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I first heard of the Libertarian Party when I was a freshman in high school. I was
writing a paper on the separation of church and state when I ran into the Libertarian
Party's website. The Platform had been indexed by a search engine so when I was searching
for terms like "Religious liberty and separation of church and state," I ran
into the Platform's plank on Religion. Before that I had never known that there were any
options besides the two old parties and Perot. I bookmarked the page and made a point to
get back to it eventually.
When I did return to the National Party's website, I was amazed to see the detail of the
information available. I had visited the sites of the Republican and Democratic Parties
and had not been able to find a single page that took clear stances on issues. The
Libertarian Party's Platform was different: It took issues one by one and gave a solid,
consistent position on each. When I began reading the press release that the party had put
out concerning current events, I was equally impressed by the consistency of the actual
application of libertarianism with libertarian principles. The Republicans seemed to have
very libertarian principles, but when they actually addressed specific issues, they seemed
socialist.
I finally filled out the membership form sent it to the Party during the 1996 Presidential
campaign. I was impressed by Harry Browne's adherence to principles. When he refused
matching funds, despite apparently qualifying, I was amazed. The check was in the mail.
I didn't like the Republican or Democratic Parties because of:
 | Their belief that individuals exist to serve others |
| Their support of a benevolent "mommy-government" |
| Their refusal to take definite stances |
| Their lack of commitment to constitutional liberties |
| Their willingness to compromise principles |
| Their unwavering support of the War on Drugs, public education and Social Security, as
well as countless other harmful scams |
I was attracted to Libertarians because of:
| Their consistency when applying their principles to their actions |
| Their well-defined, clear platform |
| Their support of individual rights over group wants |
| Their unwillingness to compromise based on polls or other pressures |
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