In- Your- Face, Libertarian Style Reading

"From News Talk 750 in Atlanta, we bring you the Neal Boortz show. It's sure to please Libertarians, Constitutionalists, and Conservatives; sure to offend liberals, proponents of wealth- redistribution, and tax and spend advocates."

Boortz has been doing talk radio now for over 30 years. During this time, his political philosophy has not changed very much. He is a firm believer in individual rights, property rights, and self- determination. This book, "The Terrible Truth about Liberals", was published in 1998 and it summarizes some areas where the public has been severely misguided by liberal rhetoric.

Boortz begins by indicating four key differences between the liberal thinker and the conservative thinker:
1. Liberals base decisions on emotions and feelings.
Conservatives base decisions on logic and facts.
2. Liberals focus their attention on the good of a group.
Conservatives focus on the rights of individuals.
3. Liberals think government is our greatest asset.
Conservatives think freedom is our greatest asset.
4. Liberals think people lack the intelligence to be free.
Conservatives think people should be free regardless.

Now that your primed, it's time for Boortz to discuss some of the ways that liberals fool the public into accepting their social agendas. He begins by talking about why colleges seem to be so infested with liberal faculty members. He then goes on and discusses subjects like taxes; democracy vs. republic form of government; social security; poor vs. rich, etc.

Some of the reading might seem a little unusual, like Boortz' theory explaining why colleges have so many liberal professors. He feels this is because these people were students themselves 20 - 30 years ago, during the era of big government spending, liberalism, love your brother, etc. Because of this, many of them received degrees in liberal arts (areas like philosophy and history) fields that are not very practical for getting employed. So, in many cases, teaching is the only job they can get.

But then, with some of his other arguments, Boortz really hits the nail on the head! He points out facts that the average person is unaware of, such as the social security tax. Most of us think that the tax that comes out of our checks is all that we pay into the Social Security pyramid scheme. This rate is currently 7.65 percent. However, the truth is that your employer has to match this money. This is considered part of your total compensation. So, you may not see this on your check stub, but you are, in reality, taxed at a rate of 15.3 percent! This money could accumulate into a small fortune if the individual was allowed to invest the money for himself or herself.

Another important fact that Boortz points out is that our United States government was not founded as a democracy, as so many people think. It was founded as a constitutional republic. There is no mention of the word democracy in the constitution, the declaration of independence, or in any of the constitutions of the 50 states. The significance of this is that, under a pure democracy form of government, the majority rules. If this type of government was in place, it would take only a majority of people to force their views on all the rest of society. Essentially, 51 percent of the people could enslave the other 49 percent, if they wanted to. Thankfully, our government was founded on the principles of a republic, which means that those who are in the minority still have rights as individuals, even of the majority doesn't approve of what the minority is doing.

Boortz covers a few other areas and he helps to debunk some of other common liberal myths regarding gun control, corporate taxation, and the ridiculous idea that the well- to -do all got that way because of luck, not because of hard work.

Overall, this is a pretty good read. I finished the entire 166 pages in a single sitting. Since I am a Libertarian, and I already knew about these facts, it was a very quick read for me. Other Libertarian thinkers will also find this to be a quick, easy read that's funny at times, but pretty much old news for the most part. But for the rest of you, Boortz can give you some good insight into the mind of the liberal and the basic differences between liberals and conservatives. If you are a liberal thinker, Boortz will not likely change your mind and there's a good chance he will offend you. But whether you're libertarian, liberal, or conservative, I recommend reading this book. And if you do, don't be surprised if you find yourself continuously nodding your head in agreement.