As I write this - January 2020 - having the wrong political opinion can mean employers won't hire you and family members won't talk to you ... which is just plain sad. I'm sure some people would caution against me even writing this. I suppose, however, that I've reached the age where what other people think of me - my religion, my politics, my life choices - doesn't really matter that much. So, if I miss out on an opportunity because someone reads this ... well, I didn't want to collaborate with you anyway.
If you know anything about Objectivism or Ayn Rand, you've probably guessed I'm a Libertarian at heart. Rand said of government ... "The only proper purpose of a government is to protect man’s rights, which means: to protect him from physical violence. A proper government is only a policeman, acting as an agent of man’s self-defense, and, as such, may resort to force only against those who start the use of force. The only proper functions of a government are: the police, to protect you from criminals; the army, to protect you from foreign invaders; and the courts, to protect your property and contracts from breach or fraud by others, to settle disputes by rational rules, according to objective law."
Until 2016, I had voted Libertarian in every presidential election for my entire adult life. I scoffed at those who said I was wasting my vote, or who - despite their sincere Libertarian beliefs - voted for non-Libertarian candidates. I thought, it's not possible the country will ever do something truly stupid and elect a socialist or a communist ... so I figured I may as well vote for the candidate I really wanted. My streak of voting Libertarian ended in 2016 for several reasons:
If you know anything about Objectivism or Ayn Rand, you've probably guessed I'm a Libertarian at heart. Rand said of government ... "The only proper purpose of a government is to protect man’s rights, which means: to protect him from physical violence. A proper government is only a policeman, acting as an agent of man’s self-defense, and, as such, may resort to force only against those who start the use of force. The only proper functions of a government are: the police, to protect you from criminals; the army, to protect you from foreign invaders; and the courts, to protect your property and contracts from breach or fraud by others, to settle disputes by rational rules, according to objective law."
Until 2016, I had voted Libertarian in every presidential election for my entire adult life. I scoffed at those who said I was wasting my vote, or who - despite their sincere Libertarian beliefs - voted for non-Libertarian candidates. I thought, it's not possible the country will ever do something truly stupid and elect a socialist or a communist ... so I figured I may as well vote for the candidate I really wanted. My streak of voting Libertarian ended in 2016 for several reasons:
- The AMA getting passed made me realize the Democrat party was exhibiting dangerously socialistic tendencies.
- I want the first female president of the US to be a woman of whom we can ALL be proud... Hillary was not that woman.
- As a Libertarian, the thought of blowing up the current system - really shaking it to it's core - really appealed to me.