Positive Liberty

Former Senator Jesse Helms died July 4. Libertarian nominee Bob Barr eulogized the late Senator with a heaping helping of high hagiography. That’s really upsetting some Libertarians, including some dude running for President from the Boston Tea Party because, well, Helms was a racist, sexist, and homophobe. And, according to the Tea Party candidate, if Bob has something nice to say about Jesse, then Bob must be those things too!

Indeed, racism is offensive. Jesse Helms said and did some quite uncharitable things. I don’t care for that. But I think this criticism misses the most important point (which I’ll get to in a minute), because any politician, even those who’ve done good, have probably done something, if not lots of somethings, that are very anti-libertarian. Personally, I think both Tony Snow and Tim Russert were pro-establishment and statism-enablers. But I was still saddened by both of their deaths. I dealt with Tony briefly in 2000, and found him to be a gentleman.

As a Christian, I always hope for mercy on the soul of the departed. I further believe the dead deserve a bit of the benefit of the doubt in our published or broadcast remembrances of them because they can no longer hear the criticism — but their family and dear friends can. Reasonable people can disagree with me, but I’ve been on the other side of postmortem criticism as a survivor and spokesperson for a “great man,” and so I view this as a Golden Rule issue.

The Tea Party candidate sees himself as the true Libertarian candidate — from a spin-off party, formed after the 2006 Libertarian Party Convention. I don’t know if this party will have their candidate on a single ballot. They appear to exist entirely for unherdable cats, hell-bent on criticizing the LP.

The Boston Tea Party candidate doesn’t source his quotes nor date them. He even accuses Barr of positions that Barr has repudiated and apologized for. If this candidate was alone, then you could dismiss his critique on Barr as political ax-grinding.

But the Internet is abuzz with this story. The Tea Party blog post is not isolated. Barr has a problem: Lots of people in the LP, including prominent members like David Nolan and Mary Ruwart, think he’s not really _yet_ a Libertarian. If you Google “Bob Barr, Jesse Helms,” you’ll find several blog posts about this tempest in a tea pot. And it looks to me like Barr gave some further credence to the doubters in the tiny and shrinking LP subculture.

But I promised I’d get to the real problem with Barr’s statement, and here it is — Continue Reading »

I have had some very interesting experiences and met many interesting people. Living in the Midwest, I’ve discovered that I’ve met far more “famous people” than normal people do. I’ve been published in national publications, quoted or acknowledged in books, and heard on national radio programs.

It never gets old. And I’m grateful for the opportunities I’ve had.

I’ve also participated in historical events. And by historical, I mean moments someone might write about what I did years later or it was obvious lots, perhaps millions of people were affected by my efforts. For example, Continue Reading »