Novel projects, but it was about two types of people.

Now for a pseudo sort-of good guy but maybe not a nice dude with a really dark background, the quote in question makes sense. But for the purpose of a blog trying to make a point, oh well I do not want to get into trouble now do I? *shivers*

But I still realized, with the basic point raised in the initial statement in the blog, that you can still make the blog work. Just take out any generalizations and just roll with it.

It is better to fight for something, then to fight against it.

And oh have I realized how I have been trying to live my life this way.

You see fighting against something is a path to hate and anger. You are fighting against the forces of X or the group of Y.

You are fighting against a specific thing and that unites you.

But its sort of meaningless.

Like the Whig Party of old. They were against Andrew Jackson.

Sure they may have had their platforms, their ideals, and their principles. But the one unifying feature of the party was a want to fight against Jackson, that was the only thing holding them together. And oh I probably would have been one.

But no wonder the party did not last long. This is just a microcosim of the point actually. In this case once the enemy vanished, they quickly dissolved.

Which of course leads us to today, and to me.

I am not the enemy of anyone. Heck I do not want to hate, I do not want to exclude someone from my circle because they are of one ideology or another, I do not want to be against anyone and fight against them, I want to be friends with all and judge you based on your own personal character.

Heck I have even had an…uh…crushes on liberals. Well probably more than one.

It does not matter to me.

People make a big deal about a defensive war, about just waiting around and waiting for your enemy to act. And in life and death wars that can be a point, sometimes to prevent being nuked you want to strike first. (oh I wish I could blog about that.)

But the point is for liberty, and standing on principle that is exactly what you must do.

Because you often do not have to act to defend your Government, your principles, and your freedoms until after they try and take them.

After all I would not be ‘woken up’ if they did not try to take our rights, if the last two administrations were not messing with us so much, if we did not need to get the Government off of our backs in so many cases, then this blog probably would not exist and I could watch me some Doctor Who and worry about my date. (I find as I edit this that is exactly what I am doing.)

I would not want to, have the desire to be, a radio host, or be a political writer or write novels with such political and social points about our times in Galaxies far far away.

At the best I would be a Conservative and at the worse I would have been a progressive to get along. I would most certainly not be a Libertarian.

And I would not care so much, or be so concerned about others and my liberal…uh…crushes.

If they did not come after us. After all I hold sacred and dear.

Even the founders said it, Thomas Jefferson himself said this about the second amendment.

“The beauty of the second amendment is that it will not be needed until they try to take it.”

It is better to know where you stand, to know what you stand for.

What principles and morals, what documents and foundations, your sense of honor and sticking to your guns in the best of your ability. To know where you stand, for your God, your Government, your Liberties.

To know where the line is so that they must never cross it.

Because fighting for something, whether it is a woman, a country, or an ideology is a statement of love. Because that is so sacred for it that you are willing to live, to die for, that you are willing to sacrifice your life, your time, your wealth, your what ever in its defense.

And if you are fighting against something that is a statement of hate about it. Whether it is a woman, a country, or a political ideology. That you hate it enough where you want to tear it down, transform it, control it, and then enforce your will on others.

I mean we see it all the time even in our movies and throughout human history.

You have people fighting against the dirty huns, the ragheads, but is it not better that you are fighting for something?

For freedom, to set other people’s lives free and give them a better life.

I do think restoring this principle is one of the most important of them.

After all in the quote above we are the defendersof our own freedom when Governments and people get out of control.

We are not the attackers, we are not the enforcers we are the people who needs to say, ‘hold on, time out, what? What do you want to do to me?’.

And it is one of the fundamental ways when you can tell if someone is a friend of liberty and principle and morality, and if someone is hateful and mistrustful of groups and people.

That is one of the most fundamental ways to tell the good, from the bad.

The Essence of Tyranny.

It has come to me while I have been thinking about various blogs that and things that were coming up and I came to the conclusion before I did my next blog I needed to do this one.

I have been pondering about Government, about the role of Government, and what role that they play. But mainly about the disconnect.

There is a big disconnect between Liberals and Conservatives, Socialists and Libertarians, yadda yadda versus oh my gosh.

The disconnect seems to be over precisely what the definition of Tyranny is.

Liberals and Progressives, those more on the left, are of the political opinion that the Government can do things for you. Can be there for you, can provide things for you and stuff and provide you with a living and to be there in case you should fail, or to actually benefit you.

Libertarians generally think that Government cannot do this for you, or at least should not.

It all comes down to a definition of tyranny and just what we think is a big intrusive Government.

Most people think of Tyranny in terms of red hatted, black booted pistol wielding tyrants.

They think of tyranny in terms of people being thrown into gas chambers, held without trial, or have dogs and fire hoses being turned on them. They think of tyranny in mass graves and firing squads directed because you are a political prisoner, or a different religion, sex, creed, or orientation.

But what it comes down to the Libertarian, and many Conservatives is what political philosophers have said from our founders all the way up to the modern-day.

From Ronald Regan:

“When Government Expands, Liberty Contracts.”

“The Nine Most Dangerous words in the English Language are I am from the Government and I am here to help.”

To Thomas Jefferson:

‎”I predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them. “

A wise and frugal government, which shall leave men free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned – this is the sum of good government. “

“A government big enough to give you everything you want, is strong enough to take everything you have.”

To Ben Franklin:

“Those who would give up Essential Liberty to purchase a little Temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety.”

To John Adams:

“A Constitution of Government once changed from Freedom, can never be restored. Liberty, once lost, is lost forever.”

And I am sure I can find many thousands of others.

That is the essence of tyranny. That is the essence of a radical Government. That is the essence of slavery.

It has occurred to me over and over again something about Government.

Imagine if Jesus, or Gandhi, or Martin Luther King, or God, or John Sheridan ;), was in charge of our Government.

Someone who knows exactly how much everyone needs, that can fairly ‘give’ one persons things to another so it is all fair and balances.

Someone who is Godlike, who is so angelic that they can do anything correctly.

But they are human. They will decay, and in our Government systems force people out eventually.

The quote by Jefferson is the key. The key to all of this.

You see what will happen if someone else gets all that power? A Hitler a Mao or a Stalin? A Government that is big enough to do anything for you, can do anything to you.

I mean the difference is between someone like Jesus, and someone like Hitler. If Jesus did it, it would not be tyranny, Hitler, can use it for any purpose that he wants to put it to.

People see the obvious signs and pictures of Tyranny. The dogs and the gas chambers.

But they do not see the hidden things. The encroachments of our rights on page 432 of a bill. After all we are getting free education! Free health care!

We are being provided for.

In that situation you cannot provide for yourself. You have traded your freedom for your own personal security.

The Doctor, the most Libertarian Figure Ever?

A little while ago I made this blog.

It was a blog about what, I felt, was the five most Libertarian figures in pop culture, some what recent pop culture.  Then in another blog that I read somewhere else (Sorry blogster I forgot about where I found your article *blush*) made a similar claim.

Well it got me thinking, and I think I can expand and add my own unique insight.

The pure simple fact of the matter is that the Doctor is a hero, a lonely lone hero.

But it’s how he goes about doing his heroic deeds that may point to him being a Libertarian in nature.

He is constantly going against Governments, bureaucracies, committees, and groups.  He was often in defiance of his entire people, and he was a loner.  Nor does he wait for any of the above to help him out, or make his decisions for him.  He does it by himself, helping out.

And then encouraging others to be better than they are, often succeeding, often causing them to do great things with their lives.

He is battling taxes, battling Government conspiracies and conspiracies of group, and often being critical of anyone who is out there.  Anyone who he feels needs it.

But he is a constant crusader for the rights of people, for the rights, the dignity, and the respect of life.

He is not trying to take permanent power for himself.  He is not trying to be a ruler or a God-King or a nanny.

He comes in, in a specific situation, offers a helping hand.  And then leaves.  Lets the populace clean up after themselves, let them grow and learn on their own.

And then he is often not there to hand hold, often nudging and setting up a situation and a circumstance, and then he watches the human, or the group as they try to make better lives for themselves and solve the problem at hand.  But always being there in the end, if he is needed.

And then he has a respect for all life, sometimes rising up out of his biases, and some of his perceptions and then doing his best to help there.  He does not care who you are, or what you have done, he always tries and gives you a second chance.

Being an individual, no Government, sometimes judgmental, sometimes a pain in the ass, but he does not ask for praise or power, and he never stays.

This may not make him a Libertarian, or a Libertarian role model, but he is a hell of a role model.