Are You Looking for Yourself?

[dsayers]

https://steemit.com/anarchism/@dsayers/are-you-looking-for-yourself

 

My brothers and sisters, have you ever been so hurt, sad, or angry that you've done something you otherwise would not have? The question is rhetorical and meant to start a conversation about the ways in which people can get so caught up in the moment that they do something they otherwise would not have.

 

Imagine though that your answer was yes. Can you also imagine the hell you would find yourself in suffering the consequences of an action that is not one you would choose to take if you had the presence of mind to make the decision with deliberation? Nobody wants to experience that. It can weigh on a person tremendously as they doubt how far they've actually come to be able to engage in such a lapse of judgement.

 

For months, I have watched as people who accept property rights, self-ownership, the inherent immorality of the State, etc dispensed with those values for the illusion of comfort in the present. I did what I could to offset this, but it is a position not arrived at by way of logic, reason, and evidence. While I think I might have been largely ineffective, I rest easy knowing I did my part... And knowing that it would eventually come to and end. Sadly, it has not.

 

Eleanor Roosevelt is credited with saying, "Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people." While I don't think you can sum up a mind so simply, I think it's an accurate categorization of the behaviors. So many of the people I saw abandoning their values before the election were doing so because "Trump is different." Of course no candidate is. They were all chasing after the exact same, invalid throne that has subjugated humans throughout recorded history.

 

This belief led them to invest inordinate amounts of time trying to figure out ways to justify their belief, vilify their savior's competitor, watch their savior interact with their competitor... The list goes on. Now that their savior has won/lost, they've spent so much time pinning their identity on these people they'll never meet, that they've forgotten how to return to their own lives. Some of those same people are celebrating as if they've won something. Others are protesting that the one they didn't choose will be inflicted upon them.

 

The former group will not be able to find the solutions to the problems they were looking for because they looking for it from without. They've invested so much of their time and effort into the success of that person that they will likely turn a blind eye to the ways in which our new master will fail us all. Because that's what masters do and they knew that. At the same time, they are mocking other people for being emotionally invested in something that largely does not effect their lives. Seemingly with no cognitive dissonance the act of even having an interest in such things is the very thing they are referencing in others. It's astounding.

 

Then the latter group are like rebels without a cause. Perhaps more accurately, people with an idea that they don't know how to articulate. They are furious that the master they didn't choose will be inflicted upon them. Even though this is the exact same eventuality they were trying to inflict on others! Seemingly with no cognitive dissonance. They realize that having somebody's will inflicted upon them is wrong, but they're not willing to internalize this idea. Because they were raised by and therefore seek out and surrounded themselves with people who will agree with them that it's okay to inflict your will upon others as long as it's done in the name of Democracy or the State.

 

Part of me is very frustrated with the fact that the election is over, yet the ways in which people are allowing the moment to cloud their judgement has largely not subsided. I feel this way because it was the members of my tribe that accept property rights, who betrayed all of us by turning to slavery in order to pretend to achieve freedom who should be consoling the followers of the losing side, helping them to interpret the impulses they're feeling now and parlaying them into an understanding that the entire system is invalid. That it only "exists" because we cooperatively pretend it does.

 

Another part of me is very inspired. To see so many people rebelling against having the wills of others inflicted upon them is a sign of immense potential. Potential that is largely being squandered because so many of the people who could be helping these people to put their feelings into words are themselves distracted, too busy enjoying their suffering, or celebrating a perceived win, or otherwise just allowing their time to be monopolized by the circus that's meant to distract us all.

 

Hypnotism is not real, but many of us are hypnotized. Please consider this me snapping my fingers, trying to wake people up. People that would've previously described themselves as woken up. Who allowed themselves to be distracted because the powers that be figured out improved ways to spin their millenia-old craft in a way that would dupe those who otherwise know better. We have a responsibility and the iron is hot. Let us strike now. May we all take a step back, find ourselves, and use this time to discuss the IDEA of freedom. Focusing on specific people and events will only drown out what matters: We are all still slaves. That has not changed because people are still cooperating with their enslavement and the enslavement of their family and friends. They don't want to because people are mostly good. They've just been abused and are so desperately seeking for others to share in that abuse so that they're not alone. Instead, why don't we heal, together, by spreading these ideas and giving people the greatest gift of all: Responsibility. Your masters cannot absolve you of it. Time spent turning to them for answers is time the problem gets worse because you are not addressing it.

 

Please stop running away. We need you. All of us. The future is counting on us.

[rosencrantz]

I did what I could to offset this, but it is a position not arrived at by way of logic, reason, and evidence.

 

How do you know?

[dsayers]

How do you know?

Large body of work, lots of time invested, not one argument offered. Not one null hypothesis addressed. Not one even tried.

[rosencrantz]

not one argument offered. Not one null hypothesis addressed. Not one even tried.

 

It it comes to philosophy / economy it's helpful to play a game. You have truly understood a position if you can recap the position of your opponent and your opponent agrees on your summary of his position. Can you do that or do you think that there is no merit at all to arguments for Trump and hence you can't summarize them?

[dsayers]

I am aware of what pro-voting/Trump FDR'ers say to make their position sound valid. They all fail the "how do you know?" test. I don't recall you ever asking any of them that. You asked how do I know and my answer indicates sound methodology. So I'm curious as to your motivation. Have I put something forth that you wish to challenge?

[IsaacGage860]

I am aware of what pro-voting/Trump FDR'ers say to make their position sound valid. They all fail the "how do you know?" test. I don't recall you ever asking any of them that. You asked how do I know and my answer indicates sound methodology. So I'm curious as to your motivation. Have I put something forth that you wish to challenge?

Yes I have done something that I regretted in the recent past that was the result of a lapse of judgement. I lashed out and acted in a contemptuous way because the false protection of the state seemed like the only avenue available to me. I am only 19, have barely experienced life on this Earth, and was still clinging to the idea that some abstract construct, such as the government, could offer me protection and was justified in going to war with other people who posed no threat whatsoever. Fortunately, you Mr, Alpha Male, chose to be patient and explain to me the flaws in my methodology, not once, not twice, but three times. I cannot thank you, and everyone else involved in my Ancapia/ Puritanical Libertarians thread for not giving up. You were very calm and deconstructed the fallacies in my "arguments" easily as if you have had years of experience doing it. I suppose it was my underdeveloped and still adolescent brain that defaulted to running towards the state because that's what everyone else was doing. I cannot retract my comments, but only hope that you can forgive me of my ignorance. The drug of state-ism is indeed very seductive when your ideology and bias is the one in power and calling the shots. I hope to treat that thread as a valuable learning experience that I can recall the next time any politician tries to tell me: "Vote for me and I'll make life so much better." Anyone who may still be struggling with ideas about statism should visit my profile and see how Alpha Male deconstructed my questions. Very valuable and well worth the time. Peace, love, and philosophy. The West is indeed the best minus the imperialism and immoral government.   

[dsayers]

I cannot retract my comments, but only hope that you can forgive me of my ignorance.

A word of caution if I may. It's not YOUR ignorance. According to your words here and your actions regarding race relations, when given a choice, you chose the opposite of ignorance. The ignorance you are referring to was inflicted upon you by your parents, the government schools they exposed you to, and the nationalism narrative that so many other abuse victims are ready to repeat. This is important to understand because owning that which was inflicted upon you will only serve to hold you back. Does that make sense?

 

I speak from experience. It wasn't until I was about 36 that I first accepted my own capacity for error. Like you had demonstrated in the thread you're referring to, I had once spoken with certainty of conclusions which I had not scrutinized for myself. Once I accepted my capacity for error, two things happened: 1) I was no longer carrying the burden of having to be perfect; I understood that being wrong doesn't make me a bad person or a failure. Rather 2) I was then able to use those as opportunities for growth. Which I am all too happy to do because it means I am breaking free of the chains of those who wish to subjugate me and healing from the damage those who claimed to care for me inflicted upon me.

 

Thank you for your kind feedback. It is something that I have been doing for years now. You are right that I was calm. One of the things I love about accepting my capacity for error and yielding to the truth is that I don't need to be emotionally invested in the outcome like those who use rhetoric and propaganda to spread a narrative do. It makes discussing such things easier. I'm glad it was of value to you.