Cross stitch pattern of an adorable version of the Gadsden flag that says the quote “No step on snek” instead of “Don’t tread on me”. You can save yourself a lot of work by stitching this pattern on yellow aida. Download the PDF here: Dont Tread On Me Pattern

Grid Size:96W x 58H
Design Area:6.86″ x 4.14″ (96 x 58 stitches)
Colors: 3

Let me get political there for a bit. I am just a cross stitch blogger, not a trusted news source. This is my opinion and it’s useful to get your information from multiple sources before forming an opinion of your own.

Often Libertarianism has been described to me as “your right to swing your fists ends at the tip of my nose”. And maybe that’s a little too vague for me. I’ve been told it boils down to “voluntary exchanges of property and labor without government intervention” with emphasis on the “voluntary” part. And you know what, I can get behind that. Having a separation between economy and state sounds like it would end preferential political treatment for corporations, but I’m hesitant to call myself a Libertarian, mostly because I don’t see even true free markets being able to avoid the same mass human suffering that we see in the current system.

Also, it’s that “voluntary” bit that gets to me. There are a lot of barriers to reaching truly voluntary exchanges. Something you want could be bundled with something you don’t and the only way to get the one is to agree to the whole thing, people can be intimidated and coerced into agreeing to things they don’t want, people can spread misinformation about a business, people can be born into economic situations they can’t leave, or a service you agree with might purposefully be made unavailable to you so you go with one that you don’t like. These small forced compromises would definitely leak through the cracks of the weakened government that Libertarians call for. This holds me back from accepting Libertarian economic ideals out right, but I can see where they’re coming from now that I’ve taken some time to investigate.

Honestly, I’d welcome any change from the status quo, but I think there are better alternatives. Maybe even the best economic and political systems of the future will end up being a combination of lots of different systems, like even Communists can lift government subsidies on fossil fuels. I think a Libertarian economy could potentially pair well with a very different political system, one that gives the government and citizens a real incentive and power to root out involuntary exchanges and allows for people to just not participate in economics at all. As it is right now, the most prominent Libertarian figures are Capitalists, even though “voluntary exchanges” aren’t necessarily monetary exchanges. I just can’t see any system that solely prioritizes the accumulation of wealth to be viable for much longer.

Everyone wants to reduce the suffering of the people they care for. They just differ in who they care for and how they go about helping them. I just don’t think that Libertarianism as it exists today provides enough incentives or opportunities to be kind.