The following are my remarks at the Die-In protest held yesterday at the Federal Building in Fresno.
Thank you for being here today for this important demonstration.
Bear with me as I give a brief background of the libertarian party to illustrate our commitment to the demands that are presented here today and the principles of peace that are put forward by the Fresno Peace Coalition. At the very beginning of the party’s existence – over 50 years ago during the height of the Vietnam war – libertarians devoted a significant portion of the new party’s platform to the ideals of a non-interventionist foreign policy. Today, our platform includes the following statement on International Affairs:
American foreign policy should emphasize peace with all nations, entangling alliances with none. We would end the current U.S. government policies of foreign intervention including military and economic aid; tariffs; economic sanctions; and regime change. We recognize the right of all people to resist tyranny and defend themselves and their rights. We condemn the use of force, and especially the use of terrorism, against the innocent, regardless of whether such acts are committed by governments or by political or revolutionary groups.
This year, our party is working with Bring Our Troops Home to pass Defend the Guard legislation in state legislatures across the nation, which is intended to end American involvement in endless wars. [https://defendtheguard.us/]
Violence by the government in the form of wars of aggression are a violation of the non-aggression principle that we hold fundamental to our founding principles. Scott Horton’s book Provoked outlines this philosophy with a particular focus on the disastrous consequences of US interventionism in NATO, Ukraine, and Russia. His work emphasizes that wars, especially those driven by American foreign policy, not only waste resources but cause deep instability, suffering, and long-term violence, and bring us closer to the brink of nuclear war.
As Dan [Yaseen of Peace Fresno] said, “There is no such thing as limited nuclear war.” Murray Rothbardian explained in Ethics of Liberty that nuclear weapons cannot be targeted to avoid civilian deaths and, therefore, they are anti-libertarian and inconsistent with just war from the get go.
Likewise, on the issue of Israel, we must also acknowledge the ongoing cycle of violence perpetuated by unchecked military aid. In addition to the heartbreaking death and destruction this has enabled in Gaza, it makes Americans less safe. The consequences of this aid was explained in stark terms by Ron Paul when he explained blowback to Rudy Giuliani: “They attack us because we’re over there”
I stand here proudly today with the members of all the organizations that have joined the Fresno Peace Coalition: the new administration must end the war in Ukraine, demand a ceasefire in Israel, join the Nuclear Weapons Ban Treaty.
