Walter E. Williams states in this article, Liberty Is Not For Wimps (read here): “Most Americans, whether liberal or conservative, Democratic or Republican, do not show much understanding or respect for the principles of personal liberty. We criticize our political leaders, but we must recognize that their behavior simply reflects the values of people who elected them to office. That means we are all to blame for greater governmental control over our lives and a decline in personal liberty.”
Our founders told us that eternal vigilance is the price of freedom. Since WWII we have not been vigilant at all. We vote and go back to living our lives. Being informed and active is the most important part of eternal vigilance. Voting is something that happens on one day every two years.
Why have not seen the growth in the power of Government over our lives? Because it has been an incremental increase.
When you see yourself in the mirror everyday you don’t realize how much you have changed over the course of 20 years. When you see a picture of yourself from 20 years ago you ask; “Who is that person?”.
This is what has happened to the growth of Government and the loss of our individual liberty. Unfortunately the majority of the people haven’t been shown a ‘picture’ of what individual liberty originally looked like. Their only picture from their past is a picture of Government solutions to every problem.
These people have not been taught about individual liberty in our schools and universities. In fact they have been indoctrinated into thinking Government is the end all and be all. They have to be educated about individual liberty before they can make informed decisions.
LIBERTY DEFINED
Excerpt from the article: “My initial premise is that each of us owns himself. I am my private property, and you are yours. If we accept the notion of self-ownership, then certain acts can be deemed moral or immoral. Murder, rape and theft are immoral because those acts violate private property.”
“Most Americans accept that murder and rape are immoral, but we are ambivalent about theft. Theft can be defined as taking the rightful property of one American and giving it to another, to whom it does not belong. It is also theft to forcibly use one person to serve the purposes of another.”
“At least two-thirds of federal spending can be described as Congress’ Taking the rightful property of one American and giving it to another American, to whom it does not belong. So-called mandatory spending totaled $2.45 trillion in 2015. This, two-thirds of the federal budget goes toward Medicaid, Medicare, Social Security, food assistance, unemployment and other programs and benefits that fall into the category of taking from some and giving to others. To condemn legalized theft is not an argument against taxes to finance the constitutionally mandated functions of the federal government; we are all obligated to pay or share of those.”
RIGHTS DEFINED
Excerpt from the article: “Many say that government spending guarantees one right or another. That’s nonsense. True rights exist simultaneously among people. That means that exercise of a right by one person does not impose an obligation on another. In other words, my rights to speech and travel impose no obligations on another except those of noninterference. For Congress to guarantee a right to healthcare, food assistance or any other good or service whether a person can afford it or not does diminish someone else’s rights – namely, their right to their earnings. Congress has no resources of its own. If Congress gives one person something that he did not earn, it necessarily requires Congress drive somebody else of something that he did earn.”
FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION
Excerpt fro the article: “A very difficult liberty pill for many Americans to swallow is freedom of association. As with free speech, the true test for one’s commitment to freedom of association does not come when one permits people of voluntarily associate in ways that he deems acceptable.”
“The true test is when he permits people to associate in ways he deems offensive. If a golf club, fraternity of restaurant were not to admit me because I’m a black person, I would find it offensive, but it’s every organization’s right to associate freely.”
“On the other hand, a public library, public utility or public university does not have a right to refuse me service, because I am a taxpayer.”
CONCLUSION
Excerpt from the article: “The bottom line is that it takes a bold person to be for personal liberty, because you have to be able to cope with people saying things and engaging in voluntary acts that you deem offensive. LIBERTY IS NOT FOR WIMPS.”
It is our job to make the case for individual liberty. As I said earlier, people are not being taught about individual liberty in our schools and universities. If people are not curious enough to educate themselves, it is up to us to educate them.
Walter E. Williams has been ringing the bell for individual liberty his whole life. You don’t have to try to save the whole world. You just have to influence the people in your little part of the world. People are starting to be curious about what is going on. The election of Trump proves that people know there is something wrong with the status quo. These people represent fertile ground on which to plant the seeds of liberty.
Related Article: Walter E. Williams: The State Against Liberty, at austrianaddict.com.
Related Article: Walter E. Williams: Voluntary vs. Involuntary Exchange, or Seduction vs. Rape, at austrianaddict.com.
Related Article: Walter E. Williams Speaks About The Economics Of Liberty, at austrianaddict.com.
Related Article: Walter E. Williams: Are We Moving Toward More Personal Liberty of More Government Control Over Our Lives, at austrianaddict.com.
Related Article: Walter E. Williams Talks About Individual Liberty, at austrianaddict.com.
AUSTRIAN ECONOMICS ADDICT 