Boycotting Seven-Eleven over the sale of Penthouse, criticizing not only the record companies that produce Gangsta Rap but also the music stores that sell it, and refusing to buy products from firms that support the worst television shows are examples. These sorts of efforts require not only theoretical assent but active support. None of this will be easy. The challenge facing one who believes in either virtue or liberty is great enough. To believe in both offers a special challenge.
Freedom allows conduct that often erodes the moral foundation upon which a free society rests.
However, attempting to enlist the state in rebuilding that foundation is a doomed enterprise. The argument for doing so had some appeal many years ago, when there was a rough consensus on what made up such a foundation, though government's role was always secondary to that of the broad array of institutions that comprise civil society. The argument has no appeal today. Given the composition of government and the attitudes held by the voting public, political action is more likely to degrade than enhance society's moral tone. In such a world, it is even more important to protect liberty.