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All you need is libertarianism

Letter to the editor

Economics, senior

Published: Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Updated: Tuesday, March 29, 2011 12:03

President Obama has now fired more cruise missiles than all other Nobel Peace Prize winners combined.

      Are you surprised? I mean,  wasn't Obama the one who was elected on an anti-war platform? Didn't he condemn Bush's interventionism in the Middle East? Observe this quote from then Senator Obama in 2007:

‎     "The president does not have power under the Constitution to unilaterally authorize a military attack in a situation that does not involve stopping an actual or imminent threat to the nation."

    Not only has Obama failed to end the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, he has now launched his own war against a country that has not threatened or attacked us. In elementary school, the kid who strutted about the playground punching others who had not hurt him was the much-hated bully. Is Obama any different?

    Countless lives, both American and Libyan, are sure to be needlessly lost.

     The fact is, both Obama and Bush are different brands of the same, crappy product: authoritarianism. They differ only as a matter of degree, not principle.

 To the betrayed and disheartened liberals: realize that there is no fundamental distinction between Bush's and Obama's policies.

      The political philosophy that respects and upholds human rights consistently, not just when it is politically convenient, is libertarianism.

   If you think we ought to mind our own business and let individuals live their own lives as they see fit, both at home and abroad, you should check it out.

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3 comments

Josh Huff
Fri Mar 25 2011 00:47
Just a clarification: Obama was well within his rights and duties as Chief Executive when authorizing the Trident launches. Check out the War Powers Act of 1973. It's up to Congress if they want to withdrawal from any conflict.

I had to remind a lot of people about this when President Bush was in office. It's a lot easier to dump all over one name instead of 530-plus, hm?

Brandon Wasicsko
Thu Mar 24 2011 01:50
Obama *can't* declare war on anyone. Neither could Bush. Congress must declare it. Those pesky rules. No UN resolution supersedes or overrides the constitution. A UN resolution doesn't confer new abilities in the president.

Regarding libertarianism, I'm not quite sure what your objection is. Rather, I think it's misinformed. Protection from physical force *is* the role of government, and the only role of government, according to libertarianism / classical liberalism. Libertarians advocate for equal treatment under the law (ie - no exclusion of certain people for any reason).

I'd be happy to correspond with you more regarding any specific questions / objections that you have.

Anonymous
Wed Mar 23 2011 06:57
Obama hasn't declared war on anyone. He has answered a call put out by the UN in order to halt the killing of civilians. I think you should remember Bush and his puppet master Cheney went to congress on a platform of fear to invade Iraq. And on paper, libertarianism is cool, but they still want protection from others, to exclude some people, and would miss certain aspects of government if it went away. There is always government, libertarians even have a pyramid under which they scheme.




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