About

My name is John Sherrod, and I live in Murfreesboro, Tennessee with my wife Jessica and our son Noah. I’m a libertarian and a fan of movies and TV shows, and for a while now I’ve wanted to combine those two passions in the form of a blog. Whenever I watch a film or a show I’m always gravitating toward the themes of liberty (or the restriction of liberty) contained therein. In many cases these themes are the explicit intent of the screenwriters, and in other cases I’m convinced that they’re quite unintentional. I intend to the draw them out, analyze them, and hopefully often have fun with them. I confess that I also hope that my writing will serve to spread the fire of liberty. If you’re not a libertarian, I hope that at least you’ll gain some understanding of libertarian philosophy. Please join in the discussion with your comments!

What is a libertarian?

One of the two main pillars of libertarianism is the principle of nonaggression. In other words, libertarians don’t believe in gaining a desired result by use of force or violence. The other pillar is the right of an individual to exercise complete control of his personal property, including his person. Therefore, an individual should be free to live his life as he sees fit, so long as in doing so he doesn’t harm or infringe on the rights of other individuals. Note: libertarianism is not libertinism. Just because an individual is free to do something doesn’t mean she should do it. Libertarians simply believe that people shouldn’t be forced by their fellow individuals (or an entity such as the state) to cease activities that those fellow individuals don’t approve of.

Phew! That sounded very text-book, didn’t it? Read my movie and TV show entries to understand libertarianism using examples on screens big and small. You may also want to read Murray Rothbard’s great work, For a New Liberty: The Libertarian Manifesto. It’s available on the website (click here) of The Ludwig von Mises Institute for free as a PDF or as an MP3 audiobook! Rothbard makes his case in a very easy to read format. But be warned… if you start it, you’ll likely be a libertarian when you finish it!