AFS Cinema
Little Difference
RECEIVED Thu., Sept. 29, 2016
Dear Editor,
"Page Two: Two Candidates in Search of a Presidency" [Sept. 30] had this curious assertion: "If you believe that there is no difference between the two parties then it is hard to imagine a government with which you'd be happy."
Respectfully, it appears that statement is projection. I have a Bernie supporting girlfriend who is gonna hold her nose and vote for Hillary no matter what she says or does in the next month, and so I know from many passionate but respectful political discussions with her that it is hard for someone with that ideology to even imagine the world Libertarians would like to live in, much less imagine any conceivable path to get there. So, a short list:
The Bill of Rights would be somewhere between 1,000 and 10,000 articles long, laying out in great detail the vast expanses of rights and life not subject to government interference. But, it could be summarized briefly: Do whatever the heck pleases you, so long as you don't harm another person or their possessions. If it's morally reprehensible for you to do something to your neighbor, it's as reprehensible to delegate that action to someone wearing a government-issued costume and badge.
In that world, no one would be locked up in a cage for smoking weed, or consuming other substances. We would use personal charity, not bureaucrats and taxes, to do charitable deeds. Peaceful immigrants would be welcomed, rather than rebuffed with double walled fences patrolled in between by armed Border Patrol agents. The NSA would be dismantled, and Edward Snowden would be regarded as a courageous hero, not a traitor. Eventually, the current seats of government would be converted into insane asylums, and the inmates' directives and orders would be courteously ignored.
And so on.
To the extent that the both major parties find these and many other peaceable notions ludicrous or even incomprehensible, then yes, from my perspective there is precious little difference between the major parties and in particular their candidates for president, and voting for either of them is an utter waste of a few hours that could be spent in productive or enjoyable pastimes.
"Page Two: Two Candidates in Search of a Presidency" [Sept. 30] had this curious assertion: "If you believe that there is no difference between the two parties then it is hard to imagine a government with which you'd be happy."
Respectfully, it appears that statement is projection. I have a Bernie supporting girlfriend who is gonna hold her nose and vote for Hillary no matter what she says or does in the next month, and so I know from many passionate but respectful political discussions with her that it is hard for someone with that ideology to even imagine the world Libertarians would like to live in, much less imagine any conceivable path to get there. So, a short list:
The Bill of Rights would be somewhere between 1,000 and 10,000 articles long, laying out in great detail the vast expanses of rights and life not subject to government interference. But, it could be summarized briefly: Do whatever the heck pleases you, so long as you don't harm another person or their possessions. If it's morally reprehensible for you to do something to your neighbor, it's as reprehensible to delegate that action to someone wearing a government-issued costume and badge.
In that world, no one would be locked up in a cage for smoking weed, or consuming other substances. We would use personal charity, not bureaucrats and taxes, to do charitable deeds. Peaceful immigrants would be welcomed, rather than rebuffed with double walled fences patrolled in between by armed Border Patrol agents. The NSA would be dismantled, and Edward Snowden would be regarded as a courageous hero, not a traitor. Eventually, the current seats of government would be converted into insane asylums, and the inmates' directives and orders would be courteously ignored.
And so on.
To the extent that the both major parties find these and many other peaceable notions ludicrous or even incomprehensible, then yes, from my perspective there is precious little difference between the major parties and in particular their candidates for president, and voting for either of them is an utter waste of a few hours that could be spent in productive or enjoyable pastimes.
Jim Henshaw
[Louis Black responds: Jim Henshaw is correct; the sentence was sloppy in thought and wording. Better would be: "If you believe there is no difference between the two parties then it is hard to imagine a realistic, electable, and achievable government with which you'd be happy."]
