There's libertarians and there's Libertarians
Anybody who values individual liberty (and responsibility) and limited government is potentially a "libertarian". From Wikipedia:
" Libertarianism (from Latin: libertas, meaning "freedom") is a collection of political philosophies and movements that uphold liberty as a core principle. Libertarians seek to maximize political freedom and autonomy, emphasizing freedom of choice, voluntary association, and individual judgment."
One of the things that characterizes libertarians (anybody who considers liberty a core value) and libertarian-ism (a philosophy-cloud of ideas about liberty) is a colorful diversity of opinions about what "liberty" really is and how best to secure it for the most individuals in a society. What else would you expect from a bunch of free thinkers?... ;-)
A capital-L Libertarian, however, is a member of the Libertarian Party, a political party that "upholds liberty as a core principle". To get anything done, those of us who see the Libertarian Party as the best megaphone for our political voice—the best team to play on to counter the rising tide of authoritarianism in our culture—have to agree on what we stand for and what our objectives are, which we do in a convention process that results in our party's platform. By definition, the political and philosophical views of people who identify as "liberty lovers" (who value freedom among other values) are more diverse than the views of those who identify as "libertarians" (who have made liberty a core value), which are more diverse than the views of those who identify as "Libertarians" (who have joined a political party to better "uphold liberty as a core principle"). But that doesn't mean we can't all work together, does it?
The Libertarian Party of Washington County is a political party, an affiliate of the Libertarian Party of Texas, and is organized to support and promote the principles, platform, and candidates of LPTexas. During election years, particularly in the six or seven months of campaigning between primaries or conventions and the general election, that's where we'll put almost all of our efforts. The other 18 months of the two-year election cycle, though, we want to focus on making Washington County an even better community to live in than it already is!
To that end, we're sponsoring informative presentations and service projects each quarter, open to the public, that we hope will be of interest to anyone in Washington County who values the distinctively American values of liberty, personal responsibility, and community involvement and the distinctively Texan values of individualism, persistence, and pride in our state. Whether you see yourself as a small-l libertarian or just someone who loves liberty and Washington County, we hope you'll join us!
