Liberty Animated

Liberty Anime

This award winning ten minute animated spot answers any questions you may have about Liberty.

Please review and feel free to comment here about your take on the flash anime.

No matter who is in charge of the country, it will never be right to steal. It will never be right to force others to live as you see fit. It will never be right to waste tax dollars on consenting adults.

Peace through Liberty,

Scott

Comments

Anonymous said…
I watched this a while ago when you sent the email. Interesting, but my belief is that Libertarianism works to the same way that communisim works. I beleive that they are both great in theory, but in practice it just doesn't end up working.

Jack
Scott said…
I disagree,

I do believe a good segment of both of these have been implemented, and in many cases have succeeded and in others, clearly failed.

Libertarianism was predominantly the basis of the 'American Way'. Liberty, respect for property and so on (With a few obvios exceptions). America was founded on the idea that people should be free to do as they choose with thier lives. Worship who you want, do as you choose with respect for others. This worked quite well for a few centuries.

Unless you were black or a woman, then it was either a living hell or a life of subservience (did I forget to mention the natives?).

But slavery is NOT libertarian, nor is keeping a woman from voting or owning land, nor is taking someone land and calling it your own. But these actions can not be said to be 'libertarian flaws' (Though most commonly, detractors point to the activities mentioned above and connecting them inextricably and hence claiming it as the failure of 'libertarianism' itself).

Now communism, though I disagree with its mandatory nature, also has a bad rap. But far more deservedly.

It, by it's very nature, calls for the violent removal of authority and the creation of centralized government; as in schools, banks, radio, news, power, etc..

Communist Russia and other countries, however, delt with opposition in an entirely different manner. Submit or die. Radical extremists get a bad rap, try living in a growing communist country.

Implementing communism claims more deaths in the last century than all other 'isms' combined (Yes, including Fascism).

The differences are actually pretty clear, Communism calls for the radical disposal of opponents. Libertarianism (Or it's most powerful attempt to date) was NOT being followed in the areas of slavery and the other issues mentioned.

But what does matter is that the entire industrial revolution* and other great advances in science and the economy happened, for the most part, in a free market and not in a controlled or even communist environment.

Two last thoughts,

A- In a libertarian society, you are free to be a communist and live 'communaly', in a communist society you are NOT free to live as a libertarian. That keeps me from endorsing communism by force. If people choose it, they have my blessing, but to claim it is the power over me, I disagree.

B- Since communism and libertariansim are great ideas that do not work, what do you suggest, does work?

Peace through liberty,

Scott


*I am willing to hear how awful things were for some during the industrial revolution. I am not laying a bed of roses over the corpeses of the past saying, gee, the bad stuff was not THAT bad. It was all bad when lives were abused.
Anonymous said…
I'm not suggesting something that works. I don't think that anyone has found it yet. I really like the public education system in this country. Maybe not the DOE.

So, what should we have taxes for in your idea of society? Police? Fire? Schools? Government officials?
Scott said…
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Scott said…
We need taxes for a lot of things. Including national defence, roads, to pay for our representatives, and do whatever things are laid out in the Consitution as the job of the government.

But education, and a lot of other things the government does, are not done right or efficiently. Most things they do they should not be doing at all.

I'm not some stark raving republican that wants corporate welfare and private schools for the right wing world and the rest be damned.

I am closer to an anarchist saying the federal system is wasteful and disconnected from the needs of our communiites, and instead of the large process we have now, I'd prefer something more local and interactive (And something that can be audited and adjusted, unlike the national standards 'Bush' has ordered).

I actually don't want to give the fed a blank check anymore. A am not satisfied with their performance. I would like to explore other methods of achieving a strong, educated community.

It should be natural to ask such questions as, Can we find a way to do education locally? Why does the federal govt provide about 6% of the nations educational funding, but one third of all
regulations? How can we allow so many to 'graduate' without functional skills to make it in the marketplace, much less the social skills the home schoolers are often criticized for loosing out on?

I'm not a memeber of a militia, nor some extreme sect of the religious right. I'm a regular guy who does not want my child to slip through the cracks like so many government schooled kids do.

Albert Einstein said "Few people are capable of expressing with equanimity opinions which differ from the prejudices of their social environment. Most people are even incapable of forming such opinions."

I have simply formed the opinion that there has to be a better way. Not via the two party system, which is also failing to answer the questions raised here.

Another great issue people have with me on this issue is the fact that I went to public (er, govt.) school) and so I should not protest having the government govern the schools.

Which is also absurd, that would be like saying, 'gee, you went to Catholic school, why don't you send your son there?'.

Where is the choice in this country?

In a free country, who decides?

Is this a free country?

I want the best for any child I send to school. Hence the desire to NOT go down the path of least resistance with our current public schools.

Einstein also said that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting
a different result. (If you keep doing what you've always done, you'll continue to get what you've always got.)

I want better for my family and my community, and am willing to speak and work for it.

Peace,

Scott

'The alternate parties are the ones with all the good ideas.'
Anonymous said…
I think we all want something better for our families. The thing I will grant you is that historically recently the government has been working against the people instead of for them.

I think my biggest belief is that I feel the government should help people who are unable to help themselves. This is, in my opinion, why we need a police department, a fire department, welfare, etc... But I believe that this should be for individuals/families, not corperations. It seems that the current administration really is a bigger "big government" government than the democrats ever have been, but they seem to take the benifit of government away from the individual. I think this is an area where we can agree that it's a bad thing.
Scott said…
yep,

It is clear that things have worsened in the past few decades.

Oddly enough starting with some things the govt did in the eighties to grow the size of govt, while preaching the value of a smaller govt.

Sad, but it has made things so much harder for 'normal' families to get by.

Paying for this giant monkey on Washington DC's back.

My last thought on the subject for this thread, (Lest we carry on into the night:-) is this,

If you had to lose your favorate federal program say welfare for example (as fire and police are local things, not federal) but in doing so you also eliminated most of your most despised and wasteful programs, would you be willing to do that? Or willing to try to figure out a local welfare in leu of the fed doing it?

I know, I know, many don't care and would not give. But that would not be you and that would not be me, nor any of our friends.

I'll admit, I'm exploring areas here that are not easy, but I feel deeply inclined to continue.

ANd I am very grateful for your discussion with me on these ptentially touchy subjects.

Peace and progress,
Scott
Anonymous said…
I don't think I could. I couldn't elimate the most wasteful of them all... I see the military as the most wasteful of all, but we need it.
Scott said…
True, we need it. It is one of the items outlined as the job of the federal government in the Constitution.

But this area is one that has grown to great excess.

The industrial-military complex and soldiers in over one hundred countries and a few other actions seem to be more than just 'national defense'. Though that is most often named rational for these acts.

For example, Michael Badnarik [the Libertarian pres. candidate] said he would end the aggression in Iraq and attempt to bring the soldiers home within three months.

Of course it can be argues why we should not pull out of Iraq. But the same arguers should answer why the oil fields were gaurded and not the museum, the armory, and other precious areas that were crucial to a really successful 'liberation' of Iraq.

So to sum up, Libertarians are NOT anarchists. Though they prefer a smaller, less intrusive government. Preferably one that lives within the original confines of the Constitution.

"it's an old document' some would say.

'It's designed to grow with the times and be amended' says those who recal it's original intent and design.

SO let's use this thing or delete it.

One thing I can not stand in any nations power use is hypocracy.

Peace through liberty,

Scott

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