Location:
LPIN Central Committee Meeting
Indianapolis, Indiana
Date:
Saturday, July 14, 2001
The Libertarian Party of Indiana, by unanimous vote, has approved the by-laws, election of officers, petition for affiliation, and has granted official affiliation to the Miami County Libertarian Party.
Christopher Nelson, of Peru, was named Chairman and
Scott Benson, of Peru, was named Treasurer of the Miami County Libertarian Party.
There are several members of the LP in Miami County, all of which are automatically members of the Miami County LP with full voting rights at our business meetings and conventions.
We have started our Miami County LP organization to help all of the residents of Miami County realize that there is hope for a better government. We can all work together to bring about positive changes in our county, state, and our nation. These positive changes are based on the fundamental libertarian philosophy. That philosophy is:
You Own Yourself.
Governments are instituted to protect your individual liberty. Government is not charity nor is it your master. Government is your defender of your liberties. When you believe that your liberties have been violated or are in danger, government is used in a court of law to find guilt and penalty for those who violate your liberties.
Government is force, as stated by our very first President. We have seen the misuse of this force growing in our government for the past several decades and we as a people have allowed it to happen. There has been a movement to significantly reduce this misuse of American government force for several decades. This movement is libertarian in nature and has exploded in size and influence. There are many libertarian think tanks and organizations, including the Libertarian Party, that are constantly growing and working hard to fight the growing misuse of government force. We are working to restore the level of American freedom and prosperity that Americans once had before the Socialist influence that began in the early 1900's.
That socialist influence regarded the whole of society to be more important than the individual, even though society is made of individuals. This is backwards thinking and has proven itself to be an unstable and undesirable form of government. The proof is all around the world where socialist governments are collapsing.
The Miami County Libertarian Party is our organization that we can use to combat the ill effects of socialist influence in our county, our state, and our nation.
You may say that this is just rhetoric, and you would be correct. I hope that your interest level is at a point where you will find information on what it is that libertarian organizations are doing, not just what is being said.
I have no doubt that common sense, American patriotism, and respect for people will lead you to discover that focusing on individual liberty is the only practical and moral way for a government to function. Government is force and should only be used to protect your individual liberty, to protect you from fraud and coercion.
To help those who are new to politics or new to the Libertarian Party, I will first distinguish between "Big L" Libertarian and "Little l" libertarian. The Libertarian Party is based on the libertarian philosophy and the Nazi Party was based on the authoritarian philosophy - these philosophies are at opposite ends of the political spectrum.
There are political philosophies and political parties. Political philosophy is broken down into 5 major areas. Those philosophies are:
libertarian
liberal
authoritarian
conservative
and centrist.
Then there are political parties that are generally, as a whole, supporting one of these political philosophies or are claiming to support one of them.
Although political parties change their philosophy somewhat as generations pass, here is the current philosophy for current political parties:
Libertarian Party - libertarian
Democrat or Socialist Party - liberal
Republican Party or Constitution Party - conservative
Nazi Party or some individual members of the Democrat or Republican Party - authoritarian
Another way to describe the libertarian philosophy is to say that if there is no victim, there is no crime.
An example of contrast between political philosophy is the seatbelt issue that recently went before the US Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court ruled, by a 5 to 4 vote, that police have the authority to handcuff, arrest, and imprison Americans who violate minor traffic violations, including not wearing a seatbelt.
That is an authoritarian or conservative philosophy.
To figure out what the libertarian philosophy on this issue is, you can ask if there is a victim. There is no victim if someone refuses to wear a seatbelt. This Supreme Court ruling is a violation of your individual liberty and is a ruling that contradicts the libertarian philosophy. You own your body and you can do what you want to it, as long as you do not violate the individual liberty of another person.
Another example is property tax or the income tax. These two taxes are coherent with the authoritarian and liberal philosophies.
In socialism, the heavier the property and income tax on the governed, the more centralized control the government has. This is essential to the authoritarian or liberal philosophy.
The libertarian position on the property and income tax can be answered by understanding the basic libertarian principle - You Own Yourself. Since you own yourself, no person or entity comprised of people can enslave you or take your property by coercion. If you have not voluntarily agreed to a contract or deal of commerce and your justly acquired property is taken, then you have just been coerced into slavery or you have been robbed. This is contradictory to the libertarian philosophy of protection of individual liberty, regardless of what the thief claims to do with your money or other property.
The Libertarian Party is working to end property taxes and the federal income tax. A byproduct of this goal is the elimination of the IRS. Our governments, local, state, and federal, should be used to protect individual liberty with a strong military, court systems, and police. With our governments focusing mainly on those responsibilities, their budgets will be severely reduced to a manageable level.
This will be an atmosphere where individual liberties and prosperity will be much greater than we have now.
One thing to always remember is that utopia is not an option. We can only strive to make our lives the best that they can be. This will benefit everyone, hence society, if we work to better ourselves in a peaceful and honest way. It will be easier to do this in a free society where individual liberties are protected and held at a higher level than society as a whole, since a society is made up of individuals.
For a more in-depth understanding of the libertarian philosophy and the Libertarian Party, follow the links provided and read the information on these web sites:
The National Libertarian Party
The Libertarian Party of Indiana
The Foundation for Economic Education
The Mises Institute
The Institute for Justice
The CATO Institute
The Advocates for Self Government
The Advocates for Self Government web site has information on libertarians who are celebrities, Christian libertarians, general libertarian information, and the popular "Worlds Smallest Political Quiz" which can give you an idea of which political philosophy you may be most interested in.
Contact the
Miami County Libertarian Party Chairman with questions, suggestions, or membership information by sending an email to
Nelson@NelsonNow.com.