No libertarian writer reached mainstream audiences over the course of decades more than P.J. O’Rourke, who left us this week.

Whether he was writing at Rolling Stone or entertaining NPR listeners, O’Rourke’s entertaining style is what made him famous, even as he promoted liberty ideas for audiences that did not necessarily always share his politics or philosophy.

But they loved P.J. O’Rourke.

That he was not afraid to criticize both left and right endeared him to many, left, right or in between. Or as O’Rourke once put it, “The Democrats are the party that says government will make you smarter, taller, richer, and remove the crabgrass on your lawn. The Republicans are the party that says government doesn’t work and then they get elected and prove it.”

Few summed up basic libertarian ideas better. O’Rourke wrote, “There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences.”

Probably one of O’Rourke’s most famous or shared quotes over the years was, “Giving money and power to government is like giving whiskey and car keys to teenage boys.”

In 2017, O’Rourke and I had a fun conversation about many things including the practical application of libertarianism to politics and daily life.

O’Rourke wrote at The Daily Beast:

I said to Sen. Paul, “I don’t know if what I need is an interview or a socio-political therapy session. Libertarian political principles must be applicable to practical politics or what are political principals for? But I’m not feeling it. I’m deeply conflicted. Although I know you’re not that kind of doctor.”

“I could do an exorcism,” Sen. Paul said. He described his own political situation, “If I try to be a pretty good libertarian I get attacked by the left, by the right, and by the libertarians.”

This was General Ferdinand Foch’s message to Marshal Joseph Joffre during the First Battle of the Marne — “My center is giving way, my right is retreating, situation excellent, I am attacking” — except not in French and said with a smile.

As for political principles, Sen. Paul said, “In Washington principled individuals are in the minority. There’s a good side to this. The majority can be influenced by public opinion.

Few writers or talents did more to influence public opinion in promoting libertarianism than P.J. O’Rourke, who was beloved for the wit of his pen as much as its bite.

In our discussion on the Fourth Amendment, O’Rourke wrote, “That is, the right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, and papers – which should forbid the government from poking around in my iPhone looking for sexts. I’m almost 67. I don’t know how to text. And I don’t remember much about sex either.”

On the temptation of surrendering liberty for security, O’Rourke observed, “We surrender certain of our natural liberties to a government of our own making in return for public safety and order. Government is a necessary evil, and like all evils, however necessary, should be kept as small as possible.”

“My example would be servings of vegetables,” he continued. “Some varieties of kale grow to a height of six or seven feet. I don’t want that on my dinner plate next to a T-bone steak the size of a Susan B. Anthony dollar.”

Nothing I could say about P.J. O’Rourke will be as good as the millions of words he penned throughout his spectacular career and life.

RIP. There will not be another like him.

The post Saying goodbye to the late, great P.J. O’Rourke appeared first on Liberty Tree.

If more people had listened to my father our war in Afghanistan would have been less tragic

By Sen. Rand Paul

After America was attacked by al-Qaeda on September 11, 2001, my father, Republican Congressman Ron Paul, voted for a U.S. strike on the Taliban in Afghanistan for harboring the 9/11 terrorists.

We were attacked, so we struck back. This is the reason we have and need a strong military: Actual national defense.

But our military is not meant for nation building. Not for policing the world. Not for imposing democracy in places that have never known it.

Not only are these bad ideas, but they aren’t the point of our military and they do nothing for our national defense.

Unfortunately, that was the George W. Bush-Dick Cheney neoconservative vision of perpetual U.S.-led wars around the globe. We know how that worked out in Iraq. Now we are learning how it ends in Afghanistan.

But this isn’t hindsight.

It was always doomed for failure, and some have said so for a very long time, and proved right time and time again through our recent foreign policy disasters.

It was my father, often alone in his party, who said for decades that the neocons’ endless wars would always come back to haunt us.

He did it early, and often. Over the weekend, a video compilation of warnings my Dad issued years ago went viral. Why was a 13-year-old video of a Congressman who retired in 2012 going viral?

Because he was right and more people should have listened to him, to me and to others who have been saying for a decade that this war needed to end.

Ron Paul asked questions like, “What if occupying countries like Iraq and Afghanistan and bombing Pakistan is directly related to the hatred directed toward us?” The scenes we see coming out of Afghanistan today are rage-filled. We honor and respect the brave men and women who served there for so long, but to ask them to stay another year there would be unconscionable. They did their duty.

“What if all wartime spending is paid for through the deceitful process of inflating and borrowing?” Dad asked. Considering that we were never able to afford the trillions spent in Afghanistan and we are now more concerned about inflation at home, Dad seemed ahead of his time.

My father asked, “What if we finally see that wartime conditions always undermine personal liberty?” Thanks to whistleblower Edward Snowden, we have a clearer picture of how our government abuses our constitutional liberties every day, often using post-9/11 jargon to justify it.

And again, on Afghanistan, my father had long urged to bring American troops home after the U.S. accomplished its original mission early on.

If the neoconservatives and others at the time had listened to Ron Paul back then, the tragedy in Afghanistan would not have been prolonged. Most importantly, it would have saved thousands of American lives and also money that we don’t actually have.

During the Tea Party-era ten years ago, I and other libertarian-leaning Republicans followed in my father’s footsteps and managed to change some formerly hawkish minds about war. When Donald Trump became president by blasting the Bush administration’s interventions in Iraq and Afghanistan and condemning “endless wars,” Dad’s foreign policy message had come full circle within the GOP.

Yet, if the Republican Party had been more like Ron Paul than Dick Cheney throughout the aughts, it would have saved our country a lot of heartache. If Barack Obama had actually ended the wars he promised too, like Dad had long urged, we would have been better off.

Now the same people who still defend the Iraq War and who also wanted to stay in Afghanistan forever are some of the loudest voices criticizing the Taliban retaking control of that country. If after 20 years of preparing Afghanistan to govern itself, it immediately bends to extremists the moment we leave, what did hawks think we were going to accomplish over another decade—or ever? Was two decades not enough time?

The fall of Afghanistan to the Taliban is sad but the blame should attach to the naive neocons who thought they could create a Jeffersonian democracy in a land clinging to the Stone Age, not to those who warned that it would inevitably end in a mess.

What’s clear today is that no one with the last name Cheney should even be speaking publicly right now. This origin of this debacle lies at their feet.

What’s even clearer, is that unfortunately the warnings of a Republican congressman from Texas years ago now feel more prescient than ever.

The post If more people had listened to my father our war in Afghanistan would have been less tragic appeared first on Liberty Tree.

Young Americans for Liberty’s ‘Revolution 2021’ their best national conference yet

I have spoken at almost every Young Americans for Liberty conference. Each has always impressed in its own way. But after finishing this year’s Revolution 2021 in Orlando, I can tell you with confidence that it was the best national conference YAL has ever presented.

For starters, it was the largest.

.@Snowden: “The pandemic will end, but the rights that we lose by submitting to emergency orders will be lost forever.” #Rev21 pic.twitter.com/8xg81rExVA

— Eric Brakey (@SenatorBrakey) August 5, 2021

Over 1000 students attended this year, where they had an opportunity to hear from such liberty luminaries as exiled whistleblower hero Edward Snowden, Fox Business’ Kennedy, WWE wrestling star and Knox County Mayor Glenn Jacobs, and of course, the man himself, Ron Paul.

Paul was predictably the biggest hit of the weekend, where organizers kept telling the students that Dr. Paul would be doing a livestream since travel was too difficult.

He did do a livestream Friday night… for about ten seconds—then the video shut off, the lights went down and Guns n’ Roses’ “Welcome to the Jungle” blared. When Paul hit the stage, the students lost their minds.

See for yourself. Here are some reaction tweets.

The crowd went WILD for @RonPaul! #RonPaul is a living legend. pic.twitter.com/3ba22hJYBt

— Martha Bueno (@MarthaBueno18) August 7, 2021

CHILLS. MY HEART LITERALLY STOPPED. @YALiberty @RonPaul pic.twitter.com/X2unf4php0

— Rachel (@RachBoogaloo) August 7, 2021

My dream has finally been actualized. The man, the myth, the legend, @RonPaul #Rev21 pic.twitter.com/d5USRPt60g

— Jenni Thee Libertarian (@theeliberty) August 7, 2021

Texas Republican rockstar Don Huffines was a big hit, as was Virginia liberty Republican Nick Freitas and others. I was fortunate to take part in a criminal justice reform breakout session Friday morning and also a Ron Paul movement circa 2008 retrospective with my old friends, Michael Maresco, Tom Woods and YAL spokesman Eric Brakey.

Perhaps my favorite part about any YAL convention over the years is that I don’t know most of the people there. Of course, there is the YAL staff and some guest speakers that I have met multiple times over the years. Of course, I do know at least some of the students and other young people who come.

One of the wildest introductions ever. Totally faked me out. It was an amazing privilege to be able to hear Ron Paul speak in person once again. The energy in this room at #Rev21 was insane. pic.twitter.com/vHNFrKUgPj

— Liam McCollum (@MLiamMcCollum) August 7, 2021

But not knowing most of them means the liberty movement is alive. Having more attendees than ever means it’s growing. Seeing only the same old faces would just be a reunion, not a movement.

My reaction to @RonPaul ft. my neon nails ?? #Rev21 pic.twitter.com/hRfaOAI3he

— Jenni Thee Libertarian (@theeliberty) August 7, 2021

Holding such a successful and inspiring event post-pandemic, in a time when more Americans than ever now understand intimately how quickly their liberties can be taken, bodes well for our future. Libertarians should capitalize by speaking to the millions of Americans who today probably guard their liberty more jealously than ever.

Onward and upward. Young Americans for Liberty should be a primary force in shaping whatever comes next.

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