My name is Andrew Esselbach. I’m an electronics assembly tech, and I currently live in eastern Washington.
I consider myself a libertarian anarchist.
I grew up in a family dominated by republicans, so I naturally assumed that I was too. In 2004, a few months before I turned 19, I enlisted in the army. I did a combat tour in Iraq from 2006-2007 conducting route clearance operations around the Anbar province, mostly in and around Ramadi. After spending a year getting shot at, blown up, and watching good friends getting hurt and killed, I came home an angry person. The financial bubble was beginning to implode, and the 2008 election campaign was starting to gear up. I remember the night I was looking at my ballot trying to figure out which clown I was supposed to vote for. I was partially drunk, and I tore up my ballot in disgust. A few months later, a good friend of mine invited me to join a reading group that was going to focus on the constitution, American founders, and the early America government. He gave me a couple books to read, but the study group fizzled out before it even started. But my friend knowing my frustration with the world, encouraged me to continue reading, and to look up some guy named Ron Paul.
I went to YouTube and starting watching videos of Ron Paul. He made sense! He was principled, and his message rang true. I heard him make references to Austrian Economics, Mises, and Hayek. About the same time, another friend of mine was reading the Road to Serfdom, and the Fatal Conceit, which I also read. Internet searches of Austrian economics lead me to FEE, and I downloaded and listened to stuff in their audio archives which introduced me to the basics of the Austrian School. I started reading books by Mises, and It wasn’t long before I stumbled on Mises.org.. As I started working my way through the website, I discovered Tom Woods. I joined Liberty Classroom within a few weeks of it being launch.
Facebook: Facebook.com/AndrewEsselbach
I look forward to any additional courses on economics, history, and philosophy.