I have come to realize of late that I can no longer, in good conscience, uphold Conservatism. Until Conservatism (if it ever had any meaning as a label) goes back to meaning individual freedom and the maintenance of individual liberty as opposed to the promotion of the supremacy of religious ideology through the force of law over the mind of man, then I will no longer promote it. Thomas Jefferson stated:
I Have Sworn Upon the Altar of God eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man.There are religious people in this country who want to impose their religious beliefs on others legislatively. That is also a form of big government. To share a popular philosophical and Objectivist saying, in the realm of Reason which is absolute, "You cannot have your cake and eat it too." Various religions and their sects are man-made and they are not always grounded in truth or reason, therefore, that means all attempts of legislating their supremacy over the mind of man, is the attempt of one man to impose his will forcefully on another. I can no longer condone that, support it, or sanction it...because it is evil. Men are accountable as individuals and there are ways to improve society through voluntary means which maintains man's freedom as well as his sovereignty over his own mind and body. We have become a nation of cannibals--cannibals feeding on people's minds, bodies, and souls. This needs to stop if we are to remain free.
It has been suggested to me by various followers in the past, either on this blog or over at Facebook--that my promotion of various attitudes which allow people to privately contract with others in regards to medical decisions they wish to make for themselves or others--will eventually lead to things like eugenics, mass slaughter, or collectivist evil. This is nonsense. A private contract is a private contract. If it is made between two individuals and the government does not stick its nose into the process (which ultimately is where many of our legal problems and overly legislated society come from)--then there is absolutely no need to believe, if the government is not involved, that those private contracts would lead to those collectivist evils. That is a ridiculous notion. Collectivism has sprung from secular and religious societies alike down through history; Soviet Russia sprang from extremely mystical traditions which upheld religious, altruistic notions. There have also been nations which had secular societies which sprouted collectivist evil. The problem springs from false premises people maintain in regards to what their duties are and are not in regards to their relationship with their fellow citizens. Not to mention, laissez-faire capitalism is based on the notion of private contracts between two parties. Only the people involved in that contract need to be concerned--and no one else. When they have a dispute it is up to the courts to decide objectively how to settle the dispute based on the legal contract which was signed by both parties.
Which, by the way, brings me to another point about the degradation of our society--the inability to mind our own Goddamn business. And in this, news anchors, the mass media, politicians and unscrupulous lawyers looking to make an easy buck are all culpable. When someone has decided to have a no-resuscitate rule upheld legally should they become unable to live their life in a manner that is productive and dignified to a human being--we do not need to hear for weeks on end from endless parades of busy bodies why what they did was wrong, right, and every shade in-between. If that's what they wanted--and it was contracted privately and legally--it doesn't matter to anyone one else.
It has also been suggested to me by others that a society not grounded in religious ideology (a theocracy--because that's exactly what it would be), would also lead to the outcomes I mentioned above. That is also ridiculous. If we maintain separations between Church and State, Economics and State, Science and State, and Education and State and return to limiting the government to its proper foundations--none of the above fear-mongering by those with other agendas (those who want to institute their economic or religious collectivist beliefs onto others) is remotely possible. We have only had peaceful co-existence among various religious faiths in this country to the extent that the government has kept its nose out of playing legislative favorites with one faith over another. Although, that is quickly becoming a problem too.
If the Tea Party and the Republicans fail in their mission to restore laissez-fair capitalism and freedom to this nation it will be because they decided to uphold religious ideology over economic and social freedom as well as continuing to promote the evil of altruism as a method by which to deal with others. Those are the causes. Our destruction will be the effect.
I am opposed to the secular, immoral, collectivism of the Left which is grounded in subjectivism and I am opposed to anyone on the Religious Right who supports collectivist, theocratic notions which deal with people in a forceful manner. Men can only remain free when they choose to deal with each other as equal, sovereign individuals in a voluntary manner. If you have a moral issue with particual actions people take then you have the freedom to go out and privately promote what you think is morally best and provide an arena to people who want a different option--and let the free market of ideas take care of the rest. Just keep your organization's nose away from busy-body politicians. They will sour your organization more quickly than anything else. The good will always win out when that is upheld as a standard.
I will no longer sanction the ridiculous growth of our government beyond its bounds of protection of individual freedom via the attempt to throw a legislative noose around my neck making me economically responsible for other people. Justice requires and demands that men are treated and dealt with as individuals...not as some pawn in a game to make others feel justified in their religious beliefs or their beliefs that they are owed something by society. A free society owes you nothing other than what you work to gain for yourself and those whom you value.
I will continue to work voraciously to uphold economic freedom from the dictates of the Left. I am also going to branch out my work into exposing organized religion's ties to the government, politicians, and economics. They want to use such devices to impose their religious morality on everyone else. Organized religion is a form of collectivist doctrine which I will also no longer condone as long as it is attempting to impose its will on others. Religion does, at times, run parallel and can discover the same truths which philosophy does. Religion was (is) ultimately a primitive form of philosophy. However, many times religion seeks to uphold things which are not only in conflict with man's freedom and the good but actively help to undermine man's freedom and which help to support evil; whether it is intentional or by default--means little. The result is the same: tyranny.
I am dedicated to man's freedom. I deal with others voluntarily as I expect them to deal with me. I will not promote, sanction, or help evil in its purposes to subvert this free nation from it's philosophical moorings grounded in individual freedom.
If you are religious and on my friend list I welcome you to stay if you see the truth in my words above. If you do not, then you are welcome to leave with my blessings. Just know this--I will no longer bend to politically correct language and parse my words for the sake of sparing people's feelings. I'm done with being afraid to speak the truth. This nation will not survive if we are concerned about people's feelings while hiding behind politically correct language which does an extraordinary disservice to those who seek to understand man, his place in the universe, and the philosophical principles which must be maintained in order to retain his freedom.
Thank you,
Christopher Budden
