NO GOVERNMENT-SUPPORTED “VALUES”
The Fort Myers City Council has voted unanimously to take down the plinth that held up the Robert E Lee bust. (News-Press, 01-21-21).
This decision is excellent, of course. Governments exist to provide essential non-negotiable services that simply cannot be provided in any other way. They exist to provide courtrooms where the litigants can slug it out; they keep Russian troops from taking back Alaska; they try to stop us from killing each other; that sort of thing. They do not exist for any other purpose. Governments do not exist to provide “values”, which are to come from the heart of the people, if at all.
Also, governments do not exist for the purpose of celebrating one value over another. If governments start celebrating one value over another — even the most obvious ones, the ones celebrated by almost all of us – governments will then try to dictate our values for us. It is called “mission creep”, and we have all seen it before.
Libertarians have a thoroughly consistent view of this and related issues. We believe in limited government, limited taxes, maximum personal freedom and maximum personal responsibility.
Please check us out at www.lpf.org
Larry Gillis, Cape Coral
Vice Chair, Libertarian Party of Lee County
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