The Libertarian Party

Address to the Townview Magnet School, Dallas, TX

David Wallace Croft

2004-09-14

The three largest political parties in the United States are the Republicans, the Democrats, and the Libertarians. I am a member and a candidate of the Libertarian Party. The Libertarian Party is called a third party because it is smaller than the largest two parties. Other third parties include the Green Party and the Reform Party. Of all of the third parties, the Libertarian Party is the largest, with more candidates than all of the other third parties combined.

Being a third party candidate is hard. The two major parties, the Republicans and the Democrats, pass laws to make it expensive for third parties to get on the ballot. Even if a third party does get on the ballot, many people will not vote for a third party candidate even if they agree with them on the issues. Newspapers give less coverage to third parties. Third parties receive fewer financial contributions. Third party candidates are not invited to participate in the debates.

So why bother? The short answer is that the voters that are attracted to a third party have no other place to go. Sometimes called the politically homeless, many people do not fit in with either of the two major parties. While they may agree on a few points here and there, overall their political philosophy is simply incompatible.

Many people will tell you that the political spectrum goes from the left to the right. The liberals on the left believe in civil liberties. They say you can think and believe whatever you want. They also say that you can do whatever you want with your own body as long as you are not hurting anyone else. Your money and property, however, belong to society and must be shared equally.

Conservatives on the right are the exact opposite. They believe that your money and property belong to you to do with as you please. Conservatives believe in economic freedoms and free market capitalism. They are opposed to socialism. Your mind and body, however, belong to society.

In addition to the left and the right, libertarians believe that there is also an up and a down. If you believe in both civil liberties and economic freedoms, you are up above. If you believe in neither, you are down below. Those up above are called libertarians. Those down below are called authoritarians. Authoritarians believe that the government should control all aspects of our lives, both personal and financial.

If you are neither a liberal on the left, a conservative on the right, a libertarian up above, nor an authoritarian down below, you may be a centrist in the middle. By my asking you ten quick questions, half on issues related to civil liberties and the other half on economic freedoms, I can tell you where you are within the political spectrum. As I ask you these ten questions, answer them silently to yourself as either yes, maybe, or no.

First, five questions on civil liberties, also called personal issues, with regard to your freedom and privacy of mind and body. Yes, maybe, or no:

Government should not censor speech, press, media or Internet.

Military service should be voluntary. There should be no draft.

There should be no laws regarding sex for consenting adults.

Repeal laws prohibiting adult possession and use of drugs.

There should be no National ID card.

Next, five questions on economic freedoms. Yes, maybe, or no:

End "corporate welfare." No government handouts to business.

End government barriers to international free trade.

Let people control their own retirement; privatize Social Security.

Replace government welfare with private charity.

Cut taxes and government spending by 50% or more.

If you answered mostly yes to the first set of five questions about civil liberties and mostly yes to the second set of five questions about economic freedoms, you are a libertarian. If so, I invite you to become active in the Libertarian Party.

You may first wish to dabble for a few years in the two major political parties as a Republican or a Democrat. If you are like me, however, you will find yourself frustrated. I do not fit in with the Republicans because I believe that adults should be free to do whatever they want with their own bodies as long as they are not hurting anyone else. I do not fit in with the Democrats because I am opposed to socialism. Socialists believe that government is a charitable organization.

If government is not a charitable organization, then what is it? I believe that the only valid purpose of government is to prevent others from infringing upon our rights as individuals. This means that government should prevent others from hurting us or stealing from us or stopping us from doing whatever we want with our own minds, bodies, and property, as long as we are not hurting anyone else.

Government defends these individual rights using the military, the courts, and the police. These are legitimate functions of government. Some say that in addition to defending our individual rights, the physical force employed by the military, the courts, and the police should be used by society to prevent individuals from doing whatever they want with their own minds, bodies, and property.

As a self-owner, I strongly disagree. If you also believe in self-ownership, I invite you to join the Libertarian Party. For more information, please visit our website at www.lp.org. If you would like a copy of the ten questions, please visit with me afterwards. Thank you for you for listening.

David Wallace Croft

2004-09-14T13:05:05

David Wallace Croft