Voluntaryism in Action: Libertarians Coming Together

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Danny Chabino
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From April 27 – May 1, a period of only 5 days, our project called Voluntaryism in Action, supported by libertarian outlets such as Liberty Memes and Pro-Life Libertarians (among many others), contributed to raising over $25,000 for a young girl named Teagan in need of a kidney transplant. This is one of those things that not only shows the kind and giving nature of humanity, but also demonstrates a number of lessons from the libertarian movement.

Firstly, libertarians can and do come together when the chips are down. There may be plenty of disputes, mostly due to the very nature of people who believe strongly in individualism, but when it comes time for a cause that’s of great importance, libertarians coalesce into a singular movement. There are a lot of deeply held convictions amongst libertarians, but one common amongst them is the nature of giving. And, although libertarians tend to argue a lot, sometimes greater amongst themselves, I think that generally speaking, they all move in the same general direction.

Many people believe that because libertarians hold that voluntary giving is far better than government forced giving, that libertarians are a stingy, selfish lot of people who care nothing for their fellow human beings. Nothing could be further from the truth. When people are given the chance to willingly give, they do so. Not from force, but from the heart. Libertarians believe very much in helping those who need it. We just don’t believe that forcibly taking peoples’ money from them and giving it to others is really giving at all.

Teagan’s mother created a GoFundMe campaign, revealing that Teagan was born with Congenial Nephrotic Syndrome – a rare disease that has caused “her kidneys losing essential proteins and invariably leads to total kidney failure.” Teagan has been on dialysis, awaiting a kidney transplant.

“Its been a very long road so far – Teagan was born premature at 32 weeks, she’s been hospitalized dozens of times, has a compromised immune system, she’s had 6 surgeries, two central lines, has a feeding tube and has an in-dwelling dialysis catheter.   She is the most remarkable little girl and has been so strong through all of it.  I am so blessed to have her in my life.” – Kellie Doran, mother of Teagan

After Voluntaryism in Action picked up the campaign on April 27, 2018, the campaign was completed in less than 5 days. The comments section on the GoFundMe page is scattered with a common libertarian handshake: “Taxation is theft.” A number of other declarations of pride in voluntary action make their appearances.

“Liberty Memes sent me here. Taxation is Theft! Also, I hope things go smoothly and she lives a wonderful life full of freedom and liberty!” – Kirsten P

“God bless y’all! #taxationistheft” – Kenneth Vinson

“Thanks to Being Libertarian & Liberty Memes for spreading the word.” – Steven Drowlette

“This is what libertarianism is about. Individuals directly impacting their community and neighbors without the use of a state. I hope your baby thrives and becomes as woke as [Liberty Memes] someday. God bless you and your baby!” – Michael McCarthy

Internet culture knows no bounds.

This is just one small example of how it isn’t necessary to steal money from others in order to make sure those in need don’t go without. People are not evil by nature, and I fully believe that. No one held a gun to the head of anyone who gave money to Teagan. Rest assured that, regardless of who you are, if you are in bad need and get the libertarian movement behind your cause, you will find a huge amount of willing people to help.

The staff at Being Libertarian, and especially the staff at Voluntaryism in Action, would like to offer a special thanks to libertarian outlets Liberty Memes and Pro-Life Libertarians for their support in broadcasting this campaign. Libertarians are often plagued by infighting, and it is moments like these that remind us to rethink our priorities and realize that our goal of changing the world for the better is within reach if we only work together to help one another.

Neither was there any government oversight required to manage the money that was directly given to this cause. There wasn’t a group of people to administer the money and manage the process for no good reason. GoFundMe takes a small percent, but negligible compared to what government might take. No one was taking 65% of the money off the top to pay administration costs. Instead the money goes directly to the need. Almost 100% of it.

This is the sort of thing to be proud of. In the past, we have raised awareness of other voluntary campaigns through our Voluntaryism in Action project, as well as noteworthy charitable causes such as Haven House of St. Louis. VIA is dedicated to acting as a magnifying glass for causes that the Liberty Movement can get behind; to make the world a better place, one situation at a time.

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Danny Chabino

Danny Chabino has a background in operating small businesses. He has been involved in managing and/or owning the operations of multiple retail establishments, a sub-prime lending company, a small insurance company, a small telemarketing venture, and insurance consulting. In addition to these activities, he also has spent many years managing investments in stocks and stock options as a successful trader. He is the married parent of two adult children, living as a proud lifelong Oklahoman and a part-time redneck. Danny writes for the enjoyment and pleasure of sharing ideas and for the love of writing itself. His opinions skew libertarian, but he enjoys hearing open debate and listening to or reading of opposing ideas. As an odd confession, he personally detests politics, but enjoys writing about political ideals and philosophies.

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