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Some libertarians are perpetually frustrated. But I think that most of us have more realistic expectations about how long it will take to make significant political progress, and are only pleased when things go well. When they go poorly; well, that's what we expected.
And yes, we are more likely than the left and the right to be happy about the cool achievements of a dynamic semi-free society.
That sounds like a cry for help to me. I read it as "you don't have a cadre of shiny-faced, glad-handing hacks reminding you of who really runs things."
If I were a liberal, I'd be frustrated to distraction at the lack of gonads on the part of my party. And the unwillingness to fight dirty. If you're not going to fight at least as dirty as the republicans (see, Swift Boat Dudes) then don't bother showing up.
I think one reason that libertarians are happier is that a lot of us have been touched by Ayn Rand at one point or another, and her philosophy placed tremendous emphasis on the virtue of pursuing one's own happiness. She also believed that if you went about it rationally, attaining happiness really was possible. Maybe we've succeeded?
I happened to be clicking through the channels last night when I came across a book party for their new book on C-Span's "Booknotes". At the answer and answer session, one guy expressed frustration at the "apathy" he felt at the lack of participation in the fall election. After politely pointing out that the turnout this year was unusually high, Nick Gillespie said:
"Maybe people aren't that involved because they have lives. That’s how it should be. People shouldn’t be involved with politics all the time.”
This is consistent with a view that says maybe libertarians don't expect to win. But it's also consistent with a general attitude that sees society as something separate from, and more important than, government.
Maybe that’s why.
The 'Right' still seems fairly happy, nevertheless.
It IS nice to sit on the sidelines and make snarky comments while someone you dislike beats up someone you despise.
In our age, the law, in its majesty, allows both rich and poor to inherit their citizenship. The populist left and right compete to discard the most negative and individual rights in favor of rights reserved for citizens. Almost all the left, from knuckle-dragging semiliterate populists to the rarefied leftist 91% of often-literate academics, wrap themselves in a mantle of moral superiority which they claim as their inherited right from internationalist socialism. (Be sure never, ever to wonder whether your nationalist socialism is quite the same thing!) The Internet repeats and remembers it all without quite understanding it (yet). And libertarians, by and large, maintain a positive mental attitude.:-)
Good Lord, no! That sure wiped the grin right off of my face.
Well, that sure wiped the smile right off of my face.
Marge: You know, Homer, it's easy to criticize.
Homer: Fun, too!
The lack of guilt helps too....
If you constantly think the country is in decline, or the Big Bad Scaries are coming, or people are just waiting to rip each other apart, you almost have to be for a big stompy-foot government to keep things in line.
Almost none of them say ANYTHING about optimism, much less about how specifically to achieve the changes we want.
I'm an optimistic libertarian. I enjoy reading left, right, center, and libertarian writings. I like thinking of ways to solve things (while making money).
The rationales I see here for libertarian cheerieness would depress me if I believed them. I should be cheery because conservatives have a twinge when they vote for Bush, or because conservatives play dirtier than liberals? Please! Stop salivating; Pavlov's left the building. I should be cheery because I believe that people are basically good and don't need oversight? Then why do the people we have keep on setting up horrible oversight?
There's a much better reason to be cheerful -- it's because we're working for change, and we know what we're doing. I believe most of us know what we're doing, but most of us aren't doing anything.
So hop to it! Make those changes! And stop whining, for heaven's sake. It's not a political failure; it's a business opportunity!!!!
-Billy