Liberty Postings

I read a criticism recently that many Republicans have now decided that they want to join the Libertarian movement only because they don’t like the particular government that is controlling things at the moment.  When Republicans had the power in all three branches of government, there wasn’t as much complaining from so-called conservatives about the intervention that those in D.C. were making in our lives.  Fair point.  I like to think that I do not fall into this “Johnny-come-lately into actually appreciating the Constitution” group.

I started this blog and gave it the name I did because I wanted to share my perspective on current events, which is brought to you mostly through a libertarian philosophy.    I want a limited government whether it is being led by a Republican or a Democrat.  I am hoping that I can do my small part in presenting the idea that being a conservative should really mean something much different than what it has become.

How can you claim to be a supporter of limited government and then cry out for the government to get involved in very personal issues of marriage?  How can you protest government waste and then support legislation that would cost local taxpayers millions of dollars (I’m talking to you, “English Only” people in Nashville … so glad that didn’t pass) through lost federal funding?  Why would you label us a “Christian nation” when the very people who wrote the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution (or at least their grandparents) left their homeland because a specific religion was being attached to the country’s people?

I am so tired of so-called conservatives picking and choosing the issues for which having a small government suits them.  You want the politicians’ eyes off our wallets but on our beds.  You support the life of an unborn child but would rather tiny embryos get thrown in the trash instead of be used to better the lives of those around us who are suffering from debilitating diseases.  It’s just like my fellow Christians who are selective when it comes to pointing out the sins that are mentioned in the Bible.  “How dare you have sex before you are married or drink alcohol!” says the 400-pound man who obviously is not treating his body like a temple while allowing his eyes to linger just a few seconds too long at the attractive woman who just walked by in the pew in front of him.

So, Republicans and conservatives out there, you need to decide if you actually want to walk the limited government talk that you are dishing out these days.  Sure would be nice.

Here’s a news flash to a significant number of those who consider themselves conservatives — college is not a bad thing.  I am so tired of hearing things like, “Oh, he went to Harvard and thinks he’s so smart” or “All of these politicians in D.C. with their fancy book learning want to tell us what to do.”  I am not ready to label someone as a member of a great brain trust simply because he has a college degree, but I don’t look at that person with disdain, either.  Since when does furthering your education constitute part of a liberal conspiracy?

Yes, I know that an overwhelming number of college professors are liberals.  I was a government major at a liberal state school and the personal opinions of my professors certainly made their way into lectures.  But, that reality of bias alone should not be enough to tell our kids that campuses are awful and dangerous hotbeds of communism.  Guess what?  You actually can learn stuff there!  Most schools have cool things like microscopes, language labs, internships … and your brain just might benefit.

On the flip side, I don’t think that everyone should go to college.  I wrote many times on my previous blog that too many kids go to college as it as right now.  If you barely made it through high school and you hate studying, find a job or develop a marketable skill that does not involve more time in the classroom.  Don’t go to college just to avoid the real world for another four (or five or six) years. I state here and now that I will not make my kids go to college.  It may turn out that they are better suited for a different life path, and that is fine.  But, Catherine and Ian also will not be taught that higher education is something to mock.  I loved school!  I earned three degrees and was on the Dean’s list every semester … and I somehow made it out without a poster of Karl Marx hanging on my wall.

I don’t want Joe the Plumber to be the poster boy (poster man?  that sounds weird) for the conservative movement.  I probably agree with him on many issues, but that doesn’t mean I want him speaking for me.  When reporters asked him about real policy problems during the campaign, he had no clue how to answer.  And now he is touring the country as a voice for true patriotism and conservative values. What qualifies Joe the Plumber to speak about the Federal Reserve or diplomatic relations with Iran?

It’s OK to include really smart dudes who are well-versed on the complexities of the problems facing our country into the conservative movement.   We should want them!  I’m tired of Sean Hannity, who laughs at people and dismisses them as liberals who just don’t get it the instant they challenge him with any convincing argument (noticed that several times over the past week).  I don’t want Ann Coulter, who I honestly believe does not have two spare brain cells to rub together, to speak for the ideals of limited government, either.  It’s embarrassing.  And then there is Sarah Palin …

Will all the smarties in the house please speak up?  I know you are out there.  We need you.

In search of hard-hitting news analysis and thoughtful opinion, I turned on The View this morning.  One of the “Hot Topics” was the assertion by our esteemed former president Jimmy Carter that much of the hostility that President Obama is receiving towards his policies is based on the fact that he is black.

First, I had to pause and really think back on the images I had seen on my TV over the past couple of years.  I had never before noticed that our president is black!  You must understand, I am not someone who sees color.  I look past a person’s skin and only notice the content of his character.  I see the beauty within.  In fact, I couldn’t even tell you my own skin color if you happened to ask.  I barely even notice that I have skin.

OK, point made.  I just can’t stand when someone pulls that “I don’t see a person’s color” garbage.  It’s such a lie.  Moving on …

Joy Behar, always the voice of well-reasoned logic, mentioned that Obama must have significant white support because he received 52% of the popular vote and that at one point his approval rating was around 70%.  Wow!  Joy Behar actually reached a conclusion that makes sense.  You should probably stop now, Joy.  No?  There’s more?  OK.  Ms. Behar when on to say that the 30% of people who didn’t approve of the president at the peak of his popularity must be the racist white folks.  That’s right, Joy.  The ONLY reason someone has to disapprove of President Obama’s job performance is his skin color.  It couldn’t be his views on health care reform, broken promises of transparency, a Treasury Secretary who doesn’t pay taxes, a global apology tour, airborne photo ops over lower Manhattan, a beer summit to discuss what should be a local matter, a national debt that is going to force us to come up with a word even more ridiculous than “kagillion” …

Are there people in this country who are going to dislike anything that President Obama proposes simply because he is black?  Yes, absolutely.  It’s the unfortunate truth.  Republicans need to stop acting shocked whenever this reality is mentioned.  And, if you don’t know what I mean, here’s an example of what you should not say anymore:  “What??  What an unsubstantiated accusation!  I am truly offended!  I would gladly vote for Alan Keyes or Clarence Thomas to be president!  Skin color has nothing to do with it.”  (Side note — You automatically lose any opportunity to contribute to a rational discussion once you voice support for Alan Keyes.)  Don’t act so incredulous.  It’s OK to admit that, yes, some people allow race to affect their vote.  You don’t have to (and shouldn’t) like it, but you are insulting and not really believable when you pretend the problem doesn’t exist.

On the other hand, I contend that a large majority of the people who are opposed to President Obama’s agenda have reached this opinion without any his race being even the smallest of factors.  Come on, liberals/progressives/Democrats (whatever label you prefer).  You know the policy positions of conservatives/Republicans/the party currently without a leader (again, pick a label).  And, if you do, you know that Obama’s goals run counter to their agenda.  If a person really is a conversative, of either the fiscal or social variety, she is not going to support the Obama administration, regardless of the President’s melanin content.

So, in summary –

1. Don’t pretend that race is not an issue for some people when deciding how they will vote.  It’s insulting and disingenuous.

2. Don’t pretend that race is the only reason a person is unable to support the policies put forth by a black president.  It’s insulting and overly simplistic.

So, there was a big rally of conservatives in D.C. today.  Thousands gathered to share their distrust of the government, speak out against President Obama’s plans for health care, and advocate the notion of personal liberty.  On paper, looks like a party I would like to attend.  I consider myself a libertarian, particularly on domestic issues, so I should have stopped at Walgreens and bought some poster board, scribbled down a nifty slogan, and marched with the rest of them.  However, for some reason, I just can’t really get behind it.  The outrage seems somewhat … disingenuous.

The federal government’s swallowing of our liberties and expanding of the welfare state did not suddenly begin on January 20, 2009.  In fact, President George W. Bush did quite the nifty job of expanding the size of government.  Perhaps like many others, I kept thinking, “He’s a Republican.  He’s a conservative.  Surely this madness with the programs and the spending will stop soon and he will remember his core political beliefs.”  Nope.  In fact, I’m not sure if Bush has any core political beliefs.  All of us who claim to be true conservatives, particularly in the fiscal sense, did not speak up loudly enough from 2003-2008 (I’ll give him a pass for the first couple of years … he progressively got worse … and feel free to read “progressively” in multiple ways there).  Why not then?  Why was it not bad enough yet?

I understand, and I agree, that President Obama has set the federal government power train into warp speed.  I support, well, pretty much nothing that he wants to do to our country.  And yes, I do mean “to our country” and not “for our country.”  However, why has the outrage gone from 0 to 100 in no time at all?  Come on, people.  It’s been bad for a long time.  I know that everything has its tipping point and some of President Obama’s ideas certainly can cause one to tip, but usually an anger has been quietly brewing before that point is reached.  Were that many of us really brewing through the Bush administration?  (OK, side note — check out that amazing tea reference I just made there.  Get it?  Brewing tea?  Tea parties?)

I don’t buy the race argument.  With the exception of a a few protesters whose silhouettes likely resemble that of a neanderthal on the evolution chart, I honestly do not believe that most of the people who gathered in D.C. today did so because they are upset about having a black president.  And, my downplaying of the race factor is not because I’m naive.  Believe me, I am far from it.  So, what is it?  If you are a “tea partier” or a “9/12 marcher,” what compels you to participate?  Why now and not last year?  I’d really like to know.

While I am always sad and reflective on 9/11, this anniversary is hitting me harder than normal.  Maybe it’s because the relationship to which I clung for comfort on that day and the days that followed no longer exists.  Maybe it’s because I was holding my six-week-old son while watching a replay of the second plane hitting the tower this morning.  Maybe it’s because I really miss my sister and wish she lived closer to her niece and nephew and I remember how scared I was when I couldn’t reach her in New York on that awful day.  I am definitely shedding a lot of tears today.

It took at least a year before I was not thinking about 9/11 every day.  I’m sure that living in D.C. and having all of my immediate family in D.C. or New York had something to do with that.  I drove by the crumbled Pentagon several times a week and got used to the military planes regularly circling the city.   And, even though it is no longer my first thought in the morning and my last thought at night, I still think about that day often.

I think about the heroism of the people on Flight 93.  It’s breathtaking.  I think about the firefighters and police officers.  I think about the people who decided to jump.  I think about the average citizens who ran back to help others.  I think about the chaos.  I think about the people who knew they were dialing to place the last phone call they would ever make.  I think about standing on a street corner in Arlington, just down the street from the Pentagon, three evenings after the attack and hugging, singing, and waving our flags.  I think about how I have so much for which to be grateful and how I should NEVER take it for granted.

I have never been what would be considered a social conservative.  I believe in a consistent philosophy of limited government, whereas many social conservatives want to impose government for their own moral agenda.  Telling the government to back off when it comes to our financial freedom but then using this same government to restrict personal freedom doesn’t cut it with me.  Besides, all too often, the elected officials who proudly carry the banner of Social Conservatives turn out to be hypocrites (up for a weekend tryst in Argentina, anyone?)

Our latest example of a “do as I vote, not as I do” conservative comes from California.  Republican Assemblyman Mike Duvall was caught on a hot mike bragging about his sexual exploits.  As it turns out, he enjoys inflicting corporal punishment on much younger women as foreplay.  “I like spanking her.”  Come on!  What emotionally developed 54-year-old man makes this kind of statement to a colleague in public?  Did he utter a little Beavis and Butthead laugh as a follow-up?  I have no doubt that he argued forcefully against the efforts by CA Assemblywoman Sally Lieber two years ago to ban spanking in their state. It would have ruined his mojo.

Duvall received a 100% rating from the Capitol Resource Institute, a conservative advocacy group that tracks the pro-family votes of elected officials.  Nice.

Here’s a suggestion to all of the politicians out there.  Get off your moral high horse and stop using your office to pass judgment on others.  It lessens … although never eliminates … your opportunity to end up looking like a complete fool.

After spending several years as co-author of another blog, the time has arrived for me to strike out on my own.   As I did previously, I will be using this blog to share my thoughts on current events, politics, and maybe a Terps or Steelers victory every now and again.

I took some time off from blogging because I needed to focus on my family (h/t James Dobson) and some major changes in my home.  As I have become increasingly frustrated with the name-calling and redirect that is occurring on both sides of the aisle and downright angry at the issues that are taking priority in our state and local government, I felt a strong pull to get back into the blogging world.  So, tonight I mark my return.  I look forward to carving out some time to share my perspective on this blog.  I think it will be some much-needed “writing for me” time as a balance to taking care of my two kids and developing my freelance writing/editing career.

The blog needs a lot of work in terms of layout and features, and I will get there slowly.  This is my first attempt at developing a blog (or any type of website, for that matter) on my own.

Stay tuned, as my fingers are itching to hit the keyboard and write my thoughts about President Obama, the tea party people, the bizarre fear and loathing that some feel towards the “elitist” idea of higher education (can’t trust that book learning), raising my children to be politically aware, and much more!