By Ashtyn Britt
abritt@lc.edu
On one side we have the hardcore Democrats who feel burned and enraged enough to demand violence in the name of justice. On the other side, we have hardcore Republicans who would like to make every progressive person eat their words and go work in a fast food place to make them a sandwich.
The left and right have always fought, but actual violence has resulted in large amounts from both sides over this, and we’re only a fourth of the way through. Then, you have Libertarians who see both extremes as nearly identical in outrageousness.
Remember us Libertarians? We’re the people that Democrats like to give credit to for “forcing” Hillary Clinton lose the election. We’re also the people that Republicans like to think of as “edgy teenagers” trying to look too cool to be modern liberals. Both are very incorrect.
A Libertarian is a person who is in the center of the political spectrum, they believe the government shouldn’t be involved in our lives almost at all unless for small matters, like building roads and providing driver’s licenses. Like Democrats, we believe in LGBTQ+ rights, the right for a woman to control her body, protect the environment, and separation of church and state.
However, like Republicans, we also believe in the right to own firearms, flat taxes, military support funding, and low entitlements. Which is why it’s incredibly difficult to watch the chaos unfold around me, because it feels as though we’ve reached a point in society where the attitude is “You’re with us, or against us.” I myself have lost two friends for being a libertarian, and have faced more than a few dirty looks when explaining what I believe to certain people.
So, in the first year of Trump’s administration, how would the average Libertarian view the events that have unfolded? Progress, or destruction? To be frank, and I can only really speak for myself, it’s been a mess. Banning transgender people from the military? Fighting with the GOP leaders of congress for not doing what he wants? Still wasting his time on Twitter to complain and attack anybody, including world leaders, without so much as a second thought!? This is insane! To this day, I don’t recall ever meeting a Republican who voted for President Trump because they liked him, they just hated him less than Hillary Clinton.
The question isn’t what happened, because we all know what happened, we lived through it. The question is what happens now? Well, with any hope, people from both sides will start realizing we need to band together to get this unqualified man out of office and replace him with someone who at least bothers to attend their job training instead of asking them to “tweet it” to him.
As a Libertarian, I know no matter which party wins any election, I will never be completely satisfied with the results. I will cling to my right to marry whomever I love as hard as I cling to my right to apply for a foid card. There will always be one end or the other thinking they know what’s better for me than I do, and will want to take one right or another away from me. So, I can only do what I think is right and stick to my personal morals as best I’m able to. With that being said, I can acknowledge of all the choices for who could run this country, an ex-reality TV star who has never held any position to understand the responsibilities of his now job is at the very bottom of that list. Since he began his campaign as a “Republican”, I feared that this man only truly allies himself to one party, and that is himself.
This last year has only proven this fear to be correct, and as a message on behalf of Libertarians to everyone else: PLEASE. STOP. FIGHTING. We’ve got to stick together the best that we can and fight the real enemy here! If we all just keep fighting each other, we’re going to be in a big load of trouble. We all need to come together as best we can to hold out for either impeachment, or the 2020 election, whichever comes first. We’re only a fourth of the way through people, so let’s buckle up and pray that we get through the next three years.
