Do You Grok?
By Tom Rhodes, 11/20/2013

The news and net are all talking about the libertarian influence in the GOP. The Libertarian Party (LP) has seen a significant influx of new life, mostly disgruntled Republicans. The problem is that Republicans don't grok. In fact many new libertarians don't grok. In fact if you don't grok you don't understand the foundations of the LP.

If by now you are saying WTF is this asshole talking about. If you're thinking "What's this "grok" crap" then I suggest you read a book,google it, read the wiki and a few other references and come back when you're more literate.

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The reason the GOP and the lame stream press, and especially liberals are up in arms over libertarians and libertarian ideas is that they don't grok. Until people grok liberty and all it entails it won't be accepted.

To fully embrace the idea that all people are free and created with the same unalienable rights also assumes that for people to prosper they must be self governing, self reliant, and moral. To grok libertarian ideas you must not just "understand" but embrace and own the realty that in a free society those who aren't self governing, self reliant, and moral, most likely will suffer and so will their children. Libertarianism embraces charity, and libertarians give freely, but accept that charity often has strings. It accepts the fact that some people will be denied charity if they don't meet the conditions the charity providers. So if a charity may offer food and shelter to a drunk only if the drunk agrees to get sober. Failing to get sober may result in the charity stopping its provision.

Merely existing doesn't grant you the right to other people's property or labor. If you're a woman who has three babies from three different fathers before your 25, and don't have a good paying job, a massive savings, or a husband to provide for you and your kids, then in a libertarian society you and they will probably suffer privation. If you fully grok liberty you accept the fact that if charity were completely voluntary and not controlled by the government, that the mother in that situation because of her outright objective observable poor moral character as evidenced by her life choices, she might not receive enough voluntary charity to survive, much less have shelter, food, clothing, heat, and cable TV. If you fully grok liberty and equality, you understand why such suffering, and it being seen is preferable to welfare.

Republicans don't grok liberty; too many are part of the soccer mom faction in the GOP, who would rather sacrifice everybody's liberty than see anybody suffer the consequences of exercising liberty. Because some people will fail at being self reliant due to poor life choices, the soccer mom branch of the GOP embraces the idea that the government should take care of everybody cradle to grave. The cry of "How can a civilized society allow such suffering?" demonstrates complete lack of grokking.

Penn Jillette groks libertarianism, he sums up why the Republicans and Democrats don't. The statist parties don't even grock compassion.

"It's amazing to me how many people think that voting to have the government give poor people money is compassion. Helping poor and suffering people is compassion. Voting for our government to use guns to give money to help poor and suffering people is immoral self-righteous bullying laziness.

People need to be fed, medicated, educated, clothed, and sheltered, and if we're compassionate we'll help them, but you get no moral credit for forcing other people to do what you think is right. There is great joy in helping people, but no joy in doing it at gunpoint.
~ Penn Jillette

Libertarianism isn't some utopian ideology that if everybody were free to do as they please we'd all be fat, happy, and live to ripe old age without want or need. Those who fully grok libertarianism actually have some sound Biblical understanding of life (even if they are atheists), that man has free will, and that because man is fallen some will exercise that free will in a manner that is not in their best interest. Eve proved you can't have it all. Thinking she knew better, trusting the snake, she chose to eat the apple. The result is she and all her children must live with the consequences, in this case she lost her home, easy provision, and perpetual care free painless life. Feminists today still want to eat the apple and not suffer the consequences. Men today still stupidly stand by and say nothing while women make bad choices or even joining them in those bad choices which result in everybody suffering. In a free society so long as you don't abuse your free will you should be allowed to prosper or suffer as a result of your life choices. That includes you and your progeny suffering when you make a bad choice.



To get a glimpse of what grokking libertarianism looks like, read Heinlein's "Moon is A Harsh Mistress." Once you've read that classic, you will have a better grokking of Libertarian thought. You will also better understand why the Republican Party of today will not embrace its libertarian members.

The GOP doesn't have the balls to tell the feminized rank and file that if you choose to smoke, drink excessively, not exercise, over eat, eat crappy food, and get fat, when you find that nobody will voluntarily sell you health insurance at an "affordable" cost, don't expect Uncle Sam to pick up hour health care costs or force some private company to sell you insurance you can afford. A person who chooses to not smoke, eat right, exercises and has no genetic history of disease shouldn't have to subsidize for the insurance of a smoking fat couch potato who's parents and grandparents had a history of cancer, heart disease, diabetes, and hemophilia. They won't tell you TANSTAAFL.

The GOP doesn't have the balls to tell big business that we're not going to protect you from small business competition by creating license requirements, and other restrictions on who can do what business. Imagine the GOP telling the AMA, that nobody needs a government license to recommend to a person what drug will help their condition, and you don't have to get the permission of a licensed doctor to purchase said drug. Of course you not the person who recommended the drug must accept the risk of taking that drug. You trust the snake and eat the apple you live with the consequences. It's not the snakes fault you ate the apple, it's your fault you trusted the snake over God. Who has the better reputation? You are responsible for doing your due diligence and for what you put into your body. The government's only job is to protect you from force or fraud not stupidity.

The GOP doesn't have the balls to tell the feminized rank and file that it's not Uncle Sam's job to take care of mom and dad when they get old. To explain it, tell them to read the fable of the Ant and the Grasshopper.

A causal factor the GOP will not embrace libertarian ideas is that they have become so feminized they allow emotions to override reality. Avoiding the emotional angst and turmoil experienced from seeing people suffer overrides the reality that allowing everybody to see the consequences of poor life choices will result in fewer people making poor life choices and in the long run will result in less total suffering. The GOP is just like the Democrat party, it is made of people who think they know best how everybody should live, and believe that if everybody would just listen to them and do as they dictate, there would be no suffering, and because not everybody will voluntarily do what they think is best, they should be allowed to force them for their own good. They don't grok liberty or that their version of government just the like the Democrats version is totalitarian.

Do You Grok liberty?