Unclear on the Concept

Why is it that every time libertarianism comes up in a conversation, some statist buffoon inevitably asks ‘b-b-but what if the government stopped doing X or made Y legal?!!1!’ as if it’s some sort of amazing gotcha question? How hard is it to understand that we really don’t want the Federal government doing, well, much of anything really? Are most people really so helpless without a government bureaucrat to hold their hand that they simply can’t imagine anybody being able to do things on their own? Let alone the thought that some people might actually *gasp* want to make their own decisions and stuff.

Seriously. How do these people manage to make it through a day by themselves without walking in front of a bus or something?

As for the roads and education straw men that they always bring up as a smoke screen, do we really need the Feds to do that? Without even getting into privatization, public education is a disaster already in large part due to Federal interference. And roads, well, like 99% of them are actually built by State and local government agencies anyway. Why on earth are we paying the Feds to waste a large portion of the money in a bureaucratic (and pork-laden) maze before they hand it right back to the States which could have just done it all to begin with? It’s like they think DC is populated with fairies and elves.

But, yea, just think, these people will be voting in Presidential primaries starting tomorrow. What a depressing way to start the new year…