From Left to Liberty

Hiya folks,

 

My name is Clayton and I just signed up for the FSP. Here I will say something that won't make me too popular here, but here goes. I voted for Obama... Sorry, my bad. I was drawn to the left because of the anti-authoritarianism of their rhetoric during Bush Jr.'s term. But I have found that 'stick it to the man' attitude utterly fades once the reigns of government are seized. Now once again if you disagree with the president you may be a terrorist, another expansion of war with no end in sight. Hell, not so long ago the Dems were railing at Bush for deficit spending! The democrats throw the occasional bone to their left-libertarian constituents but these gifts are hollow, chicken bones ready to shatter and choke those that bite down too eagerly. The War on Drugs is no longer called a War, but NO major changes in drug policy have in fact happened. Guantonamo Bay Prison is closing, but due process is still being denied. In short the Dems have become the authoritarian A-holes again, and I don't much like authoritarian A-holes. Having been only a civil-libertarian up until this point I really had one last hurdle to jump, Free Market Capitalism. My distaste for capitalism came from what I now understand to be a misunderstanding of what it is. All I had seen in practice, with the exception of black market transactions, was mercantilism, crony-capitalism, corporatism -- whatever you want to call it --  and the flaws in that system are apparent to everyone. A work of fiction, it turns out, sprung me over this hurdle. And no, it was not Atlas Shrugged, Ayn Rand takes herself far too seriously for my taste. Robert A. Heinlein's The Moon is a Harsh Misteress makes a great case for free markets in a humorous, and engaging way. It stuck a chord. So after some research,   and stumbling on the civil disobedience happening in NH on youtube I decided that this was something that I wanted in on. So here I am.

 

I plan on making the move after I graduate college in the spring. After that I plan to start a liberty-minded touring theater company.

 

 

Peace and Prosperity,

Clayton Cook