“When I lost the urge to control others, I also lost all need to hate or fear anyone. The world is no longer divided between the good guys and the bad guys.”
– How I Found Freedom in an Unfree World.
It’s another election year, and both teams, the Reds and the Blues are in typical beast mode for control of the federal purse strings. The war is tribal, the modern-day Hatfields versus the McCoys. Each touting an end-of-the-world apocalypse if the other side wins, peddling fear to grow their bases. Come November, regardless of the outcome, half the country will be in ecstasy, and the other half will be certifiable. If you’re smart, you’ll sit this one out.
Despite our bloodlust for politics, government is never the answer. Each regime attempts to cloak a one-size-fits-all garb onto a diverse set of people, a one-sided, top-down power grab. The Presidential election, America’s quadrennial festival, exerts a reckless amount of time and resources for the sole purpose of imposing partisan party politics on the loser. The juggernaut of the two-party political tug-of-war is a greater threat to our republic than the sum of our enemies. If you think government is the answer to any of your problems, you are part of the problem.
On the left, the bleeding-heart liberals preen their godless righteousness whether they are saving the world or the whales. They are expert marchers, chanting empty slogans that label, divide, and victimize. When they aren’t shunning selfishness, they’re hawking envy. Sacrifice is their morality. President Kennedy had it wrong when he said, "Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country." The government is not your master, and you are not its servants.
The right, certain that God is on their side, have both feet solidly planted on tradition, good or bad. A flag pin fastened religiously above their hearts, proof of their fidelity to their country. Keen on flexing their considerable warrior muscles, there are few backward countries they wouldn’t bomb into oblivion. America is their morality. Patriots to a fault.
Then there are the Libertarians, the non-conformers, who are often mischaracterized as rugged individualists; anti-social, and indifferent. Every man an island unto himself; the sour note in the symphony of brotherhood. These sovereigns choose mutual exchange over sacrifice, ensuring both sides win, by maximizing freedom and minimizing conflict. In fact, in a free society, aren’t all relationships voluntary? Libertarians create strong bonds with like-minded people with whom they coexist through voluntary cooperation and appreciation. Non-aggression is their morality.
The truth is, we are all selfish when we seek our own happiness. And all people, seek their own happiness. We take care of ourselves and our families first. Only then, do we share with others. We do not need the government to show us how to live our own way. Nor should we be using the force of government to coerce others to our way. Control by policy and regulation is merely a passive form of aggression. We cannot change people through government intervention; they change only in their own time based on their own knowledge and experience.
In Harry Browne’s 1973 book, “How I Found Freedom in an Unfree World”, Browne encourages the reader to live their best life. Most recognized for his 1996 and 2000 campaigns for President under the Libertarian Party, Browne warns against falling into socially induced norms, like the utopia trap that insists perfect conditions are needed before individual freedom is attainable. These traps exist to convince you that you have no control over your destiny. “How I Found Freedom in an Unfree World”, is a classic no-excuses book for living a free life, now. Today.
Browne’s key point stresses the folly of trying to change the world. In fact, he advises that one should not even try. If it’s difficult to change one person's beliefs, how do we expect to change half the population? People have individual experiences that shape their views and their values. When we shift our focus to others, we lose ourselves. The person we know the most and have the most control over. We should never squander our autonomy. But we can and should focus on improving ourselves while allowing others to live their lives their own way.
Never has there been a more opportune time to live free. The Internet, the iPhone, the computer, and the cafe. You can rule the world, your own world. French philosopher Albert Camus wrote, “The only way to deal with an unfree world is to become so absolutely free that your very existence is an act of rebellion.” So, when the demagogues come for you. And they will. Walk away.
Comments