The Right to Say, "No!"

I often get questioned by conservatives about the difference between conservatives and libertarians. I have had difficulty coming up with a needed sound-bite type of answer that is fundamentally correct and easy to understand.

But I think I have found one. Here it is: The Right to Say, “No!”

We know this not the totality of the differences between libertarians and conservatives. But it is a start.

Check out this video of a man who did not have the right to say, “No” to being taken to the hospital. He represents a microcosm of the abuses heaped on people for saying, “No!”

This right covers a lot of ground when you think about it, some of them big ticket items: Taxes, recycling, using renewable energy, who to allow to come into your business, who to hire in your business, how much to pay your employees, sending your kids to school, giving your kids vaccinations are some of the bigger ones. Painting the house, mowing the lawn, who to hire to rewire the house or put in a new bathroom, what to eat, what do drink, what to smoke are some of the smaller ones.

When someone says, “You must,” do you have the right to say, “No I don’t?” Libertarians think so.

Under a conservative regime, people are expected to follow the orders issued by Authority. Conservatives create armies of government inspectors housed in impressive sounding bureaucracies such as Building Departments, Health Departments, Electric Department, Food and Drug Administrations, Property Tax Collectors, Income Tax Collectors, Occupational Safety Administrators, Police, Fire and Sheriff Departments, ad infinitum whose purpose it is to monitor our activities and issue orders.

All these bureaucrats exist, according to conservatives, for our own good, for our own protection and safety. According to conservatives bureaucrats are needed to protect the majority from the unthinking minorities who fail to comprehend “proper behavior.”
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Well, there you have it. A nice one-liner to that nagging question that attempts to make libertarians look like some kind of bedraggled dissidents to the conservatives who know how we all should be comporting ourselves.
I don’t expect any conversation beyond the quick reply. But if I get a follow up, I’ll mention a couple of the minor ones listed above. Then, if they are still listening, I might follow up with a couple of those big ticket items, especially Taxes!!

Give it a try. If you do, please post a comment on how it worked.

I will be trying it. If it shuts them up, or makes the smile, I don’t care. I just want to make the point—quickly—that there is a difference.

I don’t expect agreement. It gives me a quick “one liner” to their query

And it may give them something to think about.