I find myself more at peace recently- with regards to non-libertarians. Maybe I have more pressing things on my mind. Or maybe I have matured a little. Or maybe it is a temporary thing and will soon pass.
That doesn't mean I don't speak up, it just means I'm not going to get too worked up by those who continue to reject liberty in favor of slavery- unless they come to me. They are wrong, obviously, but my telling them so probably won't make them accept it. Sometimes when I start to respond to someone, on someone else's blog, or on a news story somewhere else, I take a moment and decide it's not worth it.
Of course, this only applies to "other" places, statist places- not "my own territory" (such as this blog), or friendly spaces around the internet. And, if you come to me defending statism and other forms of slavery, I'll probably not spare my keyboard.
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Kent,
ReplyDeleteI've been lurking around your site for a couple of years now. I think we're pretty much on the same page. I've intended to write before but, like you, I realize it's all already been said. I live in Connecticut, 'the land of steady habits' as Vin Suprynowicz once said to me. I find myself surrounded by statist types everywhere here. I've accepted the futility of speaking my mind to these fine people. Usually it's just strange looks, but sometimes I get heated emotional statements and have actually been openly vilified on occasion. How dare I think for myself or make personal choices that go against the politically correct consensus or (gasp!) actually break some ridiculous law. It took a while for me to understand that these folks are exercising the same freedom of choice that I claim for myself. I now realize that responding to someones self imposed slavery usually turns out to be just not worth it. I am at peace with that. Thankfully, I have a small contingent of like minded friends that help me maintain some semblance of sanity. That and being able to see online, people such as yourself who willingly speak publicly about Liberty and it's necessary worth. Keep fighting the good fight Sir! I hope that we meet someday.
Chuck
"these folks are exercising the same freedom of choice that I claim for myself"
ReplyDeleteUntil, that is, they impose their choice on you. That's when you shouldn't hesitate to stand up for yourself.
But if people are determined to walk off the edge of the cliff, even after you have warned them, who are you to try to block their path? Just don't let them pull you over with them.
Cities became popular, I believe, because "tribal mentality" was restrictive to many people. When you live in a hunter-gatherer tribe (think of the bison people of the Great Plains) you cannot be a free-thinker you must adhere to the customs and thinking of the tribe or become an outcast. Being an outcast in hunter-gatherer times usually meant death.
ReplyDeleteI don't think we have truly evolved out of that mind-set. Ergo, if you don't go along with the modern tribal thinking you are a danger to the tribe. Most people won't think for themselves or examine why they hold the beliefs they hold. It's easier to go along with the tribal thinking.
I wouldn't have survived as a tribe member. I would have had to go off on my own- and probably not survive even then.
ReplyDeleteI have only had one tribe- for a couple of years- where I really fit in without any effort. Do I miss those days? More than you can imagine. But generally I can't make myself conform even when the consequences are huge. Even if I can fake it for a short time, I can't keep it up for too long.
Kent, you are speaking from the perspective of a modern man who was born in relative freedom and still has reletive freedom. (Think of all the slaves the Greeks and Romans and, well, nearly all other cultures had until the last 100 years or so.) The paleo- and neo-lithic people didn't have the perspective or advantage. Of course, you might have been able to have become a shaman. They were given leeway in their thoughts and behaviors.
ReplyDeleteYeah, becoming a Shaman would have been my only hope of fitting in. Is it too late to choose that career now?
ReplyDelete