The approaching anniversary of Liberty for Utahns! inspires me to explain why I came up with the title for this blog that I did.

Doing so requires an exploration of some differences between both libertarianism and statism, and liberty and democracy.

If you glance at the upper-right section of the LPUtah's homepage, you will see a diamond-shaped graphic that contrasts not only left-liberals and right-conservatives, but libertarians and authoritarian-statists.

The position of these labels describes the degree of economic and personal freedom favored or disfavored by those who hold these political philosophies.

Many of us celebrate romance during the month of February. (And a quick survey of the work of some Libertarian romance novelists, such as Karen Kay and Lauren Royal, reminds me that I am woefully out of my depth on this subject.)

So, as Valentine's Day approaches, why not briefly explore the relationship between love and politics?

In the libertarian-themed movie Serenity, Captain Malcolm Reynolds' character ("Mal") is a hardened military veteran who seemingly lacks a moral compass. But in the closing scene of the movie, Mal shows that his heart also governs his actions when he speaks metaphorically to a member of his crew.