"The trouble with fighting for human freedom is that one spends most of ones time defending scoundrels. For it is against scoundrels that oppressive laws are first aimed, and oppression must be stopped at the beginning if it is to be stopped at all."
-H.L. Mencken
This quote hits at the heart of one of the issues with being libertarian. I don't know how often espousing a posiiton that is obviously in favor of liberty is met with scorn, disgust or amazement. Defending the rights of felons, the "mentally ill," Nazi's, racists, or Westboro Baptist church protestors isn't something that's popular. This is especially true when talking to liberals. Espouse certain views that aren't even Big L libertarian and you may as well have said you drown puppies in your bathtub in your spare time.
If I truly value freedom I can't throw everyone else under the bus to save my own neck, no matter how despicable those people may be. I've realized more and more as I've gotten older (don't laugh...) that this is a minority viewpoint. What should be a simple, obvious concept in defense of liberty makes me the "crazy uncle."
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4 comments:
I think most people don't want liberty. They just want someone else to pay the bills and are willing to give up whatever it takes to make that happen.
The left makes it all ok by telling them they're entitled to it.
That's a hard meme to fight.
Power: If it can be abused, it will be abused. I don't want whatever law of the week they are passing to come back and bite me in twenty years.
Alan: I think it is closer to:
Most people don't want liberty, they want to have their own version of liberty, which usually entails everyone else being just like themselves.
Indeed... the problem for me is less defending the jackasses how are enjoying and employing the same rights I do, but rather dealing with the jackasses^2 who see that and immediately jump to, "Oh, you support those jackasses, huh!?"
*headdesk* And, sadly, our side is far from immune to this deficiency...
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