Live and let live - that's all we want

Live and let live - that's all we want

by Tim Hansen • 10/09/03

Letter to the editor The writer of your Oct. 6 editorial, "Free from reality," demonstrates such a profound lack of comprehension of Libertarian political philosophy that I'm half convinced it was written by Kathy Sullivan, chair of the New Hampshire Democratic Party. Apparently, in Sullivan's mind, anyone who dares wave the flags of reducing the size of government and abolishing victimless crimes at the same time must be some sort of stark-raving anarchist.

This is not the case. Libertarians do believe, and strongly, in the functions of government that protect people from coercion, force and fraud. Most everything else is ripe for serious debate. Taxes? Nope, we don't like 'em, and it's purely about ethics. If you don't pay your taxes, men with guns will come to your house. If anyone outside of the government tried that, they'd be incarcerated for extortion. Social Security? Does anyone under 30 honestly believe that they'll see a dime from this bankrupt Ponzi scheme? SS will put my generation (I'm 23) and generations to follow under an inescapable cloud of debt for years financing the funereal glut of the baby boomers. The Free State Project is not about crackpot armchair intellectualism. This is a new breed of pragmatic, feasible libertarianism - a rational progression toward one simple principle in politics: Live and Let Live. We are people who just want to be left to live their lives, earn their living and raise their families as they see fit. Gay marriage? Legal prostitution? Not activities I'd participate in, but then, it would be a disservice to my Lutheran morals to ask the government to go beat up all the sinners. Let consenting adults do as they please; anything less smacks of fascism. Legal drugs? You know, they fought long and hard to win for a different cause under the banner "My Body, My Choice." It fits here as well. The right to keep and bear arms not infringed? Perish the thought. Ask any thief, mugger or U.S. attorney general. People are ever so much easier to control when they're unarmed! If an influx of rugged individuals, self-reliant entrepreneurs and fans of personal freedom sounds like extremism to the author of the Oct. 6 piece, one has to wonder if he actually lives in the great state of New Hampshire. See you in a few short years! TIM HANSEN Milwaukee

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