I try to err on the side of liberty

(My Eastern New Mexico News column for July 31, 2019)

There are many things I don't know. There are things I think I know but I get wrong. There are also things people may believe I'm wrong about, but I'm not-- a topic for another day.

When I'm wrong, I want to be wrong in the least harmful way possible.

I'd rather make the mistake of allowing you the liberty to live your life within your rights than to make the mistake of violating you for your own good. Or for the good of society. Since I'm going to make mistakes either way, I'd rather make the mistakes which won't make me into the unethical twin of those I dislike.

I don't know the best way for you to live, the best way for you to make or spend money, or the best way for you to pursue your own version of happiness. It would be a mistake for me to try to rule over you.

It might be a mistake to let you carry a gun. It's definitely a mistake to allow government to make and enforce rules which make it harder for anyone to carry one.

It might be a mistake to respect your decision of what to ingest-- food or drugs. It's definitely a mistake to allow anyone the power to cage or kill you in the name of a War on (some) Drugs.

It might be a mistake for you to not wear a seat belt. It's definitely a mistake to allow armed officers of the government to infringe your right to travel and to extract money from you for failing to do so.

Honestly, it's not my place to "allow" or forbid anything you choose to do until it violates someone else's rights. Since it isn't within my rights to do so I have no right to send hired guns to do this on my behalf. And neither does anyone else. No one can delegate a right he doesn't have.

As much as I don't know, there are some things I know for certain. I know you have the right to make your own mistakes and the obligation to pay restitution when your mistakes harm others. I know that all humans everywhere have equal and identical rights and deserve the liberty to exercise them to their fullest, regardless of the opinions of the political class.

To err is human. To err on the side of liberty and human rights is to make the ethical choice. It may not even be a mistake at all.

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