[Lnc-business] FYI - Also shared on Facebook

[Arvin Vohra]

Yesterday, I discussed my views on the military at the Libertarian Party of
Rhode Island state convention. Here's what I presented.

There are some parts of the military that do something useful. Those parts
should be handled by the free market, and would be improved if they were
handled by the free market.

The Coast Guard rescues people. It's a good thing to do. However, they are
also the largest part of the war on drugs, in terms of the value of the
assets that they steal from businesses.

Groups like AAA and various insurance companies are able to provide
roadside assistance on the millions of miles of roads. These private sector
services work reliably, and don't squander effort and resources on things
as ludicrous as the War on Drugs. Would people be able to afford to pay for
a AAA of the sea? My thought is if you have the money for a boat, you
probably have the money for rescue insurance.

The Navy protects shipping lanes. Again, a good thing to do. But it does so
at an astronomical expense, with firepower levels disproportionately
greater than any current or expected threat of piracy or impressment. Could
the several multibillion dollar shipping companies find a way to pay for
that? I think so. If not, the other option would be for companies to
produce things domestically. Instead of outsourcing production overseas,
having the shipments sent back to the U.S., with protection paid for by our
tax dollars, companies would have to do a proper risk-reward calculation.
It might increase domestic production (note that the U.S. is a net importer
of physical goods).

But then there are things that no one should be doing, at all. All U.S.
involvement in foreign civil wars should end. All U.S. foreign military
bases should be shut down today, and the troops should be brought home. We
should immediately leave NATO, and let Europe pay for its own defense.
Whatever supposed "influence" we are buying at the cost of such huge
military spending is not worth it, and it is not working.

NATO is allowing Europe to become socialist, as they don't have to be
financially responsible enough to pay for their own defense. It is forcing
us to become socialist, since we have to pay unacceptable taxes to fund
that defense.

Finally, the issue of culpability came up. I pointed out that good
intentions don't erase bad actions done by the individual, or by the
collective that they voluntarily support, but that those bad actions
similarly don't erase the good intentions. Larry Sharpe
<https://www.facebook.com/neosage?fref=mentions> pointed out that according
to law and custom, culpability is what separates crimes like murder 1, 2,
3, manslaughter, etc., and that the intent had to be weighed very, very
heavily. I found myself agreeing with Larry's perspective on this. I also
agreed with his position on not behaving as Americans did with Vietnam
vets, which lead to an entirely lost generation. Instead of converting vets
into a powerful force for freedom, it simply hurt them for the sake of
hurting them.

On reflection, I am forced to recognize that while opposing military
worship, which is often used to manipulate people into immoral acts, is
right, and fighting the military industrial complex is right, and fighting
military policy that creates enemies and reduces safety is right, and
provoking people to reexamine their world view is right, creating
collateral damage is wrong. I have no intention of being the kind of leader
who can challenge the views of others, but cannot challenge his own.

Words can hurt brutally. That's why I use them against the state, and the
worship of the state. But they should be used carefully for that same
reason. During the last week, I failed to be careful enough with those
words. While they helped some people, they also hurt a lot of people. To
those who were hurt by my words, I apologize to you, specifically, for both
what I said, and for the impact it had.

I know it will be a long time before many of you who have been involved in
the military will be able to trust me again, if ever. I'll do my best to
earn your trust the only way I know how to earn trust. I'll speak to you
honestly. I'll fight for your freedoms with every weapon I have. My aim
with a weapon is frankly laughable, but my words can do some damage.

Whether you end up trusting me again or not, I will be fighting with you,
against the state, for our shared goal of liberty.

In Liberty,

Arvin Vohra <https://www.facebook.com/VohraEducation/?fref=mentions>


-- 
Arvin Vohra

www.VoteVohra.com
VoteVohra at gmail.com
(301) 320-3634
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