RFK Sr. said, "20% of the people are against everything, all the time." I've seen that actually play out in elections – and the number was about right – with propositions (Texas has a lot of them, because of our quirky constitution) that it's hard to imagine how anyone could oppose, for example.
So yes, that kind of ornery thinking is maddening at times, but perhaps does provide a valuable additional layer of stability to our society.
Re: If the Covid lockdown push had been fully successful, if the DEI push had worked, America would now be much closer to a European Union like entity
A bit of push back: the Covid pandemic was limited in time and the restrictions would be lifted-- and in fact were (in Maryland where I lived restaurants, bars and the like-- churches too-- began to reopen in early summer of 2020-- though there and everywhere schools were kept closed far too long). Temporary emergency measures do not lead to permanent losses of freedom. If that were otherwise Florida with our many hurricane emergencies would be the most totalitarian state in the union.
Good thoughts. I think it is healthy not only to have friendships with people like this (many of my friends are like this), but also to see this ingrained in the American political fray from the earliest times in our Nation.
I recently finished a biography of Alexander Hamilton, and one is struck by the themes that push and pull within American political, religious, and economic life. On the one hand, we really do need something that unites us. We need strong institutions that people can rely upon and trust. Hamilton was a political and organizational genius and put some things in place that we benefit from to this day. At the same time, we need some of that impulse that pushes back on the establishment and keeps men honest. I think our political system was originally designed toward that end, but there is also a healthy, broad segment of the populace that pushes back when power is consolidated, and institutions serve elite interests rather than those of the people.
It's messy, but like you, I prefer a population that would never comply with a British parliamentary system that would impose a one-size-fits-all solution as much as we're looked down upon for having "backward" elements in this country, our collective liberty is served by those who just won't buy into that kind of system.
I will hasten to add that it is these salt-of-the-earth types that provide the bulk of our military and defend our right to be smart or stupid.
I believe this is similar to what one Twitter wag calls the "chud veto." I am thankful to the folk libertarians of America.
https://x.com/SaladBarFan/status/1945316682215608331
https://x.com/ArtemisConsort/status/1945344805103349851
https://x.com/ManDaveJobGood/status/1945169325762965778
https://x.com/HellenicVibes/status/1981542640836628897
RFK Sr. said, "20% of the people are against everything, all the time." I've seen that actually play out in elections – and the number was about right – with propositions (Texas has a lot of them, because of our quirky constitution) that it's hard to imagine how anyone could oppose, for example.
So yes, that kind of ornery thinking is maddening at times, but perhaps does provide a valuable additional layer of stability to our society.
Re: If the Covid lockdown push had been fully successful, if the DEI push had worked, America would now be much closer to a European Union like entity
A bit of push back: the Covid pandemic was limited in time and the restrictions would be lifted-- and in fact were (in Maryland where I lived restaurants, bars and the like-- churches too-- began to reopen in early summer of 2020-- though there and everywhere schools were kept closed far too long). Temporary emergency measures do not lead to permanent losses of freedom. If that were otherwise Florida with our many hurricane emergencies would be the most totalitarian state in the union.
You should read "Crisis and Leviathan" by Robert Higgs.
Pushback to the pushback: "temporary emergency measures" do not *always* lead to permanent losses of freedom.
Like you Aaron, I find folk libertarianism a hindrance but you are right that it is also a bulwark and I needed to hear that. Great piece.
Good thoughts. I think it is healthy not only to have friendships with people like this (many of my friends are like this), but also to see this ingrained in the American political fray from the earliest times in our Nation.
I recently finished a biography of Alexander Hamilton, and one is struck by the themes that push and pull within American political, religious, and economic life. On the one hand, we really do need something that unites us. We need strong institutions that people can rely upon and trust. Hamilton was a political and organizational genius and put some things in place that we benefit from to this day. At the same time, we need some of that impulse that pushes back on the establishment and keeps men honest. I think our political system was originally designed toward that end, but there is also a healthy, broad segment of the populace that pushes back when power is consolidated, and institutions serve elite interests rather than those of the people.
It's messy, but like you, I prefer a population that would never comply with a British parliamentary system that would impose a one-size-fits-all solution as much as we're looked down upon for having "backward" elements in this country, our collective liberty is served by those who just won't buy into that kind of system.
I will hasten to add that it is these salt-of-the-earth types that provide the bulk of our military and defend our right to be smart or stupid.