tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4530463554584181774.post8816794012174553314..comments2023-05-17T07:53:18.995-04:00Comments on Sycamore Three: David Nolan and the LibertariansRobert Heidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07622336432907413984noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4530463554584181774.post-80941066578645489042010-12-27T01:20:09.299-05:002010-12-27T01:20:09.299-05:00I first heard of libertarianism when I was 18 just...I first heard of libertarianism when I was 18 just before my first vote. Ron Paul was running as a Libertarian that year, ever hear of him, lol! But my older and wiser brother told me that I couldn't be a libertarian as it would conflict with my Christianity and otherwise conservative values.<br /><br />The whole subject intrigued me, especially at every election when there was no one to vote for and when I was more conservative and more free market than those running--even the ones proclaiming to be Christians. That was before the internet and it was hard to get any info on libertarianism. I didn't know about Rothbard or Ludwig von Mises or Henry Haslitt or the like. I wish I had! That was before the internet. <br /><br />The first time I read Rothbard's For A New Liberty, it was smooth sailing until he got into having private roads. No way! And private police. Are you kidding me? And private courts. Huh? What? Impossible! Absolutely insane! But I read to the end, you know, to chew on the meat and spit out the bones. But the more I thought about it, the more even the points I rejected actually became more acceptable in my thoughts. More and more of the whole of libertarianism made sense. I had been so conditioned that government and all it's agencies were a necessary evil. Just because they have always been (in my lifetime) doesn't mean that there isn't another way to approach the same goals.<br /><br />I've started reading Mises', Human Action. Sadly, I haven't gotten very far. I have young kids in the house, enough said, as reading Mises does require a noise value below freight train/airliner and more than 2.3 seconds between interruptions (mommy!mommy!mommy!mommy!) and diaper changes : )<br /><br />[One great thing about mises.org is that many of the classic libertarian books are available as pdf to download at no charge.]castironnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4530463554584181774.post-21281775115507898822010-12-26T20:38:31.663-05:002010-12-26T20:38:31.663-05:00Thanks, Doc. Anybody else want to weigh in? For ...Thanks, Doc. Anybody else want to weigh in? For instance, would anybody like to comment on Murray Rothbard?Robert Heidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07622336432907413984noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4530463554584181774.post-57143364215266093922010-12-25T16:56:56.773-05:002010-12-25T16:56:56.773-05:00After knowing you for about thirty years, I am so ...After knowing you for about thirty years, I am so glad to now have the missing piece of the puzzle, in how you turned to things libertarian. I encourage all my Christian brethren who have mistakenly thought that libertarian ideology auntomatically conflicted with their Christian convictions, to do as the old cigarette commercials say - "Try it, and taste the difference!" I continue to find hard evidence in the Bible to support the limitation of the scope of Gentile government to those matters as cited by libertarians (thus "rendering to Caesar"), with the remainder subject to the Kingdom of God.<br /><br />Your last two paragraphs should be the most ground-shaking to all seriously devout American Christians who read this post, and should give them the most to deliberate on - I recommend that, after and if they have internally reconciled its message, that they forward this link to all Christians they know; and then go practice its suggestion to go out and "mix it up" with some people you would not normally rub shoulders with, and expect to find Jesus there. For example, I found Him at work, and even some of His wisdom, amongst a bunch of hippies at a radio station, who did not know much about organized religion, but knew how to love and bear with each other better than other Christians I had been aroudn at church, and thus taught me much, as well as to be concerned about the "little guy" (they were "card-carrying liberals", to boot!).Dr. Futurehttp://www.futurequake.comnoreply@blogger.com