For a young, politically homeless freethinker lost in a myopic world of flippant anti-gun liberal Democrats and troglodyte hardline evangelic conservative Republicans, Reason Magazine was a soul-reviving breath of fresh air.
Though Reason Magazine had been in circulation since the 1970s, I didn't become aware of them until the late 90s. That was quite possibly because I wasn't born until 1983.
While Fox was spinning out the Bill O'Reilly show, the liberal media spewed forth its own dizzying montage of politically unsound drivel, slapping band-aids on the mortally wounded Lady Liberty and her sinking fleet of freedom ships.
But then there was Reason Magazine. Amidst the war-mongering and militarism from the right, and the cries for censorship, big government and the canonization of political correctness from the left, the faint echoes of reason squeaked out from under the rubble of American society.
When I first started reading Reason Magazine, I wasn't exactly sure what a libertarian was. At the time, I viewed all political parties as a petulant disease attempting to accumulate self-serving power and grandeur, and, like the parasites they were, latching onto barely conscious hosts to render them mindless zombies.
Though I more or less support the Libertarian Party these days, that view hasn't changed much overall.
Even if committed to my nomadic political vagrancy, I cherished the time I spent reading Reason Magazine as a young enthusiast for revolution.
Social media wasn't a thing in the late 90s and early 2000s, at least not in the scope it is today. Meeting politically like-minded people was a chore that constantly reminded you of your status as a mutant outcast living in the sewers beneath the subways of New York.
The great philosophers were all dead, but reading the cogent, sensible and intelligent articles of Reason Magazine made you feel like you weren't alone in the world. That's touchingly pathetic, I know, but it's the truth. It was inspiring to flip through those pages. Wow, these guys are awesome, I remember thinking.
Though I no longer subscribe to the printed magazine, I enjoy frequently reading articles on Reason's online publication. It used to be called 'Hit and Run', but I'm not sure if they still call it that.
Nick Gillespie, Matt Welch, Brian Doherty and Jacob Sullum are among my favorites, but all of the writers, editors and staff at Reason are great people contributing value to the project.
What's awesome about Reason Magazine is that they set out to be a principled, independent publication that didn't worry about the belligerent opinions of the mindless masses, but they're one of the least hated (or perhaps most tolerated) publications in existence.
Indeed, leftists think Reason skews too much to the right, and old-school right-wingers scoff at their socially liberal tendencies, but overall they are perceived as a legitimate journal of opinion by liberals and conservatives alike.
Libertarians piss off hardline conservatives and progressives--it's just what we do--and Reason Magazine is no different. But at the end of the day, Reason is just that--a voice of reason.
Reason Magazine is a valuable asset among the underground intelligentsia and the growing liberty movement. They will be giving the finger to the status quo and pissing off the establishment for many years to come. And for that, we are grateful.
In the never-ending fight for liberty, sense, free minds and free markets, we salute you, Reason Magazine!
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