The Libertarian Party has never wavered in its principles and ideals
DANNY BROOKS
Special to The Observer
Many eligible voters are not even registered to vote. To people who escape socialist or communist countries, this must seem insane. Why would people choose not to vote? My answer used to be that I saw no real difference between the two major parties.
Each party was adept at explaining why you should not vote for its opponents. But why vote for a Republican or Democratic candidate?
According to the Democrats, Republicans are owned by big business. If elected, they will tell you how to run your life, usually in a very conservative way. The Republicans warn that Democrats will raise your taxes and use your money in give-away programs for the poor in exchange for their votes.
The Right claims that the Left will repeal the Second Amendment, use government schools to indoctrinate and brainwash your children and lead us toward a more socialistic form of government. The Left counters that the Right will outlaw abortions, destroy the environment and eliminate Social Security benefits.
Who's right? To a certain extent, both are.
One problem is that while the two major parties appear to be on opposing teams, they are, in reality, on the same side. Their ultimate goal is to grow government, on all levels, as big as they possibly can. Politicians are like businessmen, and their business is government, plain and simple. And what good businessman doesn't want his business to grow and thrive?
Fortunately, there is a choice. Established in 1971, the Libertarian Party (www.LP.org) has never wavered in its principles and ideals.
I didn't even know the Libertarian Party existed before the 2000 elections. Having never voted in any elections before then, I decided to do some research on the presidential candidates that year. With the two major parties, I found a lot of compromise, double-talk and politics as usual. I was reminded why I had never voted. I leaned more toward the Republican Party. They provided a lot of lip service for smaller government and less taxes, yet consistently voted for increased government and more taxes.
When I read the Libertarian Party's platform, I agreed with it 100 percent. There was no compromise. It was just common sense. Depending on one's political ideology, Libertarians could appear to be Left or Right on the political spectrum.
The Libertarian philosophy is simply that people should be allowed to do whatever they want as long as they don't hurt anyone else or infringe upon their rights. Our country was founded on this simple belief in the right of people to live freely.
Contrary to what some may think, Libertarians are the polar opposites of anarchists. We do not hate government, nor do we seek to circumvent laws. We cherish liberty and hold the Constitution in the highest regard. That's why it turns our stomachs to see how politicians have ignored that sacred document.
Many of us believe that President Lyndon Johnson's "Great Society" ushered in an era of social welfare programs that effectively told people that if they chose not to work or save for their retirement that society would provide for them by taxing those who do work. Look at what these programs really do. They stifle creativity and entrepreneurial visions by unjustly penalizing the overachievers with disproportionately higher taxes. Why should someone start and run a new business, put in hours and hours of overtime and make sacrifices when over half of what they earn will be taken by the government and redistributed to those who, in many cases, choose not to work?
Some politicians claim that people have what they have, not through hard work but by "winning life's lottery." They are brainwashing people into feeling guilty for their accomplishments and not doing more for the "less fortunate." In reality, those "less fortunate" people are usually those who are less prepared and who made poor decisions that led them to their place in life.
According to the Declaration of Independence, it is our duty to abolish a government that has become too oppressive and out of control. Regrettably, we passed that point years ago. The future looks equally grim if we continue on the same path and allow the Republicrats free rein.
We have the opportunity to send a loud and clear message to our elected officials that government gets its power from the people, not vice versa. After all, this was what our founding fathers told the world on July 4, 1776.
Danny
Brooks
From The Charlotte Observer
Observer community columnist Danny Brooks of Davidson is a computer programmer/analyst and member of the Cabarrus Libertarian Party. Write him c/o The Observer, P.O. Box 30308, Charlotte, NC 28230-0308, or by e-mail at lbrooks2@carolina.rr.com.
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