Mediaboss Marketing

In the new year of 2017, it seems rather impossible to think we could live without so many of the accommodations we have now that its easier to let the simpler things slide by without being noticed. Can you imagine going through the day without your credit cards, smartphone, personal and public transportation. All of these things would have not even been imaginable 100 years ago and we tend to forget that we live in one of the most advanced times to be alive. Now all of the aforementioned accommodations truly make life great, and yet what could still be the greatest one has yet to have been mentioned. There is one accommodation that often goes unnoticed. It allows us to decide what we want to do when we wake up, decide how we want to get to work, and it even lets us choose what we go home to. Liberty.

Liberty, on the scale we have today, is something unimaginable on all levels to most other countries in the modern world we know today. What we can control and decide would have been unfathomable 100 years ago. We get to choose whether we eat Wheaties or Fruit Loops in the morning, whether we take our showers before or after work, what new phone to get, what to eat for dinner, all down to whether you want to where pajamas to bed or sleep in the buff. Now imagine you had no influence on any of these things. Would you wake up, ready to tackle the day? Would you strive to exceed the performance goals for that next raise? Would you look at everyday as if it held a new adventure for you waiting to be discovered? Although everyone is different I do believe the vast majority would answer no. I know I wouldnt be able to find the worth of any action and I dont know many who could.

Albert Camus, a novelist and existentialist philosopher, once posed a rather odd question. Should I kill myself, or have a cup of coffee? This question, although peculiar is something we find ourselves answering every morning, even though we may not address it directly our actions do. When we are given every option available to us and the freedom to choose what we want we are able to accomplish great things. Not only have we walked on the moon, but we now have more advanced technology stuffed in our pockets today then what was involved with getting us to the moon. That is one of the greatest of many examples of what we can do when granted the freedom and liberty to pursue our passions and dreams.

The pursuit of happiness is something most of us are willing to go great lengths to achieve. One particular thing about happiness is that it is different for everyone. Happiness to me may be wealth beyond what I have ever known, yet happiness to you may be a small house with the person you love the most. One is not truly worth any less than the other, its simply what each person holds more worth to. Everyone has different desires, and being able to achieve those desires helps everyone. It has been shown in numerous studies that our emotions are influenced by those around us. When more people were able to achieve what they need to reach happiness I can only imagine what it would do for all the communities in our society. Few people still look at Obergefell V. Hodges as a loss for society, but how could that be I ask you? A court case that has now made it legal for any couple to get married regardless of gender and by this change offering even more liberty to choose how we wanted to live our own lives then the year before. Lets not forget that it once was unimaginable for women to vote let alone an interracial couple get married, and yet here we are, making even more feats in the name of liberty.

Freedom to choose all these different details about our life has drastic effects on more than just our own home too. We can pursue any career choice which now allows us to do more than work a simple 5-9 job that we despise. Waking up and heading to a job we love is one of the many advantages with liberty that will not only add happiness to our lives but also drive us to work harder. There is schools that we choose from that can teach us about any possible career choice we want, whether its being a welder or becoming a doctor. When we get our pay checks and salaries we can decide exactly how we want to spend them and what we want to acquire. In this sense the liberty each of us has even allows us to choose what businesses survive and what businesses dont. All of the choices and decisions we make that have more impact than most realize is even possible thanks too liberty.

It is clear that choice and liberty are synonymous, and that is truly what it comes down to. Liberty to me has always meant just that, the freedom to choose. When I see the status quo and am not satisfied with it the best thing to me is I dont have to be. The fact that any one person can wake up and do most anything they want to as long as doesnt harm someone else is one of the greatest privileges granted with freedom and liberty. We have all these choices and decisions we make every day without even realizing it that were unimaginable 100 years ago. All of this makes me look to the future with a very significant amount of hope and enthusiasm. It makes me truly feel that any of us in this society are able to make a significant difference in what goes on and most of us never even realize it. Did Rosa Parks ever expect to be remembered as someone who helped bring segregation to an end? I imagine all she thought on that bus in 1955 was that she was in no mood to move for someone else, especially for a completely illegitimate reason none the less. Yet here we are, in a society that is still continuously moving towards even more freedom and liberties, where just about every person you meet knows the name Rosa Parks. Alan Turing, a name not so many know, is one of the contributing reasons the Allies were able to win World War 2. He is responsible for helping bring an end to one of the most dangerous regimes by breaking the unbreakable code, the Enigma. In doing so he not only helped win the war, he became one of the grandfathers to modern day computers. He was charged with the crime of homosexuality and sentenced on March 31st 1952. Alan was sentenced to chemical treatment, and he committed suicide shortly after. This is just one of the many travesties that are almost never seen today and having more liberty means everyone is safe from being subjected to something so heinous.

When I think about freedom and liberty I also think about how any one of us can do something great and be remembered for years to come, whether its manning the helm of significant advancements in technology, or refusing to give up your freedom and liberties and standing up to those who wish to control you like Rosa Parks. It also means not having to fear being prosecuted by your government for what you choose to due in your spare time, no matter who you are. I see liberty as a chance for every person to pursue their dreams. It is also one of the few accommodations we have that is always worth defending.

* Tanner Davis is a 20 year old college student pursuing a degree in business. He has been following politics for quite a while and he is a proud libertarian.

The main BeingLibertarian.com account, used for editorials and guest author submissions. The views expressed here belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect our views and opinions. Contact the Editor at editor@beinglibertarian.email

Like Loading...

More:
The Thing Most Often Forgotten - Being Libertarian

The Oxford Dictionary defines Liberty as the The state of being free within society from oppressive restrictions imposed by authority on ones behaviour or political views. It is a privilege to be living under a constitution which protects personal liberty from governmental tyranny. However, it begs the question, why is liberty even important? What function does it play in our society?

Liberty, most importantly, allows for individual empowerment. When a human being is free, they act independently of any other coercive institution. Free men have the liberty to express their thoughts, make judgements and act in any way they please. Therefore, these men will be accountable for their own judgements; they must accept moral responsibility for wrongdoing or any harm caused and take credit for any improvements they introduced. This burden of a responsibility that falls on any free man is the backbone of individual empowerment. If the individual is free to make decisions as he wishes, he must also be free to bear the consequences of those decisions as an individual. Otherwise, total reliance on the self and individuality as a concept cannot exist, and therefore the individual is disempowered. The individual which has had harm done to him is also disempowered if you do not allow him to hold other individuals accountable for their actions. This doctrine of self-reliance and self-responsibility is the backbone of the individual as a single, free, and ultimately powerful entity.

Individual empowerment is also the key to happiness. Liberty allows individuals to pursue their own interests. This free pursuit of interests is ultimately important if men want to lead happy and fulfilled lives: each individual is different, and therefore the fields or topics they are interested in will differ. Living as an individual means men are empowered to follow their passions and dreams, instead of being dragged into a decision which the collective has taken. Therefore freedom will ultimately lead to a happier society, and flourishing humankind.

The empowerment of the individual is also crucial in developing the peoples character. An empowered individual is free to make poor decisions and mistakes. These mistakes might be harmful to others or harmful to themselves. However, the mistakes themselves arent important. What is crucial is that the individual learns from these mistakes. If an individual is accountable for their own actions, they will have to bear the consequences. The effect felt by the individual could include moral guilt, bodily injuries, or even a prison sentence. If individuals feel these consequences then the next time they make an important decision, they will contemplate the situation more fully, consider the potential consequences more closely and make a better decision. They will learn from their mistakes, and the individuals judgement will improve. This is essential in developing peoples character.

The mistakes made by the individual will also lead to the development of a strong moral compass and resilient conscience. In order to develop a moral compass in the nuanced, difficult and hazy field of moral decision making the individual must personally have made bad and good decisions, and recognise whether a decision was morally right or wrong. Using this moral framework gained from experience, the individual will attain a capacity to recognise the good and bad in any moral dilemma. This leads to the development of their conscience and moral sense of right and wrong. This aspect of individual empowerment is therefore crucial to creating a functioning, cohesive and overall moral society.

Social liberty is also key in reducing social tensions. Despite the underlying principles of tolerance and freedom that any libertarian society should have, we must accept that different individuals live according to different values. Different sets of values lead to radically different opinions about certain social issues. When controversial matters are dealt with through political spheres, social divisions and fragmentation is caused. One example of a controversial social matter is gay marriage; the solution to the problem is simple. If we privatise marriage, get the state out of marriage and give people the freedom to decide how to define marriage, then the problem is solved. Homosexuals who want to get married will be free to do so and will be free to live by their own values. People that dont believe in gay marriage are free to live by their values and not participate in gay marriage. Both sets of values can co-exist side by side peacefully. This prevents a conflict between the two sets of values in the political arena, and one set of values emerging as the winner, preventing tensions within political channels. Based on the principle of social liberty, it is also right for the government to defund Planned Parenthood, the largest abortion provider in the United States. Individuals would still be perfectly free to decide whether they think that having an abortion is the morally right or wrong choice to make; the practice of abortion would not be banned. However, the state should not get involved in deciding which value is the correct one. By funding Planned Parenthood, the state is in effect endorsing the practice of abortion. It is simply wrong to impose pro-abortion values on other citizens by forcing pro-lifers to commit taxpayer money to a practice that they believe is immoral!

The principle stands as this: if an individual has certain values and beliefs on social issues which conflict with other individuals, instead of solving the issue by asking the politicians to make a judgement, each individual should have the liberty to live by their own values (in line with J.S. Mills Harm Principle). This would prevent political tensions and a showdown between the sets of social values. Therefore, social liberty overall reduces social tensions, and individuals with different sets of beliefs are able to co-exist peacefully.

Another important aspect of liberty is economic liberty. I believe economic liberty is the only way to create a moral society. The morality of capitalism and economic liberty is that people engage in voluntary transaction of goods and services. In socialist or statist societies, the government coerces their citizens to hand over money; this is intrinsically immoral. However, when there is economic liberty, and the individual is free to do what they want with their money, the concept of consent in transactions emerges.

In addition, economic liberty creates a less selfish society. Under a statist or socialist government, individuals feel entitled to whatever goods or services they receive, even if they cannot afford them. Under capitalism, in order to earn money and buy goods and services, you need to provide a service to someone else. It can be described as forced altruism, because if you do not earn money you simply starve and die. In other words, Capitalist populations understand that in order to gain access to money, before you take value out of society (in the form of cash), you need to contribute and generate value for society (by providing your labour to a business).

Economic liberty also plays an essential part in preserving personal freedom. The fundamental threat to freedom is the power to coerce, which comes from centralised governments and a lack of economic liberty. When the power that comes from government gets into the wrong hands, liberty is sacrificed; an evil individual could misuse government powers to become oppressive. This has happened before in societies with socialist policies and a planned economy, like in Nazi Germany or Venezuela. The concentration of power in the hands of the federal government could easily lead to the creation of a despotic regime. The preservation of freedom requires the elimination of such concentration of power. Socialism is the enemy of freedom. It requires that economic activity be organised using directives from central government. This in turn concentrates power into the hands of bureaucrats. Under a capitalist system with economic liberty, by removing the organisation of economic activity from the control of political authority, the free market naturally eliminates this source of power and potential destruction. There has never once existed a free society which wasnt based on free markets and the voluntary exchange of goods and services. Economic liberty and capitalism is an essential part of a free society. Removing economic liberty would therefore be a danger to the free society as a whole.

Liberty matters to me because I want to free to pursue my own interests in life. I want the liberty to take my own path in life and nurture my inherent talents. I want to be able to tailor my career to my set of abilities and by doing so fulfil my full potential, not simply become a pawn used by the government to meet its annual production targets. I want to be able to take advantage of my inherent sets of skills. Without liberty, the government would be able to impose on me what I should or should not do, and therefore prevent my areas of talent may being fully. That is why I personally value liberty very highly.

* Keyvan Farmanfarmaian is a British libertarian living in London.

The main BeingLibertarian.com account, used for editorials and guest author submissions. The views expressed here belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect our views and opinions. Contact the Editor at editor@beinglibertarian.email

Like Loading...

Read the original:
Liberty The Greatest Force For Good - Being Libertarian

When the hype of the 2016 presidential election dies down, it should serve as a stark reminder that the only true loser in the race was liberty. The question has shifted in recent years from what the role of government is to how much that role need be increased, and for what reasons. Needless to say, this will only serve to usurp more power from the individual, and the costs thereof will come from his or her pocket. Owing to this current need, I think we should take a moment to reflect upon the bedrock concepts of freedom and the benefits they provide to us all.

Like many others, I found Bastiat to be one of the most inspiring sources of libertarian philosophy, and his terminology still rings true today. All of us, through birth or experience, inherit and develop our own skills. It stands to reason that one should be able to marshal their faculties toward creative goals of their own choosing, and that the fruits of such endeavors are the rightful gains of their creator. It is entirely in keeping with the well-being and dignity of the individual that they ought to be free to pursue their own prosperity, provided that in doing so they do not violate the freedom likewise belonging to their fellow man. This mindset is at the very core of what it means to be free, and it serves to empower the individual over the institutions and parties that would otherwise repress the common man purely through their numbers or capacity for coercion. Anyone remotely well-versed in the history of human affairs should understand that where individuals are not in control of their own destiny, misery and stagnation tend to manifest as the watchful vulture does over a dying man.

But the well-being of the little guy is not the only benefit that individual freedom offers. Society at large is rejuvenated by the liberty of its members, purely through the standards that society will set for itself. If individuals are encouraged to make their own destiny and are similarly rewarded for providing a product or service to society, individuals are compelled to do so by their own rational self-interest. It might very well be said that socioeconomic liberty is the ideal foundation for human society, as it is the only option which demands that an individual provide something of value to earn something of value in return.

On the topic of economic liberty, it is in that realm that we can see the more tangible strengths of individual freedom as they pertain to society at large. It would be no small exaggeration to say that free market capitalism turned the United States of America into an economic superpower, leading her into dominance in domestic industrial output and international trade. The same free market principles have pulled more human beings out of abject poverty than any government program or international relief effort ever devised. The reasoning behind this is simple, and explained most concisely by Milton Friedman, who argued that there is nobody more careful with ones money than themselves. When the gains and losses are your own, there is greater incentive to make smart decisions and invest wisely. There is no such incentive for those with no skin in the game, who can slice money off of your paycheck to fund their ideas and suffer no consequences for being wrong.

In more philosophical considerations, social liberty is a source of good to a species oft-tangled in tragedy at the hands of abusive authorities. It would be difficult to imagine living a happy life if your every word had to be stripped of dissenting sentiment, carefully crafted to avoid betraying a thought you might be incarcerated or killed for. The freedom to say what you want and think what you will does not exist so friends can discuss their favorite pizza toppings. It is a right necessary to the development of an informed public capable of governing themselves fairly and justly. Social liberty is indeed the greatest violence-reduction construct yet invented, for it allows difference and even conflict of a kind while maintaining peace and civility among the people. What could possibly ensure a healthier society than the freedom of its members to be the people they want to be and share their ideas with one another?

But in conclusion, liberty is only as strong as the individual is. It means something slightly different to each one of us, and it provides a rally point for people of all varieties to come together and fight for something that unites them in common goodness. I think of the freedom I have inherited, and the sheer amount of blood and sweat that has been shed by those who came before me. It never fails to convince me that I am not wrong in wishing to preserve it.

As Thomas Jefferson warned, eternal vigilance is the price of liberty.

* Jesse James is 21 years old. He is an unpublished writer of mostly science fiction and horror. However, his literary passions are historical and political in nature. He resides in Quebec, Canada, which has given him some less than favorable views on government intervention.

The main BeingLibertarian.com account, used for editorials and guest author submissions. The views expressed here belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect our views and opinions. Contact the Editor at editor@beinglibertarian.email

Like Loading...

See the original post:
Remedial Liberty - Being Libertarian

Omer Yusuf , USA TODAY NETWORK Tennessee 2:56 p.m. CT Jan. 30, 2017

America for Prosperity's Andy Ogles speaks at the Delta Regional Conference Wednesday at the Samuel T. Bryant Distillery in Jackson.(Photo: OMER YUSUF/The Jackson Sun)Buy Photo

Libertarian Party of Madison Countychair Corbin Brown was confused when he heard about Gov. Bill Haslams gas tax proposal.

Brown said the states $800 million-plus surplus makes the proposal unnecessary.

This is one more way for the government to take which does not belong to them, Brown said. Its our money they are taking away from us.

Earlier this month, Haslam proposed a 7-cents-per-gallon increase on gasoline to the states gas tax and a 12-cents-per-gallon increase on diesel. If approved, it would be the first time since 1989 Tennessee has raised its gas tax.

Haslam said the additional $227.8 million in revenue, generated by the gas tax, would go toward completing transportation projects across Tennessee.

The gas tax proposal was the big issue discussed Wednesday at the Libertarian Party of Tennessee Delta Regional Conference at Samuel T. Bryant Distillery. Brown said the Libertarian Party will head to Nashville on Feb. 13 to speak out against Haslams proposal.

The Libertarian Party was founded in 1971. According to their party platform, Libertarians strongly oppose any government interference into personal, family and business decisions. They believe all Americans should be free to live their lives and pursue their interests as long as they do not harm one another.

Libertarian Gary Johnson ran for president of the United States in 2012 and 2016. Johnson received more than four million votes in the 2016 election.

Tennessee has two Libertarian elected officials. Wallace Redd in Clarksville City Council, Ward 4, and Mike Sexton, Union County Commissioner in District 6.

Jesse Fullington is running as a Libertarian for state representativein the 79th District.

Fullington said he wants great roads but raising taxes is not the answer and Haslams tax cuts, a notable one being the grocery tax rate going from 5 percent to 4.5 percent, is not enough.

When youre driving, spending more money at the pump, it costs more money to move things around, Fullington said. Can you name one thing not transported without fuel? By the nature of raising transportation costs, its going to raise the value of the product. So groceries might be cheaper tax wise, but they will be more expensive. It either balances out and hits zero or the increase in the value of the product is going to be more than what the tax was to begin with.

President and CEO of the Jackson Chamber Kyle Spurgeon said Haslams proposal is an opportunity for the issue of infrastructure and transportation to be addressed.

Spurgeon said he will pay close attention to discussion over the next few months.

You want to make sure you have a good feeling your tax dollars are being spent wisely, Spurgeon said. Its about how our tax dollars can be spent in the wisest manner to give us the most return on our investment on our highway infrastructure.

The Libertarian Party is clear on their views, but the biggest challenge its facing long-term in Tennessee is visibility and ballot access.

Brown said when the Madison County Libertarian Party started holding meetings last year, he was the only one there but eventually a handful of people began attending the meetings.

We are building that base and were getting the information out there but it is a slow process, Brown said.

If the Libertarian Party does not get at least 34,000 signatures in the state of Tennessee before the summer of 2018, all their Tennessee candidates, including Fullington, will have to run as independents during the 2018 midterm elections.

Weve got until July 2018 to hit that goal, Brown said. Its not just about face-to-face. Its social media. This is our main goal. Anything else we want to do rests upon that foundation.

Reach Omer Yusuf at oyusuf@jacksonsun.com. Follow him on Twitter: @OmerAYusuf

If approved, it would be the first time since 1989 that Tennessee has raised its gas tax.(Photo: C.B. SCHMELTER/The Jackson Sun)

Gov. Bill Haslam said a tax increase would give the state's Department of Transportation an additional $227.8 million in funds.(Photo: C.B. SCHMELTER/The Jackson Sun)

Read or Share this story: http://www.jacksonsun.com/story/news/politics/2017/01/30/libertarians-against-gas-tax/97253266/

Read the rest here:
Libertarians against gas tax - Jackson Sun

David Becker/ZUMA Press/NewscomEverything went to hell over the weekend for the immigrants and refugees who had been legally approved to live and travel in the United States but were then caught up in President Donald Trump's terrible executive order banning them from returning back into the country.

I watched through social media the outraged reactions across the political spectrum from friends and analysts alike. The reasons for the opposition varied. Some (especially on the left) thought the order remarkably cruel. Others acknowledged the president's authority to generally regulate immigration rules but recognized this executive order as being poorly drafted and illegal. There was a reason that when I blogged about the stay on Trump's order I pointed to the argument by the American Civil Liberties Union that the order violated due process.

For much of Saturday it felt very much like a coming together of anybody who valued human liberty and the rule of law across the political spectrum. I found it so much more an important and positive development than the women's march because it was about something very concrete and fundamental to American values. I've gotten so used to the reflexive, condescending "This is not who we are" derision that President Barack Obama's administration used to try to shut down criticism. It was different to see people across the political spectrum in significant agreement (though, yes, there were some exceptions), even if not for the same reasons.

Then "#DeleteUber" happened, and I threw up my hands and yelled, "Goddammit!"

In New York City, taxi drivers organized a work stoppage to stop ferrying travelers to John F. Kennedy Airport for an hour in solidarity with those who were being detained there. I will admit that I was at first utterly mystified as to how refusing to transport people in New York for a while would help resolve any of this at all, but after reading their Facebook statement, I realized that it wasn't really a "strike" so much as taking an hour so that they could participate in the protests as well.

Uber continued ferrying travelers andinterestinglyannounced that it was ending its price surge. While Uber catches a lot of flak for having price surges at peak hours from people who don't understand basic supply-and-demand economics, they caught flak this time for continuing service. They were perceived as trying to "break" this strike.

In addition, Uber CEO Travis Kalanick has agreed to join Trump's economic advisory team (along with the likes of Elon Musk and Disney CEO Bob Iger). Despite a Facebook post from Kalanick declaring that Uber was going to do what it could to assist drivers who would be negatively affected by Trump's executive order, this apparently wasn't enough for some. A social media movement sprang up to encourage people to delete the Uber app from their phones and go with a rival like Lyft instead.

Under normal circumstances and with other companies, this would merit a shrug from libertarians (it might still). Uber has a right to operate, but it doesn't have a right to customers. People have the right to choose with whom to do business and to use public pressure to influence company decisions. In this case, I don't think either side has behaved unethically or illegally.

So why the frustration? First of all, we can't look at this protest in a vacuum. Uber is a company that is frequently targeted by protectionist taxi cartels and unions (and leftist supporters), and they're willing to use their power and influence to use government force to stop Uber's operations as much as they can. There is a bit of an obvious political trap going on here, and Uber kind of fell into it.

Second, the response is symptomatic of a deeply entrenched desire to use a communal form of punishment against those who are perceived as straying from established ideological positions. It's practically a reflexive response at this point to find somebody to attack. Why do headlines like "Can Taylor Swift call herself a feminist after skipping Women's March?" even exist (and there are other versions of this kind of story)? These kind of responses do not reflect a desire or a willingness to "live and let live." Even in an environment where the left is struggling to maintain influence, they're calling out allies for not showing up for marches or for employing poor people, minorities, and immigrants in a way that doesn't match the progressive playbook.

This reflexive desire to punish leaves me with a deep concern that even in the face of Trump, there is no stomach on the left to engage in introspection over its own authoritarian tendencies. And I'm going to remember pushes like "#DeleteUber" every time I see a call for libertarians to partner with liberals or the left to fight back Trump's worst policies. It's not because I don't agreeit's because I don't see a commitment to advancing freedom in response to Trump. I see a commitment to regaining control and authority. Thus, I don't see any "partnership" forming so much as two deeply ideologically different groups pushing for similar outcomes for different reasons. I don't want more power, except over my own life. I want more freedom.

When I (and others at Reason) bring up Obama and the left's role in expanding the power of the executive branch, this isn't merely some sort of "whataboutism" excuse for whatever awful thing Trump is doing or will be doing in the future. It is absolutely, utterly necessary to understand where this power came from in order to change it, and it's therefore utterly necessary for liberals and leftists or progressives to rethink their relationship with government authority.

Unhappy with Kalanick's and Musk's relationship with Trump? They're just doing what they've been doing all along regardless of the political party of the person in charge. Musk, at least, would have his hands all over a Hillary Clinton administration as well. Her proposed tech policy was full of cronyist opportunities for the "right" folks in the right industries, an extension of what was offered by the Obama administration. The expansion of the power of the government and its regulatory system has put businesses in a situation where not only is it extremely profitable to get cozy with the government; it's sometimes necessary to survive.

If liberals are not willing to consider that government authority itself is the problem and are insistent that the problem is Trump's particular brand of ego and narcissism, what does this partnership with libertarians even look like? If the only goal is regime change, what exactly is the role libertarians are meant to play in this push other than supplying additional numbers?

Allow me to pivot to something that seems completely unrelated, but I assure is not: The occasionally dismissive response to the critique of "political correctness culture" at colleges. In the wake of Trump's election, I've seen frustrated responses targeting libertarian outlets (including Reason) for continuing to hit at this subject even while Trump promises a horror show of civil liberties violations.

Besides this argument presenting a false choice (Reason certainly hasn't abandoned reporting on a whole host of other topics in favor of complaining about college kids today), it ignores the very real long-term potential authoritarian consequences of this college campus speech- and sex-policing. Reason has hit back frequently on the actual impact on people's livespotentially costing students' their educations and threatening their livelihoodswhen college administrators fail to respect the First and Fifth Amendment rights of their students.

But that's just a look at the consequences of what's happening right now. Less discussed is how these selfsame studentswho are being taught to ignore concepts of free speech and due process if it results in outcomes they don't likewill eventually inherit the systems of government in a decade or so. What happens when a college student who internalizes that due process shouldn't apply to people accused of rape becomes a juroror a judge? What happens when a student who doesn't believe "hate speech" counts as free speech becomes a member of Congress?

This is precisely why I mentioned up above that Trump's executive order against refugees and immigrants violated due process. Trump isn't just a "consequence" of political correctness activismhe is the cracked mirror reflection of it. Trump has no respect for free speech or due process or really any civil liberties at all.

So what I would recommend to anybody calling for an alliance between libertarians and the left (regardless of whichever side is making the call) is not look at Trump as some particularly remarkably bad outlier and anomaly (though he is certainly giving every sign he's going to be remarkably bad), but as an expression of the constantly present dangers of authority that cares only about the "right" outcomes and nothing about legal foundations and limits to power based on defenses of human liberty and civil rights.

There will obviously be places of intersection between libertarians and the leftplaces where we've been on the same team even before Trump, like criminal justice reform, immigration, and the scaling back of the drug war. But unless the left is willing to reconsider its relationship with authority and its desire to want to use power to punish its opponents (which occasionally includes libertarians, lest we forget), what are libertarians supposed to see as the endgame of all this? Long ago, I asked conservatives what happened to the power they were giving President George W. Bush after he left office. Later I asked the same to liberals about Obama. Now here we are, and now we know. How much government authority are you willing to eliminate to stop Trump? Think about it and get back to me.

Follow this link:
Looking for a Left/Libertarian Alliance Against Trump? Maybe Rethink Reflexive '#DeleteUber' Reactions - Reason (blog)