Then I don't see an issue, besides the environmental effects of his lab. However if he disposes of his waste properly, I have no issue at all with it.
Is that still a viable way to look at things, though? Serious question, with no liberal/conservative slant to it. 150 years ago, if someone is doing something I don't like, that is OK. They most likely live a mile down the road, and I could always pick up my stuff and move West. The world was HUGE and not completely interdependent on everything. But now, as the Earth has lost all of its frontiers, there is no place that I can run to get away. You cooking and selling meth in your house does affect me. Perhaps not directly (though in this case, the chemicals used would definitely affect me), but it would affect my neighborhood, the people the come and go, etc. Is libertarianism still a viable way to look at the world?
I don't see how one's actions can't have an effect on others. Cause & effect go together better than peanut butter and jelly.
Heck no Synthetic heroin is messing up a lot of people right now . Legalize it, regulate it and tax the piss out of it and every one wins. Why do we have to feel compassion or feel the need to interfere in how someone wants to live their life?
Absolutely What is your primary concern? Property value? You'd probably be amazed at what people are actually doing around you
So, it is your primary concern to legislate how one should live? You know best? The people you vote for know best? The Democratic Party knows best? Why do you care if a complete stranger wants to destroy their life? Let them
But if they're not physically harmed or their property harmed, they need to build a bridge and get over it. Some people are effected by hearing cussing in public, tough shit. Don't got trying to get a law banning cussing inC
I'm not saying any of that at all. To me there are opportunity costs to live in a civilized society just like anything else in life. And yes. I really do care about other people. If that's wrong, I can live with that. I just can't understand that mindset.
It's not practical or maybe even possible to not have bleed over into public life. It just seems like a fantasy to me.
I would encourage you to find my posts on the matter, in the wake of the SCOTUS ruling - I essentially said it's the law of the land, follow it, stop [itch bay]ing. Now, admittedly, not everyone did.
My concern is that the old rule "The right to swing your fist ends at the tip of my nose" is still in effect, but we are now so tightly packed together, that when you swing your fist, you are bound to hit someone's nose. I am a minimalist, not a complete totalitarian type of guy. I want freedom (as much as that is possible) and I know that freedom often means that I have to accept certain rules to live with other human beings. You want to operate a meth lab? Fine, get a permit and a stamp so we know where your product is made and who made it if there is a problem, use proper disposal, you cannot operate in a house, as that is a non-industrial area, etc. All I am saying is the whole "do what you want" thing might not be as possible as it once was. I was on that side of the fence once, trust me, I know what it is like to feel that way. I am just not sold on the idea any longer. I do not want a China type situation where the government is telling me how many kids I can have and how much internet time I can use. But perhaps there is a common middle where we can all agree, just as there have always been common agreements on murder, theft, incest, etc.
It wouldn't stop helping and caring. It would just keep the government by doing it by the threat of force.
Honest answer, because I feel that I have that responsibility to care. It's why I've never turned away a student that needed help or to just talk. It's why I never turn my back on a friend in need. It's why never tell things told to me in confidence & value my word so much. Sometimes listening to someone that knows that they don't have to worry about something getting out brings comfort and peace to them. I can't force anyone to change anything. I have no illusions that I can. However, I can let them know that there's someone there that cares and will help them if they ever make that choice.
