farmplinker wrote:
I have never even slightly identified as a Democrat, due to disagreeing with traditional stances regarding affirmative action, income redistribution, regulations, gun control, etc. On the other hand, I am disgusted with the Republican party regarding issues such as gay marriage, religious freedom, abortion and overseas defense spending. So, I'm left with holding my nose and voting for the lesser of two evils, which in my case usually means the Republican candidate, especially if I can find one that leans libertarian.
As for a third party option, it's quite clear that the Libertarian Party most closely matches my views, and I certainly consider myself a libertarian - socially liberal, fiscally conservative and want a small federal government that abides by the constitution. In the minds of both liberals (including mainstream media) and conservatives (including the talk radio cabal), that makes me a crackpot. To the powers that be in the D and R parties, that means I am the enemy, and they do everything they can to keep power concentrated in the two major parties.
How do you reconcile libertarianism with being socially liberal (gay rights and religious freedoms)? Protecting the rights of minority groups requires authority to enforce trespasses against the minority? If the majority can exercise it's rights counter to the minority, that minority does not have rights. Jim Crow.
Allowing people "rights" and providing no means to protect those rights, in my opinion, requires a degree of cognitive dissonance.
If someone calls me a big nose sheister, should I shoot them? or should they pay a fine to the local magistrate?
Affirmative action, income redistribution, and regulations on business are things that make it possible to be black, middle class, and healthy. Without those authoritative structures, you have Jim Crow, factory stores, and lead flavored water (et al).
Assuming Randian Libertarian Utopia, If it's proved that a black person was overlooked for a job, does the black person have the right to go back and shoot the employer?
Strength is not always the solution, and Randian Libertairan Utopias rarely take into consideration that gray areas exist, and do so to mitigate the needless violence caused by binary reaction to mistreatment. Think about it, if there was not a protection for your right to free religion, but you had that right, and someone came along and said, hey, you gotta renounce jesus and pray to Allah, and know that muhamed is his profit, would you want to shoot the imam? Or just have someone remove him so you could go into your church? Gray areas.