An Observation: I realized something about the current generation of liberals, the ones who came of age in the 1960s, when the establishment/government was "the man," and he was on your back. They talked a good game, but when it came to fishing time, they all cut bait. What they decided was that they didn't want to get "the man" off your back so much as replace him with a sensitive new-age kind of "man": Instead of drafting you, he'd demand that you do volunteer work to get a high school diploma; rather than sending the FBI to snoop around your ass, he'd just hector you on TV about quitting smoking, your brain on drugs, the imperilment of the environment, wearing your seat belt, not beating your children, and taking pride in belonging to a strong and noble race (as long as it was a designated oppressed minority race, since being proud of being "white" is racist).

The 60s ethic was, pretty much, a libertarian one. But the white liberals became the establishment, "the man," and they kind got a kick out of it.