Those Damn Liberals

There seems to be some confusion in the comments section regarding the term “classical liberal.” Unlike the government loving welfare enthusiasts our commenter so rabidly (perhaps rightfully) attacks, classical liberals (think J. S. Mill’s On Liberty) value laissez-faire capitalism and individual rights.

This loyal reader chastises my last post for a lack of protection for privacy and “arms-bearing.” Privacy I buy. I guess I was assuming “privacy” would be included under the property rights bullet, but, upon reflection, I think that we should establish explicit protection for privacy in terms of telephone calls, emails, and private conversations.

As far as arms-bearing is concerned, I respectfully disagree. I’m very skeptical of the notion that what prevents the government from usurping power and ruling us poor citizens with totalitarian authority are the few guns which an increasingly shrinking percentage of the population own.

Let’s be honest here: if the government wanted to use the whole force of the United States armed services to prevent free speech/protests/voting/gay marriage/abortions, private gun owners would not be able to stop them. Or even come close. I hate to say it, but a revolt against the Orwellian super-government with merely the arms currently owned by citizens in the U.S. would be extremely short-lived.

The “protecting ourselves against the government” argument is absurd. Most of the powers which the government has taken for itself in the past few decades, unfortunately, the people as a majority have supported. I do not think this is right or O.K. But that’s how it works. The Patriot Act passed with loads of support in congress and across the nation as a whole. The people were willing to give up their rights. I would like to see more safeguards against these kinds of actions, but I don’t think that my ability to personally assassinate a senator would have had any affect on this piece of legislation.

The best (and only) way to prevent the government from taking our rights is to elect politicians who won’t. And if they try, raise hell until they stop. Threating violent overthrow will do no one any good because they know they could win.

Besides, I don’t even know how to shoot.