Confused about being a libertarian

Confused about being a libertarian​

When I first started paying attention to politics it was a round the time of George W bush’s first presidential election. I voted for Bush because it would be the second time in history that a father and son of the same name had become president; the first being John Adams and John Quincy Adams. During Bush’s term in office I noticed a lot of animosity towards him. After doing some research I found that this was a tradition. Whichever Political party held power at the time was portrayed as being nothing less than Satan. After hearing about how bush was “Satan”, I decided to find out why he deserved to be described as such. Through my research I discovered that there was such anger and hatred that emanated from everyone that call themselves a democrat. I found myself more quickly identifying with the Republican Party; although I did not agree with everything that they stated in their platform.
After years of seeing politics through the lens of a republican eye, I found that the republicans Share certain flaws with the democrat party. Both political parties have a tendency to want to control your behavior “because it’s good for you”. The democrats tend to want to take your money so that they can” help others with it”. This has been the central thinking behind the Democratic Party for as long as I’ve been paying attention to politics. As of late the democrat party seems to be edging closer and closer to wanting full blown socialism. Operating from the belief that the government’s knows more than you do and can” take care of you” better than you can for yourself, The democrat party has decided that it should be your” overseer” and that it is “for your own good”.
The Republican Party operates from a base of conservatism, which I agree with. Personal responsibility, fiscal responsibility, and personal and economic freedoms is why for so long I supported the Republican Party. Unfortunately there’s also the side of the Republican Party that I disagree with. When it comes to social issues the Republican Party seems to be on the wrong side of things. The republicans tend to want people to live by their moral values, and the republicans believe that these values should be made law. Gay marriage, legalization of drugs, abortion, and legalization of prostitution are but a few things that the Republican Party believes should be made illegal at the Federal level.
There’s a phrase that I have heard used before” In every situation I ask myself, is more freedom the solution?” This one phrase has come to symbolize my entire political belief. I've taken the measure of both of the major political parties; the democrats I see as well-meaning but dangerous, the republicans are good when it comes to financial freedoms but when it comes to social freedoms they are lacking. I found myself at a dead end. I started listening to talk radio, first I listen to rush Limbaugh who was a strong advocate for the Republican Party.
But then through listening to rush Limbaugh I found another commentator; Neil Boortz. Neil Boortz is a libertarian, and I found myself agreeing with him the vast majority of the time. After a while I had decided to call myself a libertarian, for politically that is what I am. Now that I have decided that I am a libertarian I needed to do some research into the libertarian party. What I found from the libertarian party I liked, they have a strong stance that the Federal government should stay out of your life as much as Possible. I finally felt as if I had found my political home. Unfortunately I’m finding that that home has a few” problems”. When it comes to everything domestic I agree completely with the libertarian party’s platform, but when it comes to the foreign policy I cannot in any good conscience agree with what has been stated by the major players in the libertarian party. Disturbing, is also the fact that I am sharing company with those that I would consider to be anarchists. I have had conversations with other libertarians that believe that the police and the military are evil, And that the government does nothing but oppress its people and bully the rest of the world.
I am under the belief that the majority of Americans believe as I do; that the government should stay out of our lives as much as possible and that people are naturally good. I look forward to the day where there’s a grouping of people that work together to elect leaders that will truly represent the views that I hold. Until then I’m stuck in a system where each party is controlled by those that do not truly speak for the people that vote for that party.

 

[rocket88]

I can see what you're saying. The problem for me with the rise of Libertarian thinking is the number of Republicans who identify as "libertarians." I don't know why except that they think it's only about taxes. We had a poster here that I haven't seen in a while (I won't mention any names) who identified as a "libertarian" but advocated a right-wing social program. I find that whenever someone calls themselves a "libertarian," I'm wondering "Are you a Libertarian, or are you a Republican who wants to seem cool?"

 

[RabidAlpaca]

There are people who inappropriately label themselves libertarians, as with any political party. As you probably know, the key behind libertarianism is the belief that you can manage your life better than a bureacrat, and that you should be able to do as you please so long as it does not affect someone else's right to do the same.

As far as the foreign policy goes, the way I see the libertarian foreign policy, with which I agree 100% is as follows:
- Mind your own business
- No imperialism in the middle east
- No wars for oil
- No war without congressional approval
- War only in self defense or as a league of nations to prevent massive genocide

 

[TNAR]

I just recently had a long conversation with someone about the Libertarian party and progression/regression into other ideologies. Needless to say, I have been where you are now and it is a great time for learning. My recommendation is to do a bit of research into various philosophies and attempt to determine the underlying premise behind them all. Not many people seem to realize that the major political parties in America are virtually identical and only differ in the methods in which they desire to control your life. The fact that you have at least somewhat discovered this already puts you heads above most others.

As RabidAlpaca stated, I see true libertarianism as the ideal of self-governance (don't jump to the conclusion that this precludes the ability to delegate and swear allegiance to external governmental entities). The essence of libertarianism is the right to do as one pleases so long as you do not forcefully infringe upon others' rights.

I would recommend you look into the periodic publications put out by the Foundation for Economic Education. Oddly enough, a deep understanding of economics lends a great deal of information on general philosophy and morality.

Good luck with your education.