LIBERALS AND LIBERTARIANS ACTUALLY CAN CONDUCT CIVIL CONVERSATIONS; IT IS NOT THAT DIFFICULT

Perry Gershon is a Long Island resident who challenged incumbent Lee Zeldin for the position of Federal House of Representatives New York Position #1.  Mr. Zeldin won re-election and Mr. Gershon may challenge him again in 2020.  Mr. Gershon is a left-leaning liberal and as a Libertarian I will not vote for him but I did initiate an e-mail exchange, following one a year ago in which I complimented a "door-beller" of his with whom I spoke in the street.  Below is the thread of an exchange he and I have just had.  I post it with his permission and I have edited neither his comments nor mine.

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Dear Mr. Gershon:

I caught a piece of news wherein it was said that you may take on Mr. zeldin again. Though I am lukewarm on Mr. Zeldin I cannot at this point vote for you.  I recall when you last ran I wrote you a letter about guns and healthcare (and complimenting one of your campaign workers). Your short response was thoughtful and not nasty.  You get points for that...just not quite enough. I trust you will disagree with my positions so won’t try to argue with what I perceive to be your beliefs, simply state mine. In decreasing order of importance:

1. MEDICARE.  My entire working life I paid into this program.  I had no choice, “check here if you don’t want to pay in to Medicare.” The actuaries missed the boat.  They did not anticipate program modifications, longevity and the rising costs of health care so it is in serious financial trouble. But that is not my cross to bear. My rights to it now are moral and contractual. I do not want people who paid nothing or very little to be in front of me in line and I don’t want my care compromised because government dilutes it so the program can “afford” to cover more people.  Health care is a commodity, not a right. It has economic cost and benefit. I prepaid and in no way do I want it compromised and that includes reimbursement rates that are so poor that the supply of medical facilities and doctors dries up. The argument, “the republicans want thousands of people to die” is specious and mean-spirited. (BTW I am a Libertarian).  These recipients did not have healthcare BEFORE Obamacare and to take away what was once given for free is neither irresponsible nor cruel.
2. GUN RIGHTS. You may wish to make me a felon for guns I have owned for 50 years but I won’t turn them in.  We watch illegals, yes, including “animals” cross our border unchecked as the LEFT is building a pool of eventual democrat voters and striving to keep Mr. Trump from fulfilling his campaign promise.  It now costs nearly $500,000 plus pensions to cover one 24/7 shift of one law enforcement officer in Suffolk County. The county does not care so long as the entrenched continue to be re-elected and as I once wrote the “legislature” I trust most of the members have concealed weapons permits.  That much money for one shift 24/7/365 means over the years we will have fewer cops. I am not going to wait for a cop to come to my house when I suffer a home invasion. And I know you won’t work for it but I want the same right in my car. When I lived in Washington State, I carried, legally, a pistol, in my glove box for ten years.  I did pull it out, ONCE, not to shoot up a school or a gay night club but to stop four thugs about to haul an old man out of his car. I brandished the pistol and they took off. See how neat that was? No one got shot and a innocent person did not get hurt. I don’t disrespect your life or the life of your loved ones but my life and that of my wife is more important to me than is yours.  I don’t think you will beat Mr. Zeldin but if you do, live by the premise you will subject the citizens to no more danger than you are willing to expose your family to...no concealed weapons, no armed guards. To deprive me of my right to self-defense, inside or outside of my house because some unbalanced bad guy shot up a school is to allow me to not hire a woman with five kids because she might take more sick leave than a woman with no kids...except law-abiding pistol owners are LESS likely to kill people than the woman with five kids is likely to use more sick leave.  You have absolutely no right to assume I will ever commit evil with my pistols. There is no law currently being proposed that would have stopped any of the mass shootings, let alone it is illegal to murder people. I have no problem with decreeing that citizens may not own nuclear weapons or RPG’s but my pistol? I do think background checks are legitimate so long as that document is confidential and is not available to the public or a gun-confiscating government. As I said, good luck trying to take my natural right to self-defense from me. I am sorry that the left stream media does not publicize many cases where “a good guy with a gun stopped a bad guy with a gun.”  I don’t know what SCoTUS will do about the “A well regulated militia…” question. There are brilliant minds who disagree on what that actually means and I do wish the cowards in black robes would clarify the 2nd amendment...finally...one way or the other. Hopefully I will be able to once again carry a pistol in my glove box...you know, to protect myself from those pesky car-jackings...or another person who may be about to become the victim of a car-jacking. The left seems to deny self-protection, much like feminists deny that males are genetically programmed to pursue females. That the left will succeed is unlikely to me. I believe that my innate desire to protect my family and me has no limits.  You may disagree, place a sign in your yard, “this house is unarmed.”
3. Government must stop funding, including grants, to universities that do not AFFIRMATIVELY  protect speakers of all beliefs. I understand Barr may begin some hassling of the universities.  I won’t go on about the nauseating accommodation of buttercups who are afraid of opinions with which they do not agree but a professor (i.e. an authority figure, a position of power) berating a conservative student just does not cut it. I call that a “hostile education environment.” Obama would have gone after that if it were ANTIFA that the university blocked.  I want Barr to go after USC, UCB and to remind George Mason out loud that they should be honored to have Justice Kavanaugh teach a class and not be mealy-mouthed about it. Buttercups don’t like it? They exercise their free speech by not taking the class. Private schools may have the right to censor debate but government grants which come with pages of covenants must include protection for dissent and enforcement measures published widely so all students understand their rights..  What happened in Berkeley is disgusting...but we could expect that from Janet Napolitano. I am refreshed to see that push-back to leftist tyrants seems to be developing albeit slowly.
4. Government must shrink.  I want the smallest government possible; I want it reduced to basic functions; I want agencies to develop rules clearly consistent with law and not according to personal agenda.  I can name agencies I believe should be abolished altogether but won’t bother. I want a strong military, fiscally sound government that employs as few people as possible, at the lowest possible but competitive wage to accomplish a strictly defined mission that is understood and openly debated, without ridicule or hatred, by the public.
5. GLOBAL WARMING:  Government does not belong in this debate because, as we have seen (NOAA), government lacks the ability to be objective..  I deeply believe in dialogue and dissent (currently involved in litigation which I will win) over my right to criticize a fire department bond issue which then, expelled me a volunteer). When Al Gore said “the debate is done,” he shut down any chance I would subscribe to global warming terror. In science the “debate” including new or dissenting information is rarely “done.”  My observation is that our national climate is warming (since I like cold weather that is not good news for me) but that is my belief only and many respected scientists believe it is not. Even if it is then where I stray is that it is man-caused. 4.5 billion years old our earth is and we are using statistics from the last 100 years to declare we are near death (I set a Google calendar appointment for 12 year from now so when the earth has not died I can mock Ocasio-Cortez.)  What the Chicken Littles don’t allow is a balanced discussion of global warming, if it is occurring, man’s influence, if any, compared to economic consequences of deciding we can actually change anything with trillions of dollars and non-cooperative other nations. We the citizens have the right to full information and then choices that the elected elites may not like. I like heating my house with natural gas. I like my A/C in the hot and humid months. I like flying to see my best bud in L.A. Just because Al Gore, in his 30 room mansion, or Leonardo DiCaprio, flying a private jet to Europe to participate in a climate change conference, declare we are all dying, doesn’t mean we are. They destroy any credibility with thinking individuals when they openly refuse to walk-their-talk. Let Ocasion-Cortez pedal a raft to Hawaii and Gore shut off electricity to his mansion.  The ONLY role our government might play (and this is risky depending on who is in power at the time) is to sponsor balanced public forums on the issue, ASSURING that all viewpoints are aired and respect is accorded all positions.

No, I am not a neo-nazi; I am not a racist; I am not selfish or ignorant of the needs of others.  I will not give a man a fish but I will teach him how to fish. I will advocate for my wife and me. I will vote for people who I think have MY interests at heart and who understand the constitution does not guarantee equal outcomes, only equal opportunity to try.  And, this not about “white privilege.” My “white privilege” was a father who told me he expected me to do two things: get a college degree (which I did at an inexpensive state university in Washington State) and do my three years in the service.  After that, he said he would expect nothing else of me. I did those two things and he never gave me direction again. But it was enough to get me a head start. I am not wealthy but I did carve out a decent living for my family and decent retirement.  I owe the less fortunate nothing. I am not my “brothers’ keeper” especially until I have input with respect to what my “brother” must do to obtain my help. And I want to make sure you or others do not compromise what I have secured for myself through work, not through entitlements.  Since LBJ’s “great society” we have told blacks they need do nothing, we owe them a living. Uh, not so much. When I was in college students roomed together to save costs and get their degrees. No reason that today 5 students can’t room together to cut costs while they get their degrees...except to this day the left tells them, especially blacks,  “don’t bother; your ancestors were oppressed so you are owed a living with nothing in return.”

Remember the “Golden Rule.”  If it is not fit for you personally then it is not fit for the people you “represent.”  “Medicare for all”? That means you too.

Sincerely,

John M. Tyson

Saint James

P.S. you can still get my vote if you are related to Gina Gershon and introduce me to her.

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Mr. Gershon replies:

John:

Thanks once again for your email.  Respectfully, and as you must suspect, we do not agree for the most part on the issues you cite.  But you do provide enough detail that I will point out some commonality, at least as I interpret your comments.  But before I do that, there is a greater point I will try to make, as it is a large part of my motivation for continuing.

I am a Democrat - I have been my whole life, and I am proud of that.  And I think I lean to the more progressive side of the party, though by no means am I where AOC and some of the more vocal left wing democrats are coming out.  But as much as I am a Democrat, I am an American who believes in our system of government and a need to sustain it.  From where I sit, the nation is struggling these days with hyper-partisanship.  Polarization seems to be at an all time high and the two sides of most debates would rather insult the other than try to communicate.  That its not how we got things done for nearly 2.5 centuries and it is not a prescription for a long and healthy future.  So in running for office, I am committed to civility and listening to all sides as much if not more than I am to implementation of policy.  I have had a successful career.  I have made sufficient money for me and my family that I could happily retire at 57, see more of the world and enjoy my life in the woods of East Hampton.  But it is my concern for others, and the fact that I believe I can make a difference, that motivates me to challenge Zeldin once again.

As for the issues you mention -

1) On healthcare, I do believe that a certain minimal level of healthcare is a right for all.  The need for healthcare insurance provides a burden for some that is unfair.  But that is not to say that people like yourself, who have paid into Medicare and are deserving of its benefits should get one iota less than you are expecting.  If fact, we must make clear that protecting people like yourself and taking nothing away from what you have already contracted is a critical part of the path forward.  Without buy-in from folks like yourself, change is impossible.  But the person stuck in his/her job or unable to find employment with healthcare despite efforts should not be suffering,  Medicare for all is a great concept (in my opinion  at least) but we will not have it in the USA anytime soon.  So lets fix and build what we have.  Perhaps let people in the 45-65 bracket buy into Medicare so they can receive its benefits at a younger age.  Most of all, force Democrats and Republicans to sit together and come up with a solution we can live with.  And if the people on the extremes don’t like it, tough.

2) On guns, I believe strongly in gun registration.  We must do more to combat gun violence and the mass shooting incidents that have gotten notoriety.  But that does not take away the right of people like yourself to carry a gun.  My issue with concealed carry is not that we should ben it - simply that each state should have its own rules for concealed carry within that state (like we have our own rules for driving).  I believe that is not extreme, and I am very open to dialogue with anyone on the subject,

3) I am very much a believe in free speech, by the left or by the right.  And also of the right for individuals or groups to protest speakers who they disapprove of, so long as such protest is non-violent.  What happened at Berkeley a few years ago was not acceptable.

4) I ask that we agree to disagree one the size of government.  I point out that many who push for shrinking the government fail to do so when in office.  Look no further than the Trump government for evidence of that.  I see government as a partner for private enterprise.  Government alone cannot fix anything, but capitalism alone and unchecked leads to too much income inequality.  I support a middle ground where we question the size and role of government and reconfirm that it is doing what it should, on a regular basis, or else correct it,

5) Global warming - while I listen to debate at all times, I also believe in science.  Coal is no longer an efficient source of energy, and wind and solar are getting cheaper and becoming viable alternatives.  Lets use the power of government to help develop these cleaner forms of energy.  And I believe we can create jobs in NY-1 in the process.  AOC’s green new deal was a good concept in theory, but many of the details as described in the popular media make so sense,  I eat beef - cows are important to our culture,  And they are not the primary cause of global warming,  But lets burn less coal and oil, invest in developing cleaner solutions.  Lets recycle more so we waste less.  Invest in nitrogen filtration and sewers so we dont pollute our local water.  The sea is rising and it affects us in Montauk and along the coast,  Take action now so the rate of rise will go down over time.  Sea walls are not a permanent fix.

Just some thoughts and ideas.  You will obviously make your own voting decisions, but understand I am very much for listening to points of view and respect.  That is what holds us together as Americans.

Perry

PS: Just some casual thoughts from my train ride.  I hope nothing here is offensive.

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John writes again:

Thank you, Perry for your reply.

It is likely if you and were joint kings and sat across a negotiating table we would reach agreement on many topics.  I trust you did NOT comment on some points I raised because disagreement was guaranteed.

I usually find I trust my understanding of the democrat agenda more than the republicans.  I believe democrats are more open and honest (with important exceptions) than are the republicans.  And I think where the republicans are honest they then cannot stand the heat, cave and thus do not achieve what I want them to achieve. Also, as a libertarian, I do not fall neatly in to any group (and like it that way).

I blog.  With your permission I would like, for the enjoyment of my - perhaps - two readers, post my letter to you and your reply to me without my further comment.  My purpose for blogging...yes I would love to make millions...is to memorialize in one tidy spot, my opinions on the issues.  Much of what I addressed to you and your comments are going to be about the 2020 election and may be worth remembering in the future.

In case you want to see my blog first, the link is:   thethinkinglibertarian.blogspot.com

Again, thanks for your reply.  Your reactions are not knee-jerk; they are well-considered, whether or not I agree with them.

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And Mr. Gershon has the last word.

Thanks John. I stand by what I write, though we live in an unfortunate where people can excerpt and twist comments to mean s Thanks John. I stand by what I write, though we live in an unfortunate where people can excerpt and twist comments to mean something else.  I run the risk that someone on the left of my party uses my comments on AOC against me, or the fact that I believe Medicare for All is not happening anytime soon.  But those are chance I can live with.  I appreciate dialoguing with people like yourself, and maybe you can share my “reason” with others of like mind to your own.  We really do need better, more thoughtful people in government.  And I do think you and I could reach some solutions on most topics.

***END of DISCUSSION***