A Referendum: Looking Back and Looking Forward

[ifthenwouldi]

I remember well discovering this forum at an important time in my life. I remember reading "Liberty Defined" with excitement. I remember discovering Bastiant's "The Law," Hazlitt's "Economics in One Lesson," and "The Anti-Federalist Papers," all based on suggestions from this forum. I remember sharp but helpful discussions between minarchists and anarcho-capitalists. I have honestly never seen the word "voluntaryist" outside this website. I can say, without exaggeration, that this forum changed my life.

But those days are gone. First it was the "Tea Party" co-opting and ultimately destroying the movement's legacy, and now it's Trump & Co. making a mockery of any perceived principles and intellectual consistency. I cannot be alone in finding it a bit painful to look at the ruins of this once formidable site. (And, of course, I can't seem to look away either). I cannot remember the last time there was a legitimate intellectual discussion on here. We, the "as small a government as possible" people, have all become obsessed with the Almighty Presidency, ignoring Ron Paul's sage preference for long-term pursuits. I feel ashamed for not convincing anyone to vote for Brannon, for example.

And yet this site remains one of the few decently-trafficked places on the Internet where liberty is discussed regularly. I believe public discussion boards like this one are still essential to grassroots (can there ever be any other kind?) liberty movements. So, I suppose there are three options for those who still uphold liberty as a prime motivation: we all go our separate ways to other discussions, we start a new forum elsewhere, or we stay here in the muck and "hold."

I'm still trying to decide for myself, and would love to hear others' thoughts.

 

[invisible]

It really all depends on what Bryan does. Any successful effort will attract those who will attempt to tear it down. If you notice, the very same people have been at the very center of every controversial topic for years, attempting to distract and divide people. Returning to the standards of moderation here that existed before 2009 would go a long way towards returning RPF to it's mission statement.

 

[presence]

I'm still trying to decide for myself, and would love to hear others' thoughts.

1) show up
2) content; flood the forum with new threads on liberty issues
3) rhetoric; quote founding fathers, liberty philosophers, and jurisprudence whenever possible
4) feedback; fill the rep bars of the liberty lovers, burn the rep bars of the detractors
5) persistent; irate & tireless

I've been doing this since before there was a RPF
and I'm holding this line with you or without you

 

[r3volution 3.0]

It's a two-part solution, as per the two posts above:

Trumpots have got to go...but that's in the Mods' hands.

In the meantime, actual libertarians here just need to keep on keeping on, finding productive things to do.

 

[Unknown.User]

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