I Chose Liberty - Ludwig von Mises Institute

260 I Chose Liberty: Autobiographies of Contemporary Libertarians
I volunteered. If I volunteered, I could practice medicine and be a captain. I capitulated
rather easily and became a volunteer.
I stayed a little longer than I had to because it wasn’t too bad. It was a break from the
tedious task of college, medical school, and residency. I stayed in the reserves as well. I tolerated
it well because the physicians were treated differently than other people. I was interested
in flying so I became a flight surgeon and got to fly. I took care of pilots and flying personnel
because they have special problems. Whether they were enlisted or officers, all flying
staff came through the flight surgeon’s office, my office.
After the military service, I went into an OB-GYN residency at the University of
Pittsburgh. My personal feeling was that delivering babies would be fun, and it was. I
finished my residency and opened up medical practice 1968 in Texas. That was great and
very challenging. I did exactly as I wanted to do. I was very busy in a growing county, a
suburb of Houston. I was the only obstetrician there. The first day in the office I had 35
patients! I had a huge practice and loved it.
I like practicing medicine. I like delivering babies and doing surgery. I really like the
independence. When I went to Texas and started a practice, doctors had a lot more responsibility
and I was expected to do a lot more than doctors today. For example, we didn’t have
an anesthesiologist or urologist. We did all of that ourselves. Now everything is more specialized
and you are not allowed to do that, mostly for legal reasons.
I took a career right angle to get my beliefs expressed. I have been here in Congress on
two occasions. The first was 1976–1984. In the 1970s I was more involved in medicine
than now. I would see patients on the weekends and do some surgery. After seven years in
Congress, I went back to medical practice. I have been back here since 1996. It is not as
easy to keep involved with medicine now because medicine is different. I have stayed interested
and when in my district I go to a medical center one day a week and work with residents
and interns. I don’t actually deliver babies or do surgery any more. The transition out of
medicine was easy and I didn’t notice it was a problem. I just did what I was supposed to
do.
What helped motivate me to run for Congress were some of the stupidities in economics
I saw and our involvement in armed conflicts that could be prevented. When it comes
to monetary policy the underlying issue was the idea of personal liberty. The government
was getting too big. People became dependent on government instead of being responsible
for themselves.
Here in Washington, D.C. people are totally confused. They think the force of government
is always legitimate. They think that whatever government does is legitimate. I think
they are wrong. It is not legitimate even under our Constitution. I am out of the mainstream
in Washington because they all think that way. My position here is considered odd-ball.
Yet, I can’t quite comprehend the others who are so willing to use guns, force, and violence
to tell everyone what to do and how to live their lives. They are going around the world
dropping bombs. To me, that is so bizarre. Very few here agree with me. They don’t have
any idea what I am trying to do. Whenever people write about me and what I am doing,
the terms they use are always “out of it” and “totally ineffective.” I think there are other