"I have the right to do whatever I wish with my property. If I own a pile of wood, I can set fire to it even if it is currently nailed together in the shape of a barn. Cigarettes may not be healthy for me in the long run, but I have the freedom to smoke them anyway. Drinking alcohol may or may not have negative side effects, but even if it does, the government has no authority to prohibit you from consuming it, even if it is "in your own best interest." Since when do we let the government decide what is or isn't good for us? What the hell does Congress know about nutrition, anyway? (For that matter, what does Congress know about the Constitution?) If the government can use force whenever something is "in our best interest" then government should force everyone to wake up at 6am every morning for calisthenics in the front yard. Fast food establishments should be torn down and replaced with bars that serve carrot juice and alfalfa sprouts, since - "it's in your best interest." This paternalistic attitude that "the government knows best" and that you are merely a helpless child is insulting and reprehensible. Hitler used the same attitude to persuade the Germans to subjugate themselves to the "Fatherland.""
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Political leadersPeople from IndianaSoftware engineers from the United StatesAuthors from the United StatesLibertarian Party (United States) politicians
Original Language: English
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Source: Good to be King (2004)
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Michael_Badnarik
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Michael Badnarik
Michael J. Badnarik (August 1, 1954 – August 11, 2022) was an American software engineer, political figure, and educator. He was the Libertarian Party nominee for President of the United States in the 2004 elections, and placed fourth in the race, slightly behind independent candidate Ralph Nader.
13 quotes on TrueQuotesView all quotes by Michael Badnarik →
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