I understand that we probably do need to work together, but I came out of the libertarian movement precisely because they had no issues with abortion, gay marriage, etc. I was upset because they saw no problem with it being taught (forced down students’ throats) in school. The MAIN issue is only PERSONAL freedom. I’m sorry, but the Constitution is a moral code. It is more than about personal freedoms, a important as that is. What I began to feel after about 4 years, is that there was not a lot of difference between libertarians and the left, in some areas. It made me quite uncomfortable. It used to really bother me that Ron Paul stated he was a christian, but refused to support any attempt to overturn Roe v. Wade. His excuse was that only the states should have the right to determine abortion issues. My complaint was: how do we get it back to the states if we do not first overturn it? DUH! Anyway, I’ve been upset to see Rand following in his father’s footsteps.
“I was upset because they saw no problem with it being taught (forced down students’ throats) in school.”
The overwhelming majority of libertarians do not support the concept of public education in any sense, so I have difficulty believing you left “libertarians” because they wanted to force ideas down students’ throats in school. I suspect you were having discussions with liberals who liked select parts of libertarianism, not libertarians.