Gary Johnson has had a record performance as a Libertarian nominee in the 2016 election. There is no question that Governor Johnson has led to many to at least look at his platform and some, like myself, have even gone as far as to become a libertarian. That being said, there is one concern that I have regarding this election. I worry that many who become "libertarians" are going to look at the platform of being "fiscally conservative and socially liberal/tolerant/inclusive" and simply think it stops there. Gary Johnson's platform is a severely watered down explanation of what libertarianism really is.
The fact that he cannot explain what the Non-Aggression Principle is only a microcosm of what worries me about the next "libertarians". As I said earlier, Gary Johnson was the initial nudge into libertarianism though my journey did not stop there. I really did not fully get into libertarianism until I started looking into Ron Paul. My journey then went on to economists like Thomas Sowell, Milton Friedman, and Walter E. Williams. I then went to the feminist Christina Hoff Summers. I tried to find as many libertarian outlets as I possibly could. In that endeavor I found Glenn Jacobs (better known as Kane), Julie Borowski, Lauren Southern, That Guy T, Adam Kokesh, Carey Wedler, and others.
Many in this cycle who have come to support Gary Johnson were supporters of Bernie Sanders, who was arguably the "social justice warrior" candidate. This is part of why I am so concerned about what libertarianism might become. I am remotely concerned that libertarianism will just become another place that SJWs have weaseled into. That is just simply their way that is, weaseling into places that they have no influence in. What concerns me is those people will hijack what libertarianism is and pervert it to their own ends.
I am fine with Gary Johnson being someone's first exposure to libertarianism; however, the journey should not STOP with Gary Johnson. I don't believe your journey to learn more about your ideology should ever stop. One should always be striving to learn more, to be the best practitioner of their ideology that they can be. In part, Gary's campaign has been good, but I want people to know what they are getting into when they call themselves a libertarian.