I have been thinking a lot about the Fire Department that let a house burn in Tennessee. There are some people who say it was because the owner failed to pay for a subscription service, and there are others who say it is simply immoral to allow that to happen. I fall in the latter camp. My Father was a volunteer Firefighter- I have many friends who are as well. I can tell you -- when that call comes in the middle of the night -- there is no questioning about whether or not the person facing danger paid their bill. The Firefighter gets up and goes.

What happened and the ensuing discussion regarding this tragedy is really important. It goes beyond what the firefighters did or did not do -- it goes beyond what the homeowner paid or didn't pay.

This is the result of Libertarianism. Many people talk about it as some fancy ideology, but this is what happens when it is put into practice. It's an abstraction which has no practical use. When applied to reality -- as in this situation-- the results are catastrophic.

We pay taxes for services like police departments, fire departments, street lights, roads -- we pay for services that allow us to have a better quality of life in our communities. Without these things, the very personal freedoms libertarians like to pound on their chests about would not be possible. Without these services, crime would rise, and our safety would be compromised. So we pay for these services, some pay more if they earn more and some pay less if they earn less. It's all goes towards the common good. It's a responsibility in a civilized Nation such as ours.

Libertarianism never fails because socialism always bails it out. We'll keep on paving roads and funding fire departments -- and taking care of our brothers and sisters while libertarians cry about their personal liberties.

At least I will, because as a liberal -- I enjoy many personal liberties by sharing things for the common good.

when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me.

&
Raine