This is the "maiden voyage" of Semper Libertas.  The purpose of this blog is to keep the spotlight on the true purpose of government:  protecting individual liberty.  The guiding principles of the entries I post and the articles to which I link will be the promotion of individual liberty:  free market capitalism, free and open trade, freedom of speech, religion, and association, and the power of the individual.  Mankind's greatest accomplishments occur when men and women are free from the constraints of coercion and fraud and allowed to pursue their own hopes and dreams.

All too often, government is used as a tool, a blunt instrument to batter people into submission to a particular ideology, religion, or personal moral code.  My purpose with Semper Libertas will be to promote the ideals of classical liberalism, known widely today as libertarianism, that individuals should be free to pursue life and happiness so long as those pursuits don't impede the pursuits of others — live and let live.  The standard for government intervention should not be to enforce a moral code or values, but rather to promote liberty and justice.  Personal morals, virtues, and values should be spread through persuasion, not the force of the government.

The heroes of this site range from Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, and James Madison to Friedrich Hayek, Milton Friedman, Ayn Rand, Barry Goldwater, and Ronald Reagan.  Not because these people were perfect or even perfect defenders of liberty, but because they had a vision where individual liberty was the rule, not the exception, and where people are free to follow their own dreams.  Freedom to live is freedom to fail, and liberty involves taking risks.  However, without great risk there can be no great reward.

Welcome to Semper Libertas - Liberty Always.  I hope you'll enjoy what you read, and pass along the word to a friend.