Sadako Sasaki and Libertarianism
Oct. 26th, 2005 10:37 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
tabular_rasaI feel better today. Well-- at least, I feel better now, until Japanese, I guess . . .
Yesterday was the 50th anniversary of the death of Sadako Sasaki-- the little girl in "Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes," the first book I read on the atomic bomb, that both piqued an interest in Hiroshima and origami, rather a life-defining moment for me (seriously!), the figure immortalized in the first monument I saw in Hiroshima (how symbolic). I folded a golden paper crane (you'd get it if you've read anything about her) two weekends ago and it's sitting on my computer.
I drew a picture of her:
(If you can't see that, go HERE)
Last night, Lisa and I went to go see John Stossel (from 20/20) speak in a very Libertarian fashion on the economy and how laissez-faire ought to run its course for the benefit of mankind, that self-regulation is best in the long run, not government regulation to keep us "safe"-- that, for instance, there are heart drugs out there that could save thousands of lives per year, but since maybe three people died from an experimental heart drug once (and it's possible it wasn't even a result of the heart drug . . . ), there's so much red tape to ensure that doesn't happen again. He made some very good points.
I think I may have some vein of the Libertarian in me. I never thought much about economic issues until last year, really, when I had to take a course on them (silly AP Economics!), and the Democrats were all about the social justice, so I allied with them. I don't agree with everything they do pertaining to economic issues. Sometimes, I think I do-- and then I don't-- or, mostly, I'm just skeptical of them. Yet, it's ridiculous-- whenever I come face to face with a hard-core Republican, they go off on about the economic issues, and I roll my eyes, and I'm like, "You do realize I agree with what you say about THAT, don't you?" It's only that Libertarians get squat in the government that I don't completely ally with them, I guess-- and because I lack a lot of information with them-- and, since I value social justice more than economic practice, I take the side of the socially-just Democrats.
Lol . . . I don't know if I want to declare myself ANY political party. It really depends on issues, but my main tenant-- make it free so that it can be safe-- is a very Libertarian perspective.
It still amuses me that Jana (my grandmother) yelled at me for not being a Republican, her basic argument being that "money is the only thing that matters and everything else is just stupid and pointless"-- now, that's just going to piss me off.
Lol, don't people realize that arguing vehemently with someone and calling them stupid is not going to convert them to the other side? Honestly, lol . . .
Yesterday was the 50th anniversary of the death of Sadako Sasaki-- the little girl in "Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes," the first book I read on the atomic bomb, that both piqued an interest in Hiroshima and origami, rather a life-defining moment for me (seriously!), the figure immortalized in the first monument I saw in Hiroshima (how symbolic). I folded a golden paper crane (you'd get it if you've read anything about her) two weekends ago and it's sitting on my computer.
I drew a picture of her:
(If you can't see that, go HERE)
Last night, Lisa and I went to go see John Stossel (from 20/20) speak in a very Libertarian fashion on the economy and how laissez-faire ought to run its course for the benefit of mankind, that self-regulation is best in the long run, not government regulation to keep us "safe"-- that, for instance, there are heart drugs out there that could save thousands of lives per year, but since maybe three people died from an experimental heart drug once (and it's possible it wasn't even a result of the heart drug . . . ), there's so much red tape to ensure that doesn't happen again. He made some very good points.
I think I may have some vein of the Libertarian in me. I never thought much about economic issues until last year, really, when I had to take a course on them (silly AP Economics!), and the Democrats were all about the social justice, so I allied with them. I don't agree with everything they do pertaining to economic issues. Sometimes, I think I do-- and then I don't-- or, mostly, I'm just skeptical of them. Yet, it's ridiculous-- whenever I come face to face with a hard-core Republican, they go off on about the economic issues, and I roll my eyes, and I'm like, "You do realize I agree with what you say about THAT, don't you?" It's only that Libertarians get squat in the government that I don't completely ally with them, I guess-- and because I lack a lot of information with them-- and, since I value social justice more than economic practice, I take the side of the socially-just Democrats.
Lol . . . I don't know if I want to declare myself ANY political party. It really depends on issues, but my main tenant-- make it free so that it can be safe-- is a very Libertarian perspective.
It still amuses me that Jana (my grandmother) yelled at me for not being a Republican, her basic argument being that "money is the only thing that matters and everything else is just stupid and pointless"-- now, that's just going to piss me off.
Lol, don't people realize that arguing vehemently with someone and calling them stupid is not going to convert them to the other side? Honestly, lol . . .
