I confess to being confused about Libertarians.  Several people who seem knowledgeable have expressed leanings toward this “new” creed.  It is confusing because the term seems synonymous with the political label, “Liberal”. With the current ascendancy of Republican “Conservatism” and our confusion over exactly what it means, aside from the menu of items the Republicans are offering, we should find out more exactly where Liberals and Libertarians and Conservatives stand.  You will notice that I have put Liberals on the left, Conservatives on the right but I do not really know enough about the Libertarian mission statement to locate it properly.

It used to be the Radical Left that was over there where change was just the ticket.  And you could tell where the Radical Right was because that space as occupied by Reactionaries who wanted to stop time and go back to when slavery was in fashion in certain quarters (the slave quarters, of course).  The middle or the moderate centrist position has been always populated by thoughtful progressives in all parties.  But, just what do Libertarians stand for?  I am asking this question seriously and would like a Libertarian to answer it.

I am sure that just as there are wings of every political party (Bolsheviks and Mensheviks did it for revolutionaries in Russia) the solid majority of each is in the middle and can cooperate to move the country forward at a sensible pace rather than overreach and go too far to either extreme.  But where are the Libertarians? I have a sense that the emphasis here is on INDIVIDUAL liberties or more freedom from government restraint.  Would someone be able to tell me if this is what Libertarians are mostly about?

At this time when we are assured that a Democrat brake on Republican Judicial excesses (way to the right) has been worn thin, change in America looks like we will be redefining what each of the two major parties stand for.  Maybe it is a time to see what the third parties are all about.

I think we can eliminate the single issue groups.  I think fondly of the crazies over in England that supported a thinly populated but very vocal party called the: “Anti-Jockstrap League”.  It seemed to be “manned” mostly by women and called for the prevention of un-manning men by constricting their most private part.  The “Greens” everywhere are pictured hugging trees but that is not what they are about.  They are publicists for the cruelty and waste of our species’ resources but do not know what to really do to get the voting majority activated enough to be on their side.

Jockstraps, trees and threatened frog populations and whatnot, what exactly is a Libertarian?