Liberty a powerful right you own

(My Eastern New Mexico News column for April 16, 2025)

Last week, the news of the dire wolf's de-extinction was everywhere. It didn't take long until calmer voices pointed out that these are not really dire wolves, which weren't even wolves, just gray wolves genetically altered to have what someone believes were some dire wolf traits.

The kind of liberty most people offer is similar. It's not real liberty; it's authoritarianism with a few tweaks of what some politicians believe real liberty might be like. They'll claim to support liberty to get votes- until it threatens government power. This isn't liberty at all, but a watered-down version where government allows you to do some things you already have a right to do, as long as you don't bother government too much.

This mutated authoritarianism with a few liberty genes isn't compatible with your birthright as a human being. It's not compatible with the values America was supposedly founded upon. It doesn't look or feel like liberty because it's not liberty. It doesn't get in the way of government's plans for you; things you wouldn't tolerate if you understood liberty.

Practically everyone is familiar with the military's misuse of the word "liberty", where the word is used to mean its opposite: "limited freedom, with permission". This way, they can ensure no one knows what they are supposed to be fighting for. Their loyalty is to the US Federal Government, not to American liberty.

"Freedom" means doing whatever you want, without regard for right or wrong or the rights of others. This may be why most people prefer to use this word. If supporting government is what you want to do, you'll feel "free" while doing so. It's not as scary- or as powerful- as liberty.

"Liberty" means doing anything you have a right to do; nothing else. No one has a right to violate others. Not as part of a majority, not because of a job, and not by hiring a politician to do it for you. The right to violate others can never exist.

Respecting liberty means you sometimes have to stand aside while people do things you don't like, but which violate no one. Few people have a character strong enough for this.

Just like the dire wolf was a distinct animal, and genetically altered gray wolves aren't dire wolves, liberty is a distinct condition. If it relies on politicians and bureaucrats to agree to it, it's not liberty. It's the opposite.

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Thanks for the inspiration and aggravation, Scott. Really.

I was truly saddened yesterday morning to hear Scott Adams say that he will be dying soon.

Over the years, well before he started commenting on politics, his blog posts, and then his livestreams, made me think. And, of course there was Dilbert, which was something my first wife and I shared an appreciation for.

I've had many disagreements with his views over the years. I even have a blog post label specifically to address how and why he's wrong in his thinking about guns. As I have said in the past, when he's right, he's right. When he's wrong, it's because he's a government supremacist. That doesn't mean I ever hated him.

He influenced me to be a better version of myself by challenging me (without his knowledge) to put into words why I disagree with him when I do. It's not enough to say about someone, "He's wrong". If you can't explain why he's wrong, do you even know he's wrong?

I've written many blog posts where I specifically referenced something he said on his livestream. Even more where something he said made me start thinking along a specific path that resulted in a blog post. Or two. Like this one.

I believe I have benefited greatly, in various ways, because of his influence. And even the aggravation. I expected to be challenged, angered, and inspired by his opinions for years to come. I feel a little cheated.

I'm almost positive he muted me ages ago. Such is life. I'm sincerely sorry this is happening to him, and I wish him the best in the time he has left. 

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