Not a Damned Thing

Posting from: Tucson, AZ

That's my answer to Mama Liberty's question Virginia Tech... What are we going to do?

To quote a passage from her comments below that post:

What would happen if people by the millions suddenly decided to stop whining and begging their various "elected representatives" to "DO SOMETHING" and took charge of their own lives... maybe even deciding not to contribute to political campaigns or parties - or ignore anything imposed on them by threat of force. Just think of the possibilities!

What if the people of this country simply decided to stop ALLOWING themselves to be herded like cattle and fleeced like sheep? What if they stood up by the millions and JUST SAID NO!!!!!

This is a bit ironic- a loud outcry for people to stop allowing themselves to be herded like cattle followed by something that sounds a bit like a call for people to form a herd of millions.

Here's my hypothesis as to why this doesn't happen- that is, why freedom-loving people don't rise up en masse and enraged and throw off the oppressor and all that good stuff:

Because liberty and individualism are naturally complementary, there are a significant number of pro-freedom individuals who do not take to a herding type of strategy or mindset. There are many different ideas about what is/are the right thing(s) to do and when is the right time to take action. Agreement over what is morally right is a lot different than agreement over what is tactically or strategically wise or useful.

It is my suspicion that nearly any Great Plan for Liberty that hinges on organized mass collective action- that is, herding of cattle- is going to fall well short of its dramatic goals. I wish it were that simple, but it isn't- which may explain why we are in the situtation we are in today.

My hope for liberty making a comeback in the future lies with finding ways to act individually, in very small organized alliances, in spontaneous or unorganized temporary mass action, etc. My part in promoting and increasing liberty has nothing to do with and will not be influenced by what has happened at Virginia Tech. I have a proactive and thought-out strategy for moving in the direction I want to go. That plan changes from time to time based on my growing experience and changing desires, but reacting emotionally to things outside of my control is just a distraction from that.