Reflections

When I was younger, probably around the age of nine, I remember attending a Cuban banquet with my parents. During this stage of my life, my parents were very social and often attended events held by family friends. However, later on in my life my parents no longer began to go to these social events and it bothered me quite a bit for I whole-heartedly enjoyed these get-togethers. The groups were separated into kids and adults but often times my interests never matched those of my fellow youth. Throughout my youth I had two passions, politics and video games; seldom were there other youth that shared my interests. That said, at this specific banquet there were many exiles and the number conversations of Cuba's unnecessary demise were endless. At some point in time at this banquet, I remarked to one of my fellow youth that there was one good thing that came out of Cuba's unfortunate situation, my birth. This is completely true, if it were not for the communist revolution in Cuba my parents would have never fled the island and subsequently been introduced to one another in the United States.

I stated this with the primal understanding of life; that it is better to be alive than dead. What I had not realized, that I later would, were the ethical consequences of my statements. Why should thousands of people suffer and die, involuntarily may I add, solely to bring about my birth. Such a comment was wholly selfish and unethical. I look back at that statement and am somewhat embarrassed. It is important to understand, especially in libertarianism, that one's life is not worth the lives of others; such a claim is foolish and immoral. As time goes by individuals must understand that the means don't justify the ends. A better Iraq doesn't justify an invasion that killed thousands and maimed many more; inflation isn't justifiable because it stabilizes the market, even though this is completely false; and my birth doesn't justify the thousands that died. The hardest task for some individuals is recognizing that compassion is righteous and that selfishness, when defeating the natural institution of property rights, is evil.