A Libertarian's Thoughts on Whatever

Sunday, January 05, 2003

 
So my lost blog was something about reading different people's work. I believe it was Emerson who said that every man is superior to me in some way, so I can learn something from everybody I meet (I'm paraphrasing a bit). One writer that I recommend is Taki Theodoracopulos. Taki seems to split his columns in half; some are about the amusing happenings of his life, while the other half are insightful (and, I think, funny) columns on what's going on in the world. I've also read some of that apparent anti-semite, Pat Buchanan, and I've found him to be very different from how he is portrayed. I don't always agree with him, but I don't think he is a racist or a xenophobe. He's gotten in trouble for pointing out that Israel is not a part of the US and shouldn't treated as if it is, and for calling the Israeli government on its actions. Not exactly Hitler-like actions on Pat's part. He also wants to limit immigration to America, slow it down a bit, so that the country isn't overwhelmed by the inevitable clash of cultures that occurs. This isn't hating foreign cultures, this is trying to preserve our own at least a bit. He seems to want to slow it down too much, but it seems apparent to me that we should at least have a better idea of who we are letting into the country in light of recent events.
Always good for a laugh is Ben Shapiro, though not in the way he intends. Benji is a student at UCLA, and he shows the lengths to which Republicans will go and embarass themselves trying to show they appeal to youths, and I say this as someone who thinks very little of most Democrats. Benji is a great example of the dangers of just a little knowledge, and seems to be a fascist in the making. But there are people out there like Benji, so we should be aware of them. I also try to read a little Noam Chomsky. I think he is a bit nutty, but also has some insights that are useful, kind of like me. I haven't read enough of his work to say for sure, but I have the feeling our worldviews aren't all that different, despite his reputation as an academic bomb-thrower anarchist. If I thought it could work, I would be an advocate of anarchy, meaning no one is forced to be a part of any government. Until I am convinced it can, my general view on government is that we should keep it as small as possible. So assume the bomb-throwing part is exaggeration, and change anarchist to minarchist, and we're basically the same I think.
Maestro 1:20 PM