Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Libertarianism
By: ELIAS ATIENZA
Most libertarians happen to be white. John McAfee complained about it during the LP National Convention in Orlando, to which Julie Borowski responded. As a minority, many people wonder why I am a libertarian. I am a libertarian for many reasons; I distrust big government, I want to be left alone, and I think individuals are better at making decisions than collectives. Here are five reasons why minorities should be natural libertarians.
5. Big Government Hates Minorities
Think back to American history. Slavery was legal. After slavery was abolished, black codes forced many into labor camps. After the black codes came Jim Crow. After Jim Crow came the War on Drugs. Big government tries to create solutions to problems that do not exist. And those problems tend to be minorities.
Why not just make government smaller? If government was made up of angels, then we wouldn’t need the Constitution. But until that day comes, big government will continue to target certain people.
4. Capitalism Lifts Up Everyone
Despite what you might have heard, capitalism has lifted up billions out of poverty. Thanks to capitalism, China, Chile, Peru, and other countries have climbed from the hellholes they were, as quality of life continues to rise. Without capitalism, there is no America and there is no world economy. Hell, even the Scandinavian countries that Bernie likes so much have freer markets than America in many ways.
3. Libertarians Believe in Equality Under Government (If There is One)
A lot of people think that libertarians want to discriminate against everyone. Most libertarians don’t believe in racism, sexism, and all those other buzzwords, but they do believe in freedom of association. Unfortunately, a lot of people think libertarians would have done nothing about slavery or Jim Crow laws. Libertarians believe that the government should treat everyone equally, no exceptions. It’s just that libertarians don’t think a Jewish baker should make a Nazi a wedding cake or a Christian baker should make a gay couple a wedding cake. Why the hell is there so much obsession with cakes and government?
Of course, what if government wasn’t involved?
In other words, I want gay married couples to protect their marijuana fields with their firearms.
2. Pro-Mind Your Own Business
Libertarians believe that you should mind your own business. Whatever you want to do with your life, you should be able to do, as long as they do not infringe on somebody else’s rights. Want to smoke a joint? Go ahead. Want to build an AR-15 in your garage? Go ahead. Don’t want to be spied on by the NSA? Libertarians will ensure your constitutional rights. Can you trust a Republican or Democrat to do that?
1. Bombs Away… Just Kidding
Libertarians aren’t going to keep bombing the Middle East and killing more people. U.S. foreign policy is centered around bombing poor brown people and becoming surprised when those people fight back. Yes, ISIS and Radical Islam is a problem, but no we do not keep going back to the Middle East forever. Maybe we should stop funding radical Islamist groups in the Middle East. Just saying.