Deputy Leader Statement

Deputy Leader Statement

I’m Calum “Caz” Paul from Kirkcaldy and I’m the new Deputy Leader of the Scottish Libertarian Party. I’m a freelancer in the Scottish film industry, a musician and an active volunteer for a local charity.

 

I first joined the party in 2014 when my fellow YES campaigners – who were mourning the loss of the independence referendum – started to sound quite different from me politically when the ideal of independence came to an end, especially when it came to freedom of speech. Freedom of speech is the bastion of a civilized society, the essence of liberalism, freedom, and speaking truth to power. Growing up I admired heroes like Frank Zappa and Dee Snider whilst they were tearing down conservative-minded politicians who wanted to restrict expression. Bill Hicks, George Carlin, who built their comedy acts upon the ideals of sticking a middle finger to authoritarianism with *words*. Words have always been the biggest threat to people who seek power, and are the first thing to be restricted by those with aspirations of control.

Yet I was met with resistance when I extended that support for freedom of expression to the likes of Dapper Laughs in the face of third wave feminist critique, when I vocally supported Sam Harris against the hysterical attack on him initiated by Ben Affleck on the Bill Maher show, and when I helped organise a protest outside the court where (fellow SLP member) Mark “Count Dankula” Meecham was being charged under the Offensive Communications Act for posting a joke on YouTube. The people around me were starting to sound a lot more like the suit wearing politicians previously torn down by a 6ft rocker in makeup and ripped denim, and I didn’t want to rub shoulders with sympathisers of “The Man” who was importing fascist ideas by the back door.

 

The Scottish Libertarian party was a refuge for people like me who are wrestling with ideas of liberty, or approaching them for the first time, and was a home and an avenue for me to fulfil this goal and provide myself and others a pathway to protest the increasing size of the state.

 

If I were to make it to the halls of power, I owe it to myself – and all those that helped me get there – to be an agent of opposition in authoritarian and over-reaching policy, and be an active participant in rolling back government. As Konkin said; “I see no other conceivable strategy for the achievement of liberty than political action” and the only ones with the real means to act are politicians.

 

As the new Deputy Leader of The Scottish Libertarian Party, I will not only support the leadership team in expanding the goals of the Scottish Libertarian Party and ideas of liberty at large, but also hope to maintain and fortify the party as the refuge that once accepted me when I felt politically homeless.

Thank you so much for your support.

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