The Little Brown Reader

And I will. Directly.

But first, it's important to get a few things straight about America's history and the old saw about "wasting" your vote.

For better or worse, the 227-year-old United States of America is inextricably associated in the minds of individuals everywhere with the notion, which was radical 227 years ago, of individual freedom. The dismal fact, that this association is no longer valid, and hasn't been since Abraham Lincoln, has done little to change people's minds.

Since the time of Lincoln, individuals and groups who realized the truth about America's lost freedoms have tried to do something about it, invariably falling short, either because they failed to eradicate every remaining trace of non-freedom from their philosophies, or because they thought they could be clever, cut corners, and make deals with the enemies of freedom. Genuinely conservative Republicans and the National Rifle Association come to mind.

Even the Democratic Party was originally organized, by no less an author of liberty than Thomas Jefferson, because of a need he saw to combat the statism of Alexander Hamilton and his Federalist buddies.

For a long while, the two major parties were truly antagonistic.

...

My choice, of course, despite the many and grievous faults I've chronicled over the years, is the Libertarian Party. And the choice to put my vote in escrow (the truth, of course, is that Republicans and Democrats will never straighten up and fly right) will be sweeter if I can vote for a candidate I really respect and admire.