Why I'm a Libertarian

By Dennis Derrick

I was raised in a house with a liberal Democrat (my Mother) and a conservative Republican (my Father). So let's say, I always heard both viewpoints on any issue growing up in the 60's & 70's. And I found that I sometimes was a Democrat, others a Republican. So when it came time to vote, I found it easier just to go with the Democrats as I leaned more in that direction.

But as I got older I started seeing all the wasteful spending that the government's tax collections go towards and then I realized a lot of this is because of Democrats social spending policies. But I'm still against many of the intrusions that the Republican / Religious Morals (we know what's best for you) party likes to put into government laws. I also have always hated only having 2 choices for any election. Other political parties have been around but many lean so far in any direction that they cannot draw enough support to be a serious contender.

Then back in 2000, my brother and his daughter became involved with the Libertarian Party of Indiana and he convinced me to work with him to form the Libertarian Party of Hendricks County. We went to government meetings and watched how the local government works. Or not. And now I've found my party in politics.

The Libertarian approach to government is really is in the middle of both the current parties. As with any organization, you find it impossible to agree on all the issues and this is true with the Libertarian Party and myself. But the most common sense Libertarian approach to getting the government out of controlling our lives and keeping to its constitutional duties goes way beyond the Republicans and Democrats ideas. We want to get the government out of the business of wasting our tax money and letting us keep and spend it on what we want to, not what they tell us is good for us. And it's not the government's duty to protect us from ourselves, just those who want to harm us.

I personally feel that the Libertarian Party is the only hope we have to get the United States back to what the founding fathers designed with the constitution. I also am a realist and know that this will take time for this movement to grow. And nothing will ever make this the utopian society we all would like, but every little bit of improvement makes life easier for everyone in this great country. I hope that someday I will be able to look back and say I was a part of the new political party that helped make the United States the land of the truly free citizens again.