I'm reading a big ass book on the history of the libertarian movement, and it has raised a lot of questions in my mind. The biggest has probably been discussed a million billion times since the 1860's, but where exactly in the Constitution did the Union find the right to war upon the South for seceding? Forget about slavery and such, and just think about the fact that a large portion of the country decided they wanted to do their own thing. If they voted on it and were in favor of seceding, the Union shouldn't have done anything about it. Where in the Constitution does it say that the southern states have to do what the northern states want?

Second thing that got me thinking is this idea of allegiance to our country. Allegiance and loyalty, in all other contexts, are given voluntarily. But if you are born in the U.S., you have no choice, you have to be loyal to the U.S. or be branded a traitor. So that John Walker Lindh guy finally got the chance to choose his allegiance, and he chose another group. So when he was captured, he should certainly have been branded an enemy of the state and punished appropriately, but why is he considered a traitor? He never voluntarily said he was for the U.S., the only time he was given a choice he chose another side. Seems to me like the guy was completely loyal to his allegiances, certainly not a traitor. Don't let this make you think I am defending him, I am merely pointing out some inconsistencies in our assumptions. Personally I'm going to go ahead and pledge my loyalty to the United States of America, as is. I reserve the right to change this if my government changes beyond recognition. For instance the day I am told I cannot own a gun is the day I start looking to buy a gun and perhaps move to another country, though I sometimes feel like I am running out of countries on Earth where a person can be truly free.

This is a really cool book I am reading, and I look forward to sharing more thoughts in the days to come.