United Liberty

“An appeaser is one who feeds the crocodile hoping it will eat him last.” - Winston Churchill

Recently, I’ve taken some time to think about what many of my friends have said about being apolitical. From what I can tell, they are so frustrated by the heated way that people of a partisan bent go after each other they want to drop out of the discussion entirely. Previously, when people had a disagreement on something they either tried to find common ground or chose to disagree respectfully. Never did it become personal—until recently.

To be sure, many people of good faith can state their views without ruining friendships or coming to blows. But their numbers are shrinking as the political issues of the day hit home and the anger starts to build.

Why then does this growing incivility matter? It should matter to you because your freedoms are being taken away from you by opportunistic politicians who thrive on anger—your anger. This particular group of politicians feels safe in the knowledge they’ll be sent back to congress regardless of what you think of their actions.

Those feelings are well justified: as history proves, if a politician wins once odds are good they’ll win again. And because of this, they don’t fear you because they won’t be voted out. This only makes matters worse for those who have been silenced because of their distaste for the vigorous, sometimes personal debate that passes for American politics.

Take a look at these charts from the Center for Responsive Politics:

I have searched for a term to describe my political ideology and have come to use the term “minarchist” as the best descriptor. According to Wikipedia, minarchism is the belief that the only proper role of government is to protect individuals from aggression. I would classify my beliefs to be generally consistent with this view; however, like some minarchists, I do believe that there is a proper role for government to deliver some additional services and infrastructure beyond merely a system of laws and defense. For more on this, please read my previous article on government spending - “To Spend or Not To Spend”.

As my colleague Austin Wilkes accurately pointed out, partisan oppression has reached a fever pitch in this country.

It’s not a new thing, however, but what today’s partisans lack is the classy wit that Bob Hope shows here.