Libertarian "Buts" and "former libertarians"
I've written before about "libertarian, buts" and "former libertarians". I've always been skeptical of either claim. If you make exceptions you might be "libertarian-leaning", but I don't believe you are libertarian. And if you claim to be a "former libertarian" I have my doubts you ever understood the concept in the first place if you can be swayed to abandon it. I'm not saying they are wrong, just that they aren't being completely honest.
So many people seem to feel it's trendy or edgy to call themselves libertarian, but... they like to hang on to certain exceptions. This seems to explain "former libertarians" as well. They are fine with life, liberty, and property until they find an exception-- an excuse for archation-- they value more. They can even get creative in justifying their exceptions.
Someone may be a libertarian "but" they support police because they can't imagine having to take responsibility for defending their own rights and they imagine that's what cops do.
They may call themselves libertarian while demanding government schools be reopened.
They may have been a libertarian until they decided "Black Lives Matter" more than other lives, and are willing to use the political means to impose their belief on society through legislation.
Some may be libertarian, except that they lust to take part in whichever current witch hunt allows them to fantasize about revenge and murder (which they'll characterize as "justice" ).
Or maybe they were libertarian until they decided "climate change" was a big enough threat, with no way to handle it, so now they support governments dictating "climate policy".
Don't accept a "but". You're better than that.
I feel like a SHTF event is imminent. Notice I don't say I think it is, rather it's just a feeling. Possibly triggered by the upcoming election.
I don't have a crystal ball. I'm almost definitely wrong.
If you can see it coming, it's not going to happen. That's almost a guarantee.
Just like the Coronapocalypse came at us out of nowhere, triggered by unexpected government overreactions to a fairly normal virus, a more serious event will also be a surprise. Consider the Coronapanic a practice run. It should have shown you the holes in your preps if you were paying attention.
I lucked out with the panicdemic because I was ready. Well, maybe it wasn't completely luck; I've prepped for years "just in case", and it finally paid off. I was pretty sure I wouldn't see it coming when it finally happened, and I didn't. But it didn't matter because I stay ready all the time-- and I have done so since well before the Y2K fizzle. I intend to be just as ready, if not more ready, the next time something ...
Sometimes it's good to just listen to people's stories without interrupting, even when you know the stories are nonsense.
My 2nd wife used to tell of a ghost that lived in her house when she was a kid. It was an interesting story even though I didn't believe it. I learned quickly that her family was very prone to believe anything as long as it fit with their magical worldview.
Other people tell me stories about beneficial things political government can do. These stories are no more true-- in the sense of being objective reality-- than ghost stories, but they can still be informative if you want to know which particular superstitions a person is living under.
Interrupt and you'll never hear the whole tale. Listen and you might be entertained by some fantastical tales of magical realms. Just don't bet your life on them being true.
My nature is such that I simply can't see government as a solution to anything. This puts me at odds with most of the rest of my species.
Yes, I think "social media" has become a horror. This doesn't mean I want government to regulate it; it means I think people who don't like it (or are too dumb to know not to take it at face value) should probably stop using it.
The same is true of so many other things I don't like.
Litter/pollution, scammers, sexual predators, abortion, animal cruelty, Hillary Clinton, poverty, drug abuse, pandemics, crime, and all manner of awful things.
I may hate them, but that doesn't mean I want government to step in. Look how often that has the opposite effect anyway; making the original problem worse-- or at least not solving it-- while also creating a host of new problems that never would have existed otherwise (anti-gun legislation being a perfect example).
And even if government intervention doesn't make this specific problem worse this particular ...
