With a visit from Congressman and presidential candidate Ron Paul as evidence ­— and numbers to boot — Kyle Aycock, president of the University's Youth for Ron Paul chapter, said the cause for liberty has "found a foothold in our generation."

Aycock, political science and communication studies senior, said he has seen shifting tides in the movement's favor.

Aycock was state director of Young Americans for Liberty for the 2010-11 academic year before he started Youth for Ron Paul.

"We've grown the organization over ten-fold," he said of YAL. "When we started last fall, we had about four active members."

According to Aycock, the group is now "hovering" around 40 members, with more on the mailing list.

"We literally had students sprinting to our table in excitement [at the Student Organization Fair]," Aycock said.

Aycock said he believes the growing popularity of libertarianism is largely due to the political atmosphere in which the current generation was raised.

Many University students were in grade school when the Sept. 11 attacks happened, Aycock explained.

"It's a whole generation of people who have grown up around war, and people are tired of that," he said. "Libertarians in general are against unconstitutional war."

According to libertarian gubernatorial candidate Scott Lewis of Baton Rouge, the current political arena has left many in doubt of their government and political parties. He was especially critical of the bipartisan system.

"You can't get it right, and you want us to vote for you?" Lewis joked.

After years of working with both the Republican Party and the Democratic Party and ten years of reporting from the state Capitol, Lewis concluded another option was needed.

He said many of the nation's problems today are the products of a faulty two-party system.

"Too many people just align themselves along party lines," he said.

Lewis said the pressed economy has led people to hate one another, which isn't what life — or government — is about.

Aycock contends there is more to the Libertarian Party's attraction with young people than contemporary woes.

"Younger people are more idealistic," he said.

In the Internet culture, "you grow up in an atmosphere where you can customize your life to yourself," Aycock said. He added that in comparison, "the government is really unresponsive."

Internet culture has contributed to a stronger focus on individual liberty, Aycock suggested, but the government is showing signs of collectivism.

"People get a sense of betrayal," Aycock said.

Lewis was drawn to the Libertarian Party because of its focus on individual rights.

"As a libertarian, I have a right to be me," Lewis said. "I thought that was a pretty cool philosophy."

Lewis highlighted the basic tenet of libertarianism.

"As long as you don't hurt anybody else, you're cool with us," he said. "If you respect yourself, you will be in synchronization with and respect everyone else."

Aycock concurred.

"One dynamic about the libertarian governing philosophy is not so much what you would plan to do, but what you would stop from being done," he said.

Lewis said he does not officially support Paul's presidential candidacy because Paul is technically a Republican, but voiced his admiration for the congressman.

"I was impressed that he could take the position he took without body guards," he laughed.

With Paul — whom Aycock referred to as "the face of the movement" — running for president under the Republican insignia, the libertarian cause faces tough decisions in its approach.

"I've heard a lot of people say it's time for a third party," Aycock said, "But the end result is people are still voting Republican or Democratic."

From a utilitarian perspective, he said, the greatest good can be accomplished by working within the two-party system.

Some students believe the appeal of libertarianism lies precisely within its inter-partisan appeal.

"It's popular because it's a more liberal version of conservatism," said Miles Baquet, communication studies senior. "It's a cool trend to be liberal right now."

Baquet believes people turn to libertarianism because it allows students to hold conservative views while maintaining a liberal lifestyle, which he likened to "Republicanism in disguise."

He conceded to say that it is still good to see more middle ground in the political arena because, as he puts it, "America is too set in its ways with two-party politics."

 

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Contact Clayton Crockett at ccrockett@lsureveille.com