In a world fraught with danger, most notably the all too real threat of global extinction in a nuclear world war, we do not have the luxury of making the same political mistakes over and over. We need to learn from history and start getting it right.

The problem with the term “family values” is that it actually means “my values based on my religion.” History tells us that using government to enforce religious beliefs always leads to disaster, yet we continue to try to do so.

The political system most conducive to the long-term survival of the human species is one of non-intervention, both into the personal lives of individuals and into the affairs of other nations.

Within our own country we need to re-learn what “liberty” means. In a free country, as long as you are not harming or endangering others, you have a right to make your own decisions about your own life. The true test of freedom is not that you are allowed to do what others do approve of, but rather that you are allowed to do things others do not.

The other half of the equation is to stop trying to run the world. We must engage in free trade and honest friendship with other nations, communicating in the adult-adult paradigm, rather than parent-child.

To put it bluntly, we need to stop sticking our noses into other people’s business.