Poly being Pitted? Don’t freak out, people. This is not so much a flame as it is an appeal.
Poly,
I brought this into a new thread, so that your concern about the hijack of this thread would not create a manifold of new hijacks. I just have a couple of things that I would like to say to you, and if you will be so kind, I would appreciate your momentary indulgence.
In that thread, you wrote:
Me, too. When I wrote this post, I was responding to Hamlet’s five questions.
I explained what I meant by “rights”. I explained what I believed to be the difference between granting rights and guaranteeing rights. I quoted Jefferson on the nature of rights conflicting with laws. I explained how I thought rights are derived. And I explained why a context of freedom is unlikely to emerge.
In other words, I answered his questions. Not once did I mention libertarianism or use any derivate of the word. I presumed, doubtlessly naively, that I, like you, could state my opinions and be done with it.
But that didn’t happen. Dewey responded to my post by asking me whether I believed that he had the unfettered right to expose himself naked in public. It deteriorated from there.
I realize that you did not pin on me the accusation of hijacking. Yet at the same time, you seemed to have no care or sympathy for how it occured.
The thing is that you so seldom read my posts about libertarianism. Maybe that’s because the topic doesn’t interest you. Or maybe you do read them, and for whatever reason, retain very little. How do I know this? Because you finished your post with this:
Emphasis yours.
See, Poly, I’ve explained many, many times that there is certain property with which your are born. Your self (your body, your mind, your life, etc.) is your property.
Defining rights as property ownership robs you of nothing. In fact, it defines your self as a rights bearing entity from the moment you breathe. Even your own parents may not abuse that property of yours when you are a child. If they were to do so, they would be tyrants, just like any other usurper of rights.
As a matter of fact, this exact same principle is one of the things that was covered in quite some detail during the hijack that so disturbed you.
Libertarianism is all about people. Individuals. Their intrinsic dignity, bearing rights given by God or nature. Your life is the most basic and fundamental of all your rights and property. Were you not alive, you could not avail yourself of any other rights.
You do not credit your life to a magistrate, so your rights don’t come from there. You do not credit your life to scribbles in ancient documents, so your rights don’t come from there. But if you credit your life to God, then your rights come from Him. Or if you credit your life to nature, then your rights come from it.
Using the property (rights) with which you are born (your mind and body), you may — by your wits, imagination, hard work, and determination — acquire more property, like a home, or a car, or even just a trinket. These — because you have earned them peacefully and honestly — accrue to you just like those rights and property with which you were born. Your home is as much yours as your body is.
These ideas make much sense to me. If I am a lunatic therefore, then so be it.
If I believe that a man’s consent is sacred, as a right to use his mind; if I believe that a man deserves freedom from coercion, as a right to use his body; if I believe that a man should be free to pursue his own happiness in his own way, as a right to use his life — why would you deny me to express these views, particularly when they are pertinent? When they are direct answers to direct questions? When they are my own opinions that I hold in the depths of my soul?
I’m not asking you to become a libertarian. I’m just asking you to respect that I am. Let me express myself through the lenses that I use to view life. Grant me your respect for the views I hold. It would mean so much to me. You’ve already told me that one particular libertarian principle was an eye-opener to you. Maybe there are even more delightful surprises in store for people like you with open minds and kind hearts.
I am hoping (beyond hope perhaps) that this thread won’t be hijacked into yet another “Hey, Lib, are you saying that I can run around naked anywhere I want to?” discussion. I am hoping that it will be, first and foremost, a healing between you and me, and secondarily a general discussion about mutual tolerance, and the fact that people might have ideas that, on the surface seem incredibly radical, but when viewed with empathy and understanding, might just not be bad ideas at all.
I would ask that if your intention is to compose a quick reply, or if you have only skimmed this post, that you do not respond at all. But if you will give some thought to what I am saying, and give me the courtesy of your considerable insight and erudition, then I would greatly appreciate your comments.
I love you, Poly.
