Some Thoughts for Mike Wasdin (and Others Like Him)
February 2, 2005
8:12 a.m., MT

It was with some sadness that I read of Mike Wasdin's decision to "take the blue pill" over at Strike the Root. His writings tended to have an energy that is sadly lacking in many better-known liberty-minded authors' works. I've also seen some of the commentary and advice directed his way in response. Since very little of what I've seen captures my thoughts on his decision, I'm going to make good on my earlier threat to address the subject, for him and any other individual who might be in a similar situation. Before doing so, though, I'd like to make it clear that I am not intending to dispense advice to anyone; I hope to enable some further reflection, perhaps in areas previously unexplored. As always, my ramblings are worth what you've paid to see 'em. Last, I've never met Mr. Wasdin, either in person or on the net, so what follows is my interpretation of his words in that essay, and nothing more.

Mr. Wasdin writes, "... and the reality is, we can't win." I agree with that statement, although probably for a different reason. Freedom is not a value that can be definitively won. I'm no historian, but looking back through my meager studies, I see two trends. First, through history and around the world, pockets of freedom have flourished. Second, after their decline, individuals remain better off overall than those who lived before that flowering of liberty. A helpful image for me is to think of a pendulum: it continuously (and ponderously) swings toward and away from freedom; but instead of traversing the same line between two points, it's geared so that as it swings away from liberty, it nonetheless advances a bit. I view my contributions to the freedom movement as helping to widen the notches on that gear, pushing the pendulum further forward and helping to make future generations' efforts more effective.

The second statement that caught my attention is this: "In my war on the government, ..." While I understand that perspective quite well (having chosen it myself from time to time), I'd like to suggest that "the government" is at best a manifestation of what is the real enemy. And as such, waging war on the state is not striking at the root. The state has power over an individual to the degree he or she gives it that power. True, politicians and bureaucrats love to pass laws and regulations that supposedly require individuals to get permission slips to do certain kinds of work, use their own property, and enter into certain kinds of relationships, but one can find ways to skirt them. For example, it's a relatively easy thing to drive without the state's permission slip --especially if one is willing to invest some effort into being a more "invisible" driver. Choosing where to "go along", and where to defy, is a never-ending calculus; and no one can make those choices for another. But to start thinking in this way -- in terms of the power each individual has, and what forms of resistance to the state one can undertake -- is to place one's power squarely where it belongs: in oneself.

It's been more personally rewarding for me to target the real enemies -- the ideas that allow and encourage the state to exist and expand. A fundamental one is the idea that an individual or group of individuals has the right, duty, and/or obligation to control other individuals' lives. Yes, it's a tough target, in part because many individuals (including many leashitarians) hold it to some degree; even so, I've found it more effective to hack at this root, individual by individual, than to publicly taunt the IRS, for example.

I'll comment specifically on just one more statement from Mr. Wasdin: "Before swallowing the red pill, I had a lot of things going on in my life, but anymore it seems like all I do is hang out on the internet and bitch about these Nazi pricks." If that's accurate, then I'm not surprised about his unhappiness; that choice sure sucked the enjoyment of life out of me. The negativity, coupled with the power-drain this kind of talk often enables, creates a downward spiral that can be very difficult to stop. I've done it -- actually, I'm rather embarrassed to say that I've had to do it more than once -- and I've observed others break that cycle, too. Again, it involves identifying poor choices that one has made; and taking the sometimes-difficult step of consciously choosing something else over those patterns.

Rather than blather on more than I already have, hidden behind the "Read more" link is something I wrote and just recently re-discovered; finding it persuaded me to address Mr. Wasdin's burnout. At the end of it I'll post some links to other essays I've written that may be helpful to anyone contemplating swallowing the blue pill.

The following is an essay I wrote for FM News -- Free-Market.Net's twice-monthly e-newsletter sharing information on what we were up to, and news and events from our partner organizations:

METAPHYSICAL MUSINGS ON FREEDOM
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If you hit a nonexistent target, will anyone hear it?

I've been writing a lot about the personal aspects of freedom of late, rather than public policy or activism or electoral politics. It's always been the area that's interested me the most -- and these days it seems to need more attention than the others.

I say that because, at least among my friends and colleagues, morale has been suffering. With so much bad news coming every day, and relatively little good news, it can be a challenge to stay interested and engaged. Many do, to the point of burnout, and then become bitter and disillusioned. While that's somewhat understandable in the face of the immensity of the challenges we face, it's also avoidable.

I suspect that in adopting the war metaphor and language for our efforts toward individual liberty and personal responsibility, many of us have implicitly accepted ideas that encourage difficulties and burnout. For example, in war there are battles with clear objectives (well, there are supposed to be). There are specific targets to hit and goals to be achieved. And once the battle's over, it's usually pretty clear what targets were hit and which were missed, who won and who lost.

But freedom isn't a well-defined, or even uniform, target. Some individuals will chafe under the slightest of encroachments to his or her liberty, while others can feel free under the most repressive conditions a brutal government can create. Freedom has few tangible aspects many people have direct experience with, such as the absence of manacles on one's limbs. It has many intangible ones, which can make the state of freedom seem more like an emotion than anything else.

So, to think of freedom as a target seems unwise. To me, it's more like a tide, with ebbs and flows -- and the occasional unpredictable whirlpool or sand bar. If we freedom lovers can face the reality that the quest for freedom will always be part of the human condition in some form, perhaps then we'll be better able to handle the challenges of that journey over the long trip. By focusing on the larger picture, we may also -- somewhat paradoxically -- be better able to focus on and enjoy the freedoms we have now.

That's very important, both for avoiding burnout and for keeping a healthy perspective about what freedom is all about. It's about choices -- for ourselves, and for others. The more we exercise our own choices -- and choose to enjoy the freedom we have -- the greater our chances of being effective at enabling the next generation to ride the freedom tide more effectively. It's a classic win-win situation.
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Thanks to Sisyphus and the Cuckoo Clock Speech for posting that in his blog. Other essays I've written that touch on themes addressed here include: Do It Your Way; No Safe Seat at the Feast; and Drop Out to Tune In.

Sunni

Comments: 2 people have contributed to the conversation

On Wednesday, February 2nd, at approximately 9:52 a.m. Mountain time, Kirsten said:

So, to think of freedom as a target seems unwise. To me, it's more like a tide, with ebbs and flows -- and the occasional unpredictable whirlpool or sand bar.

I remember reading that line in FM News. It was a major help to my world view then, and it is nice to be reminded of it now!

On Thursday, February 3rd, at approximately 9:30 a.m. Mountain time, Sunni said:

Thanks, Kirsten. Glad to see my mixed and mangled metaphors didn't derail everyone.

Thanks for the update on the private space situation, too; since leaving FMN, I just don't have time to keep up with as many things as I'd like, and that's one area that's slid off my plate.

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