I was just listening to a video from a pretty "famous" (as these things go) libertarian/anarchist guy where he was complaining about a small donation he got. He went on about the value of what he was providing, and talked about if you don't "put your money where your mouth is" no one will listen when you say the free market and charity can fill the role of The State.
I was embarrassed listening to him.
Now, he did somewhat temper his message a little later in his video, and made some really good points about having a passion for what you claim to believe- but I almost didn't get past the first few minutes.
I have never complained or ridiculed any donation I have gotten. Not even in the privacy of my own head. Nor do I expect people to pay for what I do or to feel guilty if they don't pay something. And I am certainly not going to publicly scold- even anonymously- someone who actually donated money to me. That's just not the way this works.
Some people can't afford to donate- I get that and it's perfectly OK. I still want them to get what they can from what I write. I'm convinced they can make my life better that way, while improving the quality of their own lives even more. A deeper understanding of liberty can only benefit everyone.
Nor do I have some delusion that I "deserve" donations more than someone else does. There are more deserving and more "important" liberty advocates out there who are more valuable than I am, and do much more important work. Maybe even the guy who was complaining about the small donation.
I also know that everyone has a life. It's an honor to even be a tiny blip on their daily calendar, and no one is obligated to sit around and dwell on me in any way.
I'm not sure why his complaint disturbed me so badly- it may be that it just seemed so ungrateful.
You don't "owe" me anything by reading my blog. And please don't ever get the idea that I believe you do!
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Sunday, April 20, 2014
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