LR Podcast S2E14: The Lessons So Far, Pt 1

If you haven’t listened to the Liberty Relearned podcast in a while, I really hope you’ll listen to this one. All of the major topics I’ve discussed since the inception the podcast will be covered in a planned multi-part series. I’d like to think that the ideas I talk about are of value to the listener. I deeply value the opinions of my readers and listeners so I encourage you to share your thoughts on this episode. Your feedback is the primary way I know to make the necessary improvements and adjustments, plus I want people to feel free to add their own thoughts to what I say — Thanks. J.P. Mac.

The lessons I hope you’ve taken from this Podcast so far, Pt 1:

The ability to define conservatism, especially as it applies to American conservatism
- The belief in America’s founding documents, and their underlying principles:
  - Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
  - All men (and women) are created equal
  - The Rule of Law
- “The bigger the government, the smaller the citizen.” – Dennis Prager
A working concept of rights.
- “[Human beings] are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.” – the Declaration of Independence
- Positive vs. Negative rights
  - Positive rights demand others do for us
  - Negative rights are what no man has the moral authority to curtail without due process
  - All rights are individual rights
- Rights vs. Privileges. Rights do not require permission to be exercised. Privileges must be earned or maintained. This entails some sort of exchange between the granter and the recipient
Bigotry is not just exclusive to bigotry against race, nationality, or religion. There is also political and ideological bigotry.
- In the U.S. “Trump Derangement Syndrome” is the most prevalent form of political bigotry today.
- Bigotry against people who want the freedom to choose what’s best for them and their family when it comes to COVID.
  - They are called “science deniers” because they are open to scientific information other than those approved by the government and the mainstream media. They know there are bona fide experts, peers of the approved sources that see different data or interpret data differently.
  - COVID bigots demean people for wanting the right to make their own decisions, and not be forced into taking actions like being vaccinated or wearing masks. Unable to process the libertarian position for what it is, they dismiss it as ignorance or selfishness.
    - They conflate libertarians with “anti-vaxxers”
- Personal note: I detest leftism. In fact, I believe it’s evil, does that make me a bigot? I do not hate people on the left, only their beliefs and certain actions they take in accordance with those beliefs. People are redeemable, even if they hold irredeemable beliefs. We are all human beings, and must treat each other as such.