Authored by Joe Jarvis via TheDailyBell.com,

Dear Statists,

I don’t care about you, and would really appreciate it if you would stop “caring” about me.

Now, you might be thinking, “Of course you don’t care about me, you’re a libertarian!” But that is not what I mean. Actually, I do tend to care about other people; I am empathetic of others and therefore advocate free markets, because the closer the globe comes to a free market, the more people are lifted out of poverty.

But when I say I don’t care about you, what I mean is, I don’t care to force my views on you. I don’t care about you in the sense that the way you live your life doesn’t bother me as long as it doesn’t affect me. I don’t care to try to save you from yourself, and I don’t care to try to force conformity to my ideas of how a life should be lived.

If it seems like I do care, it is only because we currently live in a society where 51% of the population decides which views will be forced on everyone.

So I want you to stop forcing me to do things I don’t want to do, but I don’t need to convince you to join me; I don’t care what you do. You don’t have to change your ways, except by letting me change mine.

I just want you to stop forcing me to live the way you prescribe. My views allow individuals to decide their own solutions to their own problems, so if your solution is to sell yourself into slavery, so be it. But don’t put me on the auction block as well!

If you allowed me to live the way I want, it would not affect you negatively in the least! In fact, you probably wouldn’t even notice. I don’t need all of society to change, I just need to be freed from your societal chains.

And no, I am not talking about America in particular, so I can’t just move to another country and live how I want to live. That would be like if you were forcing me to eat at Applebee’s, and I described in detail the unique and healthy dinner I would rather have, and you said, “if you don’t want to eat at Applebee’s, go to another restaurant!”

The point is I don’t want to eat at any restaurant! I just want to make my own dinner, with my own ingredients that I choose to grow or buy from whomever I wish. But I won’t force you to eat my dinner; you can stay at Applebee’s for all I care! And none of this hurts you, (unless of course, your goal is to force me to fund restaurants.)

Society will be civilized when you let me do my thing. And I won’t force you to do my thing either. I will be perfectly happy doing my own thing, and if you all still want a government for whatever reason, you can go ahead and do that. Just don’t force me into your club. Don’t initiate violence towards me for not wishing to be involved.

And if you think this is already an option for me, you are naive and misguided; I would be arrested for committing (victimless) crimes, breaking regulations (that protect me from myself), and not paying taxes.

You may think I should still be forced to pay taxes, because of the “benefits” I will still be getting from the government. But America doesn’t tax foreigners on vacation to pay for the roads, America is content with the money tourists will pour into the economy while here, in addition to the sales and other taxes they will pay during the visit. The same would happen if I went into your government’s territory.

But to force me to continue paying taxes, while not using government services, would not be allowing me to go my separate way; I would still be forced to fund your government, which would place an extra burden on my own self governance, as well as force me to convert labor into fiat dollars, which I would not otherwise do. To force a man to fund something which he does not want or use is to admit that you view him as a slave.

Any of those things would impose extra burdens on me, even if the government goods and services I pay for were forced on me. On the other hand, my opting-out of the system does not impose any extra burdens on the society I am leaving.

So please, do not join me if you do not wish, and think me crazy and my ideas ludicrous if you must. But in doing so, please do not force me to consort with you or fund your government, and please do not initiate violence against me for doing things which do not harm anyone.

I will be the first to admit that this agreement is null and void as soon as my activities cause harm, as would be the case with dumping chemicals in rivers, or burning toxic waste. But I think you will find my own desire for healthy living severely restricts the likelihood of that ever happening.

I promise not to care what you do, if you promise not to care what I do.

Sincerely,

Joe Jarvis

P.S. If you are a Californian statist, I fully support your state going it’s separate way! You shouldn’t be forced into the American club against your will, and should be left alone when you choose to exit. Live and let live.