No such thing as too much liberty

(My Eastern New Mexico News column for June 11, 2025)

It seems as though most people hate or fear other people more than they value their own liberty. Centuries of acting on this character flaw have led to where we are now. It's why we Americans have so little liberty left, and why government is allowed to license most of what remains.

If you're willing to sacrifice liberty to punish someone else, you're part of the problem. If you want to be free to do the things you like, but want government to prohibit others from doing the things they like, you need to be smarter. Is anyone being violated by either of you? If so, stop. If not, calm down.

People have a right to do some things I dislike; things I'd rather they didn't choose to do. The difference is, I'll try to talk someone out of it, or I'll ridicule their behavior, but I won't support legislation or punishment. Some behavior brings its own punishment without any need for government intervention.

One of the worst problems is that so many people believe they have rights which can't exist; rights which involve violating someone else's natural rights. They'll fight for these imaginary rights more than most of us will fight for the freedom to exercise real rights. We don't want to offend anyone, so we tolerate the intolerable.

You need to stick up for the right to do things you don't like. Even if, with your next breath, you say why you believe these things are stupid.

Thomas Jefferson is quoted as saying, “I would rather be exposed to the inconveniences attending too much liberty than to those attending too small a degree of it.” My only disagreement is in pointing out there's no such thing as "too much liberty". Liberty is self-correcting. Liberty is doing everything you have a right to do; anything which doesn't violate the equal and identical rights of others. This means as soon as you start violating others, you aren't operating within your rights. You are acting beyond what you have the liberty to do.

Each of us needs to speak up against people doing things which violate the life, liberty, or property of another. Even if it's legal and widely accepted.

You can't even imagine the world we would experience if we each took responsibility for defending the rights of others and began exercising our own liberty to the fullest, as we see fit.

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It's like they have no principles whatsoever

I’m constantly amazed at how easily most people turn their backs on what they know to be true and what they claim they believe, just so they can keep supporting something they’d otherwise reject- except that they can’t imagine doing without it.

Cops.

You can explain the situation clearly, logically, and ethically. And copsuckers will twist in whatever way is necessary to keep supporting cops. No matter what. I can't even wrap my head around some of the mental contortions they put themselves through to keep supporting cops. It's crazee, but fascinating to watch.

Then they'll call you the hypocrite. It would be funny if they weren't so dangerous to society.

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