forty2oz Posted July 28, 2013 Share Posted July 28, 2013 My political inner ramblings over the past few years has led me here (in reflection, not by accident) - in a nutshell, it went like this... The discovery of the hypocrisy of govt led to -> Ron Paul -> Murray Rothbard -> Lysander Spooner -> 'oh wow, I'm an anarchist!' (simplified summary to be sure, but I can imagine you guys get the point) And so along comes Stefan and I said to myself, 'okay here's a guy whose successful enough spreading the message that he's creating a community of like minded individuals. I best hop on board because it's lonely in statism land!' Site looks good Stef. I appreciate the 'validation approval' and I look forward to hanging out with everyone! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LovePrevails Posted July 28, 2013 Share Posted July 28, 2013 welcome Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pepin Posted July 28, 2013 Share Posted July 28, 2013 Welcome to the board. How has philosophy had an impact on how you live your life? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
forty2oz Posted July 29, 2013 Author Share Posted July 29, 2013 Well Pepin, I guess it has made me examine whether or not my actions are congruent with my thoughts! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duderio Posted July 29, 2013 Share Posted July 29, 2013 goodbye Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
forty2oz Posted July 30, 2013 Author Share Posted July 30, 2013 Oddly, I was never a leftist. Before I examined politics, the right seemed to make more sense (fiscally) - but the deeper I dove in, the more I began to realize that it wasn't a left vs right thing. It was a principle vs non-principle thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pepin Posted July 30, 2013 Share Posted July 30, 2013 Well Pepin, I guess it has made me examine whether or not my actions are congruent with my thoughts! What did you find was not congruent? An example from my life is that I tended to apply reason and evidence to everything, but my belief in religion. I was quite aware that it was something I was keep rational thought away from as I was rather certain it would destroy my belief. After listening to enough podcasts about integrity and the psychology of the family, I understood why I was doing what I was doing, and decided to be consistent with my values Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
forty2oz Posted July 30, 2013 Author Share Posted July 30, 2013 For me skepticism of theism came naturally. I was the kid who set up a trip wire for santa claus on christmas eve in front of the fireplace. (not to catch him, but rather to prove to my parents that the ruse was over) For me, the big realization wasn't about santa, but rather about government, and the idea of freedom being a principle rather than something arbitrarily defined by somebody else. And in comes the introspection about whether or not my actions are congruent with my thoughts - or more accurately, the principles i was deriving from my thoughts. That's when I started asking myself, 'am I living in harmony with these principles? why am i voting? why am i paying taxes? I'd break down an example into bite sized pieces ... why am i paying a hundred bucks for a government issued sticker that says '2013' to slap on a license plate that the government forces me to attach to my car for the 'priviledge' of driving down streets i am forced (by the government) to pay for? The answer always turns out to be 'because I am not free'. So to answer your question, my actions in the past have always been yielding to the state (vote, pay the taxes, buy the hundred dollar sticker) - but as I grow older and wiser I understand that doing these things is not consistent with what I really believe to be just, and I am beginning to challenge it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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