I don't know many people on this platform. I thought an introductory post seemed appropriate. So here we go.
My name is David. I live in the falling state of California. I teach music at a public school. I am married and have kids, who are being educated in public schools.
I was raised in a Mormon family in Southern California. I remember going with my parents to the polling site (Boys' Club) where they voted for Ronald Reagan in 1980. My dad taught me about hard work, personal responsibility, chivalry, accountability, and pride in a job well done. It was my understanding that these traits were the cornerstone of the Republican Party and, therefore, I considered myself to be one. What I knew of Democrats was that they were "tax and spend liberals" and that Jimmy Carter was the worst president ever.
Beyond this, I was politically unaware. I was also unaware of the extent of my ignorance. I do recall speaking with some guys at a street fair when I was about 17. They asked me a few questions and promptly concluded that I was a libertarian. I had never heard of that and concluded they were part of some cult. (Says the Mormon kid).
As a young adult, I went through some issues that led me to reassess all of my beliefs. I rejected the LDS Church. I embraced the left, at least as much as I embraced anything. And I felt it necessary to rebuild my core beliefs on what I knew, not on what I was told.
After about 6 years of rejecting God and any sort of religion, I found myself being introduced to basic Christianity for the first time. It took this period of purging for me to be able to accurately differentiate between Mormon doctrine and biblical Christianity. I became a Christian in 2001.
At the same time I had a girlfriend who was unashamedly conservative and it was so refreshing! I realized that I had never given up those concepts that my dad taught me, and they definitely fit better in the right than the left. I still was unaware of any other way.
As I was blown by the wind politically, I ended up voting for both Bill Clinton and George W. Bush. I was still being swayed by pretty speeches because I did not have core political values. 9-11 solidified my allegiance to the right. But I was seeing the world through a borrowed perspective.
I became aware of Ron Paul in the 2008 campaign, but sadly saw him as a bit of a nutty old codger. I was too steeped in Neo-Conism to see the beauty of the freedom / non-interventionist position. I reluctantly voted for McCain. I had quite a bit of cognitive dissonance at this time. I knew he wasn't what I wanted but could now also see the hollow pretty words of Obama for what they were.
I was completely sure that Obama would not be reelected. People could not be that blind. In 2012, I was not voting for Romney; I was voting against Obama. However, he did win and that's when I started to see clearly. I realized that the two party system was a sham.
I opened myself to the possibility that there was another way. I started looking into the Libertarian Party. I watched old Ron Paul speeches on YouTube. I read Atlas Shrugged. I wasn't there yet, but I was close.
In the run up to the 2016 elections, it was Austin Petersen's livestreams that finally brought me fully over. I first heard about Tom Woods and Ludwig von Mises from Austin. I started searching them out. Then Lew Rockwell and Murray Rothbard. Austin is a minarchist and he spoke of these anarchists with a tone of caution and mystery. It made me want to read them more.
I now consider myself a voluntaryist, an anarcho-capitalist. I put great value on the non-aggression principle and see it as foundational in all human interaction. My cognitive dissonance is now not with my conflicted political worldview, but with the fact that I teach in a state school. Sure, at least I'm getting some of my stolen money back - but at what cost?
I'll be forever learning. I've now read some Rothbard, Mises, Hoppe, Hayek, Locke, Paul, Hazlitt, and Bastiat. I've been listening to podcasts by Woods, Dave Smith, Scott Horton, Jason Stapleton, Joe Rogan, Michael Malice, and others. I've gone down this rabbit hole willingly - and with enthusiasm - and there's no going back. I can see the Matrix all around me and I refuse to accept it.