When In Rome

Ah the Roman Republic. Perhaps one of the most glorious empires the world has ever seen. The likes of which spanned from the fields of Great Britain to the deserts of North Africa, from the coast of present day Portugal to Babylonia. Not only geographically, it withstood the test of time spanning over 400 years.

A government system that reflected that of a Greek democracy, where people voted for representatives (senators) to represent them, much as how our system works today. It was clearly a government meant by the people, for the people.

how, one might ask, did such a system fail? One that was economically prosperous (some buildings they built are still around today). One that had made so many technological advancements in their time (Roman concrete), even a system of delivering water to citizens (the aqueduct). How could this possibly fail?

These senators who were supposed to represent the people became drunk with power and greed. They would offer positions in office for lump sums of money. They accepted bribes for various political favors from the aristocrats, creating an elitist system which ultimately undermines the rights of those with less money.  Leaders who were out of their minds were elected to office.

People say that humanity has come a very long way since then. But, when you look at the grand scheme of things, we have made absolutely no progress at all. Rob Blagojevich tried to sell Barack Obama's seat when Obama went into office. Interest groups offer money and bribes to representatives to make laws that benefit the firms, yet undermine the rights of the people.

But what about the military? The leaders whom lead Rome became power hungry, thirsted for conquest and natural resources. Corrupt beings whose souls were ugly.

How does this have anything to do with us? simple. Our foreign policy as of now is a "preventative" strategy. Ultimately the leaders thirst for either oil or to spread democracy. We have become a society of imperialistic slobs that bully nations out of land so we can control their resources, yet we turn right around and say we are helping them by instilling democracy.

The thirst for conquest is always quenched by defeat.

Life, Liberty, and the Likelihood of Corruption

Picture this:

You're a hard working father of two. Your spouse, having gone to a public school for her college education, also works full time. You live an average middle-class lifestyle. You can afford all of the basics; house, dog, cat, decent car, etc. Sounds pretty good, right?

Now, what if I said 10% of all income you and your spouse earn were to go to the government? You may say, "Well, I think that's okay. After all they are keeping me safe from those terrorists. And I would like to have some money when I retire."

I have absolutely no problem with this thought process. If I pay into something, I expect to get a return on it. I mean, it's the law, right? If I pay for a stake in apple and the cost per share goes up, they have to give me that money. Unfortunately, government doesn't work that way.

You have go give government money, otherwise you go to jail for evading taxes. In a perfect world, you would pay for certain public goods that government provides. Things like bridges, roads, military, etc. All of these things are more practical for the government to do because otherwise we would have to afford them ourselves. In the world we live in, that 10% of your paycheck goes to many different things; most of which will not in any way benefit you. Things such as government salaries, bailing out big business, and fighting pointless wars abroad just for "precautionary measures." I agree that sometimes violence is the only answer, but sometimes its just plain dumb.

Call me crazy, but I believe that taxpayer money should go to the benefit of the taxpayer. Furthermore, we need to cut taxes so that the economy can grow.

Governments only goals should be to protect the rights of people and protect people from the evils of another.

Hello

Hello and welcome to my latest internet endeavor.

I am an 18 year old from Ohio with a deep passion for political discussion. My passion is especially for total freedom and liberty; something I believe that all of us should stand for.

I am libertarian. I know that the popular belief with libertarians are that we are "anarchists", "as right wing as they come" or my absolute favorite "republicans who smoke pot." While most people who support the Democratic and Republican parties think we have our heads up in the clouds, our message of liberty is loud and clear to many. We have been listed as either "super republicans" or "democrats who don't want to vote for Obama." Both of these beliefs are not true. We have our own convictions and we are neither right nor left.

The reason for my blogging is to help raise attention to the cause. I want people to know we are here and we are not going away. We won't just dissolve due to lack of support, nor will we be absorbed by the republican party and be forced to compromise when it comes to elections of officials.

Anyway, I'm very excited to start my new blog and I really hope it brings about great things. I'm here to enlighten people on the idea f liberty and hopefully have a positive impact on those who I encounter. I will always be respectful of someone's beliefs and convictions no matter what and I expect everyone who reads to follow suit.

Thank you and god bless,
chris