Don’t Be a Lonesome Libertarian

Mr. Bearce is a free lance writer in Humble, Texas.

Those of us who have read George Orwell’s 1984 appreciate the striking parallel between this exposé of absolute authoritarian­ism and the present regimented society in Red China where the tactics of propaganda and brain­washing are far advanced. Thought control over the Chinese people approaches the absolute.

Mao Tse-tung and his writings are as sacred to the Chinese as the Koran is to the devout Moslem. The Chinese read Mao, love Mao, think Mao, and sleep Mao. Mao is Big Brother. Mao is life itself! Any wayward Chinese citizen who neglects his allegiance to Brother Mao is subject to personal sacri­fice to Mao, or to the possible al­ternative of public repentance, al­lowing the Doubting Thomas or slothful Chinese to publicly repri­mand himself. For instance, if he has not been diligent in praising Mao, he is given the involuntary opportunity to express openly his deeply felt shame in failing Big Brother. This self-castigation is quite the vogue now in Red China. Although it is an example of au­thoritarianism in its most brutal form, I suggest we free men might practice it once in a while—vol­untarily, of course.

And I’ll be the first to do so. You see, I have a public confes­sion to make. I used to harbor an­tilibertarian views and thoughts. Unwittingly, I’ve practiced slander and dishonor against free­dom. Indeed, I’m not at all certain that I’ve wholly rid myself of this blasphemy. At least I know my weak point and hope to cleanse myself of all insults to freedom—mainly, that of intolerance. My hope is that this personal testi­mony will also light the spark of repentance in my fellow citizens.

Search yourself and see if there isn’t a little bit of the hypocrite in you. Or what is worse, are you inwardly defiled by intolerance?

I’m convinced that intolerance is one of the deadly pitfalls of those who advocate freedom. In our zeal to strengthen freedom and inspire others to love liberty as we do, we often become down­right belligerent. I’ve had to learn this the painful way, but I know that you can’t forcefully prosely­tize or evangelize people to believe in freedom.

Men are free beings with the ability to think, reason, choose, and reject. If we truly recognize that men are free beings, we will understand that we cannot force the refreshing truth of freedom upon our fellow man. Such fer­vent evangelism often causes in others deaf ears and closed minds. It is a personal discovery that gives dearness to a truth. Perhaps Goethe was thinking of this when he stated: “What you have in­herited from your fathers, earn over again for yourselves, or it will not be yours.”

Among my pen pals is a young man three or four years my jun­ior. Quite frankly, his socio-politi­cal beliefs are antagonistic to mine. He believes that socialism is the last hope of the world. He curses the capitalistic system as being the root of all his woes. Now, this fellow leaves himself wide open for an avalanche of freedom literature and lengthy letters setting him straight. Correspondence between us con­tinues, but I limit myself merely to clarifying my own thoughts rather than attempting to convert him. We seldom agree on the free market and the role of govern­ment, and the only visible prog­ress toward mutual understand­ing is that we both watch Mission Impossible.

Some of his beliefs are quite nauseating to me. They approach heresy. Yet, I continue corres­ponding, hoping somehow to plant a seed of inquiry that will even­tually flower into understanding the truth of freedom.

Another of my pen pals is a young woman who claims to be an atheist. Here I face a real di­lemma. I must be tolerant, yet be­lief in God seems to me a neces­sity for the preservation of free­dom.

The urge throbs within me to inundate her with all manner of pamphlets, books, and arguments. This urge, if followed, would prob­ably lose a pen pal. Nor would it help prove to her that God exists. Coercion, however well-intended, simply doesn’t work that way. Pursue these rude tactics of per­suasion, and you’ll find you are a lonesome libertarian.

My friend respects my feelings and I respect hers. And I hope to be on hand if and when God should wish to ignite the spark of belief in her.

One of my pastimes is reading American history, and one of my heroes is Thomas Jefferson. He was a liberal in the most honored sense of the word, and he recog­nized the importance of tolerance in a free society:

Of liberty then I would say that, in the whole plenitude of its extent it is unobstructed action according to our will, but rightful liberty is unob­structed action according to our will within limits drawn around us by the equal rights of others.

If there be any among us who wish to dissolve this union, or to change its republican form, let them stand un­disturbed as monuments of the safety with which error of opinion may be tolerated where reason is left to com­bat it.

Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes stated the case for tolerance in even more definite terms:

If there is any principle of the Constitution that more imperatively calls for attachment than any other it is the principle of free thought—not free thought for those who agree with us but freedom for the thought that we hate.

Personally, I believe that free­dom in America is being weak­ened. I consider myself an optim­ist, but I see blatant threats to freedom from government en­croachments and from violent mobs who are inviting a brutal re­pression that will destroy freedom for them and me, too.

I feel an obligation to do some­thing for the preservation of free­dom. I read, study, and philoso­phize on the subject and prepare myself for the time I might be called upon to defend liberty with word or pen. But I need to be re­minded constantly that a rude, pugnacious enthusiasm will only lose potential defenders of free­dom.

I have no great fondness for writing letters, but write letters I do—letters for freedom. The per­sonal, sincere letter can succeed where an emotional, vocal argu­ment will antagonize.

I find letters-to-the-editor an ex­cellent outlet for my passion to de­fend freedom. Readers respond, too. Phone calls, letters, and comments from my friends. In reply to my letters-to-the-editor, I have re­ceived but two adverse criticisms. I credit this low number of angry rebukes not to apathy but to the fact that I avoid being vindictive or “pushy.” In all that I write, I strive for tolerance and gentle­manly conduct. All that is required of any of us is understanding, hu­mility, honesty, sincerity, and tol­erance. Practice these daily and you won’t be a lonesome liber­tarian.