The pursuit of freedom has indelibly marked Western culture since Renaissance humanism and Protestantism began the fight for individualism and self-determination. This freedom, however, can make people feel unmoored, and is often accompanied by feelings of isolation, fear, and the loss of self, all leading to a desire for authoritarianism, conformity, or destructiveness. (emphasis mine)Wow. If true, that's hard for me to take. And I pity anyone so pathetic.
"Unmoored"? Being chained to an aggressive thief makes people feel steady and safe? Can a person like that even be considered a person? Human, yes. I can see that, but without apparent "personhood". Pitiful.
"Feelings of isolation"? Nothing is so conducive to mutually beneficial relationships as liberty. If someone can impose themselves on you, you may not be "isolated", but is rape really preferable to solitude? Maybe some statists really believe so.
"Fear"? If liberty scares you, maybe you should commit a crime so you can be locked away for your own peace of mind- where someone else will make all your decisions for you and protect you from the unknown and the random.
"Loss of self"? Your "self" craves to be controlled? Not unless you are a hive insect. Instead, freedom gives you back your self. If you don't like you, or don't trust you, that could be uncomfortable, I suppose.
But, at the root of it all, I don't care if a person is so pathetic they feel they "need" "authoritarianism, conformity, or destructiveness", what I do object to is when these pitiable creatures feel the need to impose their shortcomings on their betters. And, yes, the truth may hurt their feelings, but those who don't need to be controlled, and don't desire to control others, are quite definitely better than those who don't want liberty.
I am an abolitionist, but I won't force you to be free.
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*I haven't read the book, but maybe I should. Although, I try to limit the "serious reading" nowadays. For sanity's sake.
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