Austin

Planes and Pledges

By Patjdixon - Thursday February 18, 2010 - 11:13 pm

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I got a call today from the chair of the Libertarian Party national committee. He asked if Andrew Stack was a member.

By now you are probably aware that this guy got upset with the IRS and crashed a plane into their office at 183 and Mopac.

Unfortunately, there are many angry people in the world that think violence is the answer. Maybe they are frustrated that they are not able to persuade others peacefully and the only way they can be heard is by proving to the world that they are idiots.

For some reason, there is an impulse from those not familiar with Libertarians to assume that such a person must be a Libertarian.

Members of the Libertarian party sign the following oath when they join:

“I HEREBY CERTIFY THAT I DO NOT BELIEVE IN OR ADVOCATE THE INITIATION OF FORCE AS A MEANS OF ACHIEVING POLITICAL OR SOCIAL GOALS”

Why?

The story is that when the Libertarian Party was founded, there was suspicion, particularly on the part of the federal government, that we were forming some kind of violent militia that was planning to take over government by force This oath was to make it clear that our means were peaceful. In order to advance, we must use persuasion and reason. We put candidates on the ballot to give voice to our principles and allow voters to freely choose whether they agree.

I personally think it is time to change our pledge. Informed readers know that Libertarians don’t have to prove that we are non-violent. Our pledge should simply state:

“I HEREBY CERTIFY THAT I SUPPORT THE PRINCIPLES OF THE LIBERTARIAN PARTY”

I never heard of Andrew (or James) Stack before today’s plane crash. He is not a member of the Libertarian Party and appears nowhere in our database. He appears to have been simply a frustrated person who believed in violence as a means of achieving political or social goals. He was wrong. He was not a Libertarian.

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MatthewHunter | Points: +9 | Friday February 19, 2010, 1:18 AM

Like Chris Rock once said about the kids who went on the rampage at Columbine: "Whatever happened to CRAZY?"

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Denis | Points: +4 | Friday February 19, 2010, 6:14 AM

Patrick does that mean if you were a Congressman or Senator.You would not advicate for our Military to achieve such goals you just pledged against? To be honest I really dont know much about the Libertarian Party.I ask because at this present time it can be said we as a nation did just that In Iraq! If anything Mr Stacks was a man on his own mission! I dont see it as a group.But one lone individual.Thank you for the article patrick

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Patjdixon | Points: +25 | Friday February 19, 2010, 7:45 AM

Denis,

First, if I were a Congressman or Senator I would take a lot of baths.

Second, I would advocate our military be used for defense, not offense. I am on Ron Paul's side when it comes to Iraq. Offense is INITIATION of force. If there is a legitimate, credible threat then using force is a defensive measure.

Third, Mr Stacks was not a member of a group, as my article states. But he is in a category of people who feel violence is a means of achieving political or social goals.

Fourth, the Libertarian Party is founded on the principle that you are free to do anything you want as long as you do not do harm to others. INITIATION of force does harm to others. Employing force as DEFENSE to prevent harm is defended by the Libertarian Party, as well as the 2nd amendment. More about the Libertarian Party can be found at www.LP.org.

Fifth, if I woke up tomorrow and was told I was a Congressman or Senator, I would demand a recount.

Pat Dixon
Chair, Libertarian Party of Texas
City Council, Lago Vista TX