By Chris Rossini
The ideas of Liberty are explicitly concerned with the relationship between one individual and another. Liberty does not mean "every man for himself," or "you have to look out for number one," or any of the other absurd smears from those who desire power to boss others around.
On the contrary, the ideas of Liberty are rooted in the principle of non-aggression. When dealing with others, trade with them voluntarily, exchange with them peacefully. Do not use aggressive or violent force to get the things that you want.
John Locke spoke of "Life, Liberty & Property." Very similarly, The Declaration of Independence enshrined the words "Life, Liberty & The Pursuit of Happiness."
In a free society, rooted in the ideas of Liberty, everyone is free to "Pursue Their Happiness." But in that pursuit, one must do no harm to another person's "Life." One must do no harm to another person's "Liberty." One must do no harm to another person's "Property."
These ideas shook the world. They built the biggest middle class to ever exist in the history of the world.
The role of government should be to adjudicate and punish those individuals that choose to pursue their happiness by harming another person or their property. The role of government is to protect individual liberty.
Peaceful and voluntary relations between individuals made America a magnet to people from all over the world. People wanted to come here to be free!
What did they want to be free from?...They wanted freedom from the exact opposite of Liberty & Peace. They ran here to escape Tyranny & War.
Randolph Bourne accurately stated that "War is the Health of the State." There's a perfectly logical reason as to why, when you look through history, you're greeted with one war, followed by another, and another.
War benefits those people who take, at the expense of those people who make. War and the associated fears (real or imagined) act as the perfect excuse to get productive people to sacrifice their liberty, their property, and sometimes even their lives.
War is the ultimate siphon. It redistributes from the bottom, up. It creates the all-too-familiar historical environment of the wealthy few, and the poverty-stricken many. War prohibits the formation of a prosperous middle class.
For those who are just joining us, the policy that the United States of America has been pursuing since the so-called "progressive era" began is one of continuous and endless war.
War does not have to be a violent endeavor. Politicians learned long ago that they can wage war on anything that they want. Look at what they've done in the name of a "War on Drugs". Look at how their "War on Poverty" creates nothing but more poverty. Look at what they've done in the name of a war on a virus!
Tyranny and War go hand-in-hand.
It doesn't have to be this way.
Liberty & Peace are always an option.
America, since its founding, has now experienced both a general condition of Liberty & Peace, as well as a general condition of Tyranny & War.
The choice should be obvious as to which America is superior.
Perhaps someday American can and will be "Great Again." Who knows? But it will never happen with the modern conception of government that aggressively wages war on anything and everything. It'll never happen when government is in the foreground overwhelming society, rather than being a non-issue that is in the background.
American can only be great again when the American people want Liberty & Peace, and the role of government is to protect it.
The ideas of Liberty are explicitly concerned with the relationship between one individual and another. Liberty does not mean "every man for himself," or "you have to look out for number one," or any of the other absurd smears from those who desire power to boss others around.
On the contrary, the ideas of Liberty are rooted in the principle of non-aggression. When dealing with others, trade with them voluntarily, exchange with them peacefully. Do not use aggressive or violent force to get the things that you want.
John Locke spoke of "Life, Liberty & Property." Very similarly, The Declaration of Independence enshrined the words "Life, Liberty & The Pursuit of Happiness."
In a free society, rooted in the ideas of Liberty, everyone is free to "Pursue Their Happiness." But in that pursuit, one must do no harm to another person's "Life." One must do no harm to another person's "Liberty." One must do no harm to another person's "Property."
These ideas shook the world. They built the biggest middle class to ever exist in the history of the world.
The role of government should be to adjudicate and punish those individuals that choose to pursue their happiness by harming another person or their property. The role of government is to protect individual liberty.
Peaceful and voluntary relations between individuals made America a magnet to people from all over the world. People wanted to come here to be free!
What did they want to be free from?...They wanted freedom from the exact opposite of Liberty & Peace. They ran here to escape Tyranny & War.
Randolph Bourne accurately stated that "War is the Health of the State." There's a perfectly logical reason as to why, when you look through history, you're greeted with one war, followed by another, and another.
War benefits those people who take, at the expense of those people who make. War and the associated fears (real or imagined) act as the perfect excuse to get productive people to sacrifice their liberty, their property, and sometimes even their lives.
War is the ultimate siphon. It redistributes from the bottom, up. It creates the all-too-familiar historical environment of the wealthy few, and the poverty-stricken many. War prohibits the formation of a prosperous middle class.
For those who are just joining us, the policy that the United States of America has been pursuing since the so-called "progressive era" began is one of continuous and endless war.
War does not have to be a violent endeavor. Politicians learned long ago that they can wage war on anything that they want. Look at what they've done in the name of a "War on Drugs". Look at how their "War on Poverty" creates nothing but more poverty. Look at what they've done in the name of a war on a virus!
Tyranny and War go hand-in-hand.
It doesn't have to be this way.
Liberty & Peace are always an option.
America, since its founding, has now experienced both a general condition of Liberty & Peace, as well as a general condition of Tyranny & War.
The choice should be obvious as to which America is superior.
Perhaps someday American can and will be "Great Again." Who knows? But it will never happen with the modern conception of government that aggressively wages war on anything and everything. It'll never happen when government is in the foreground overwhelming society, rather than being a non-issue that is in the background.
American can only be great again when the American people want Liberty & Peace, and the role of government is to protect it.
