The Argument for Personal Choice

The following is, I suppose, mostly geared towards the United States citizens and their government (mostly because I am an American, go figure). However, this is also a philosophical topic that applies to the general notion of government (or the state) and freedom.

With that being said, I have one question to start with.

Do you believe that the government has authority over the personal choices of peaceful individuals?

To me, the only acceptable answer to this question is, of course, NO.

Now… Many individuals might agree with me on this. Unfortunately, I believe that a large portion of these individuals might not really understand what they are saying when they say yes to this question. There is much hypocrisy to be had here, on both sides of the political spectrum (left and right).

An example: democrats/liberals traditionally are quite adamant when it comes to notions of personal freedom. That’s great, me too. They advocate for equal marriage rights and the legalization of drugs, for example. I call for these things too. I believe that an individual (male, female, gay, straight, old, young, black, white, or pink) should be free to do as s/he pleases in all facets of his/her life (as long as s/he doesn’t infringe upon another’s liberty, of course). I think that personal choice (even if I don’t agree with said choice) should be free from any and all interference from other individuals and especially from the government.

So, a person who says yes to my question should advocate for (just to name some examples):

1. Gay marriage, which is a personal choice
2. Drug legalization, also a personal choice
3. Gun ownership, you guessed it… personal choice

But wait a second… it’s the democrats/liberals that tend to call for tighter interference from the government regarding guns, with some more radical individuals even calling for the complete prohibition of guns or perhaps a certain type of gun (this seems to be the most recent focus).

Buying a gun and owning a gun is a personal choice of an individual just as two homosexuals getting married is a personal choice. All the other fluff that is thrown around in this debate is of little relevance, I’m afraid. It’s not complicated, guys. Marriage, drugs, gambling, prostitution, and gun ownership are all examples of personal choices that do not negatively affect other individuals and, as I’ve said, the government has zero authority over the peaceful personal choices of individuals.

The hypocrisy extends to the right as well. Republicans/conservatives are big on gun rights, yet they are so afraid, it seems, of allowing gays to marry or to legalize drugs.

You either believe that people should be free or you do not. I don’t think you can really pick and choose what other people should be free to do and what they should not be free to do. To do this would imply that you (or the government) has a higher claim over an individual’s life than that person does. No. Just no.

Reiterating, in addition to the general question above, I ask a second, more specific question:

Do you believe that the government should prohibit x from the people? (where x is a personal choice that does not infringe upon another individual’s rights)

The answers to these questions must line up. They either should both be answered with a YES or both be answered with a NO. If you believe that the government should prohibit the people from engaging in a particular peaceful action then you must own up to the fact that you also believe that the government has authority over personal choice.

Please don’t be a hypocrite. 🙂

Political B.S.

I, like most young people I imagine, do not care much for politics.  However, I do think that there is some level of importance to being aware of what’s going on in the political world that so many of us choose to ignore. I have only recently begun to really pay attention to the whole mess, myself. Therefore, in the future I will likely be writing my perspective on various political issues and current events. It probably won’t be all too often, but just every once in a while I’ll throw in a political rant of mine that is sure to drum up some controversy (as it almost always does).

Anywho, right from the start here I want to introduce my overall stance that I’ve come to embrace (even if only partially) when it come to the political spectrum. I am not a Democrat and I am not a Republican. In fact, I hold a rather high distaste for both of the mainstream political parties as well as the two-party system itself. This duopoly is dividing the country and both sides equally hold bad ideas for the future of the nation. I’m not going to get specific just yet (that comes later).

I do, however, tend to lean towards the Libertarian view of things on most issues (not necessarily all). The Libertarian philosophy and party are growing among young people these days and I like to think that I am a part of that growth. Though, I still do not belong to the Libertarian party (nor am I likely to do so). When an election rolls around I like to look at ALL the candidates, especially the ones that are not shown via the mainstream media (there are lots of these), and what they stand for and then go from there.

This is all quite vague I know. I plan on getting into more specific ideas later on. I just wanted to assert my non-partisan, Libertarian-leaning stance right here and now for future reference.

On a side note, March starts tomorrow! This March will be an extremely important and even life-changing month for me. I’m excited (and a bit nervous)!

Peace!