I am a lifelong pacifist.

This is not a commitment made out of cowardice or in judgement of those who do not choose to be pacifists, it is a personal decision made for me as to how I choose to manage my life.

I do not believe in the use of force as a means to obtain political or social goals.

So it came as a surprise to me when I came to the Libertarian Party a couple of years ago after a decade and a half of "political homelessness" that, of all the things on which Libertarians disagree, that is the ONE and ONLY thing on which they agree. It is the mandatory pledge for members to sign to obtain party membership. And it states the principle upon which all other LP platforms are based.

The Democratic Party doesn't have such a resolution. As a matter of fact, many of the policies of Democrats rely on the use of force to enforce them.

The GOP doesn't have such a resolution, either.

In fact, looking across the political landscape, this resolution is not a part of the Green, Socialist, Constitution, or any other third party platform.

I will be the first to state that the LP platform is not perfect. But then, no political party's platform IS. But when I look at the parties side by side and ask which is closest to my beliefs (without taking the impossibly arduous and slightly megalomaniacal task of creating a party of my own beliefs, consisting principly OF my own beliefs), the LP comes closest by far.

True pacifism isn't standing in a field outside the president's ranch waving signs because your son got killed doing his duty and you think it's unfair. True pacifism is a philosophy that transcends single issues and gets down to the core of who you are, and who you wish to be. And the LP platform is the most supportive of a true pacifist's convictions, in my personal opinion.