Why am I a Libertarian?
Well according to everything we know about humans, most things are part nature and part nurture. The same goes for why I am a Libertarian. I've always been an independent mind, I've never really followed the hive mind of the crowds. I would say I was born a contrarian, but my parents only exacerbated this in me.
"How are you a contrarian?", you might ask. Well, I've always had a disdain for authority because I felt most of the time it was obtained through dishonest means or abused the powers given. This doesn't mean I've went and acted outside of the law or authority just to "stick it to the man", but I've always disagreed with how our world works because it seems very oppressive to individuals that aren't in the top 1%. I've also asked "Why is X a certain way?" about how the world works and when no one can honestly answer those questions, it always frustrated me. People have accepted nonsense being pushed upon them without even thinking for themselves. We need look no further than 2020 to realize that most people are absent of independent thought.
So, now that we understand how I'm a contrarian, how did I arrive at the conclusion that I'm a Libertarian? Well I didn't for a long time, I felt like I had no ideology to identify with. It was only after I discovered Libertarianism that I embraced it and decided that I would be a proponent for Liberty amongst a world of authoritarians. 2020 just proved that we need a more voluntary society that people want to opt into instead of being coerced and forced into behaving a certain way. The more I look around, the more I see people in positions of authority trying to force things upon the public, all the way down to the new addition of a stop sign on my street that I didn't agree to. It was just dictated upon me by the authority that is above me. There's also a ban on burning things in my own backyard of the property that I own during the summer months, which is just ridiculous. Authority should understand that, as Uncle Ben said in the Spider-Man comics, "with great power, comes great responsibility". That should not be taken as an endorsement for "responsibility" of enforcement, but an endorsement of being responsible for allowing people Liberty and freedom. I'm certain power tempts people to exercise it in this way.
So if I'm a contrarian by nature, how did nurture play a part in becoming a Libertarian for me? Well, I had a very strict upbringing with authoritarian parents. Many people get along with this just fine because their instinct is to submit to authority. I was, quite literally, "built different". I argued, especially when they exercised an insane form of cognitive dissonance with their rules. It was very much a "rules for thee, not for me" world. That's when I decided that all forms of authority are primarily self-serving by nature. I don't necessarily blame my parents for this. I think they were just a product of the same systems and fell into the trap of repeating their own upbringing. I plan on breaking this cycle.
My goal with Libertarianism is to allow people to go about their lives freely, work within a free market, and behave the way that they want in a free society. Some people want to argue that Liberty isn't sustainable since some people will be allowed to be terrible people in a free society. My argument would be that in a free society, if people agree that someone is a problem, they'll be dealt with accordingly. If someone is causing issues in the neighborhood, well then they'll either be kicked out of the neighborhood by the people or the situation will be dealt with by discussing things with them and working it out. Yes, a Libertarian society is going to have to have a high level of trust, but I think that most people are willing to opt into this level of trust to maintain their freedoms.
As it stands, our world is not free at all, and I want to be part of a movement that pushes us towards Liberty like our founding fathers once did. It's going to take a lot to convince the general public since they've been brainwashed that government always acts in their interests, but I'm willing to work towards it in any meaningful way that I can. If you want to learn more about Libertarianism, feel free to reach out to me on Twitter, dBuzz, or any other social platforms. I'm always willing to help give advice on Liberty to people.
