>From the Best of Don Sloan album, last tract, Don wrote:
> I guess in the end, I am just an old 60s hippy who still believes in
> "peace, love and do your own thing"... as long as you aren't interfering
> with someone else doing *their* thing. Although libertarianism may not
> be perfect, IMO all people would be better off if we leaned more in that
> direction. Democrats and Republicans... and Greens, the left and the
> right, believe in and employ the use of force... with the threat of
> imprisonment or even death... to make people obey their will. Sure, it's
> *cleaner* and less personal if you use the government as your agent of
> force simply because you are among the majority, but each *side* is
> willing to use that force when they cannot convince others to cooperate
> with them of their own free will. I believe using force except in self
> defense is evil and that is why I hold a libertarian philosophy.
>
I differ with the Libertarians on many things but it would be an
extraordinarily healthy thing for the two major parties to actually
dialogue with the Liberterians as they have raised some issues that need
toi be raised, and I respect that a great deal. No one party has all
truth, to say the least, and when a new political movement arises (this one
around 20 to 24 years now I think) it is because they have new insights
that the rest of us are missing.
At the last candidate forum I attended, my faithful Libertarian cohort
spoke out against the drug war, as usual, and said we should legalise the
street drugs. (Calm down, everyone...) Then a high school girl asked if
you legalise street drugs (to end the drug war, people have a right to
consume what they want), what about perscriprion drugs? Why keep that
under regulation and let other drugs be legal? An interesting question.
Percodan for everyone! Demoral for the masses! Birth control pills and
the new morning after drug for all who want it! And there we have the
problem of how libertarian we really want to be.
But still, we all benefit by dialoguing with others.
(the Rev) Vince
