As a Friend (Quaker), I believe in “that of God in Everyone”. As a Friend, I further believe and try to embody in my life the testimonies of Peace, Simplicity, Unity, Community, Integrity, and Equality. As a Friend, I appreciate and try to practice consensus governance that protects and considers the concerns of each and every individual.
In the process of looking for a new presidential candidate in 2012 that was pro-peace, I eventually discovered the Libertarian party pledge of not initiating violence (or the Non-Aggression Principle (NAP)). This commitment to peace was my entree into “liberty circles” and seemed very consistent with my faith. The more I listened, the more I read, the more I participated in liberty activism, the more I realized that what Robin Koerner calls “The Politics of Love” is indeed the only political and economical system that seems to fit so naturally with my Quaker faith. The more I read, the more I walked and worked in liberty circles, the more I saw a consistent commitment to peace (NAP), to freedom and a deep compassion and desire to help fellow human beings.
As both Quakerism and Robin remind me of the importance of humility, I may very well be wrong. Yet, my research and my experience lead me to believe that only an economic/ political system that respects the self-determination and natural rights of each individual is compatible with my religious beliefs. As Robin says in this article, the three words of love are “As you wish… “
This QuakerSpeak video challenges Quakers and non-Quakers alike to envision a better more humane economic system. I believe that we should do more than envision but instead seek out and join those who are already creating and living within the failing shell of the old, a better love-based system grounded in mutual respect, individual autonomy, voluntary exchange and compassionate aid.
Examples of Quakers, Libertarians and others living this vision include: peaceful parenting, home/un-schooling, Non Violent Communication, Alternatives to Violence training, counter economics, collective barter and trade, micro-lending, voluntary mutual aid and charity, mutual defense, radical sustainability, gardening and traditional food co-ops and buying clubs.
Maybe the best way to live a more humane economic system is to see “that of God” in each other even when we don’t fully understand each other and to celebrate the creative solutions we find everywhere. Maybe it is further to listen and hear the desires of our fellow human beings and to wish and to voluntarily assist each other aspire to those wishes.
Juliet Nail has been a Quaker for nearly 30 years and a libertarian for the last 7 years. A cradle Catholic, she discovered Quakerism as a very young woman and has happily attended ever since. When she began voting in California as a young adult, she did not know people were supposed to pick a political team but often found herself voting with the Peace and Freedom party and/ or the libertarians but never thought much of it. In looking for a peace candidate in 2012, she discovered libertarianism and quickly became quite active in liberty circles. It did not take long to see the consistency in a commitment to peace and equality in both realms. Juliet gardens and lives with her family in Minnesota. She is a member of Minneapolis Friends Meeting.