On Becoming an Anarchist: the Character and Contour of a Freeman

in anarchism •  8 years ago  (edited)

“Some things scratch the surface while others strike at your soul.” ― Gianna Perada
When one becomes an anarchist he does not fling explosive cocktails at common people. She does not don black attire, incite riots, or write anarchist cookbooks with recipes on burning buildings. It is true that one can be anarchist and commit trouble galore, but that is not the case on the whole. Modern anarchists are generally peaceful and pensive. They resemble most everyone and sport similar passions, interests, hobbies, appetites, and other humanly behaviors. They simply vie for social and personal change. They just want to be free.

They are not wild-eyed maniacs with violent histories or knife scars from gang fights. Everyone tends to have these preconceived notions and fantasies, because governments have painted anarchists to appear as an insane group of desperadoes who want to ignite the world in a conflagration of chaos. That is not true. It is a pernicious lie.

Anarchists would rather plant gardens of woodruff and wine cup flower, and live peaceably in the woodlands while wooing nature. The figure of the anarchist is much less alarming than previously suspected. In reality, the anarchist is a figure of destiny, a symbol for what mankind seeks to become -- the orgiastic manifestation of peace and truth brought to bear in a kaleidoscopic explosion of love and unity.

Indeed. The term “Anarchy” is a humble term. It means “without rulers.” It does not mean blow things up or sow disorder. Anarchism is an apolitical philosophy that champions the individual and decries the monarch. Anarchy is the triumphant concept that people should live unobstructed by laws and rulers, but instead be consumed with love and kindness.

Anarchism is the face of the future echoed in the cries of the people. It is written on the voices of the downtrodden and dominated. And ultimately, the person who believes in peaceful anarchism is a person whose silhouette and character has often been shaped by cultural traumata and painful experiences of the past.

Here I will explore the depth of the anarchists character and their motivations, with the intent to create more anarchists, as well as show people the color and poetic beauty of the anarchists deep self and love of peace.

Traumata and Close Encounters with the State


Many anarchists are born out of the chaos of modernity. They are the product of an unwholesome environment, characterized by an epidemic of violence against the population. They were created by the myriad of Molotov cocktails shot into the bosom of society by State machinery. When a grotesque monster like government grows into a raging behemoth, the play of nature starts to unwind on the stage of life, and the anarchists arise to contradict the brutality of these bad men.

It is true that many anarchists have awakened as a result of talking to people. They have come into knowing because other anarchists and activists have started to color the world with anti-authoritarian thoughts.

On the other hand, the rest of anarchists were victims -- they have experienced the tumult and torture of governmental culture, the lucid nightmare foisted firsthand upon them. That is what brought them into the fold.

They may have been accosted, harassed, kidnapped, caged, and ransomed by State enforcers. Some may have had their children kidnapped for silly reasons by CPS or other agencies of evil. Others may have come to acknowledge the perils of modern maliciousness by introspecting about their childhood. Perhaps they have done the math, pieced the puzzle together, and now they comprehend the inhumanity they experienced at the hands of State education and indoctrination. Perhaps they were even drugged as children, called sick and dumb and dead. The reasons for their metamorphosis are many and understandable, as the world has become too unbearable for them.

It has been this traumata and direct experience of an agonizing society that has brought them to attention. The naughtiness of this dirty, rotten culture, with its all-seeing government poisoning everything, has made them cognizant of the abuses and injustices they have suffered. It is these experiences that have colored their character and shaped their humanness. And that is why they now call themselves anarchists, and why they fight to alter the culture of authority and make life livable for future generations.

John O’Donohue in Anam Cara: A Book of Celtic Wisdom inadvertently exposed the nature and beauty of the anarchist soul:

“When love awakens in your life, in the night of your heart, it is like the dawn breaking within you. Where before there was anonymity, now there is intimacy; where before there was fear, now there is courage; where before in your life there was awkwardness, now there is a rhythm of grace and gracefulness; where before you used to be jagged, now you are elegant and in rhythm with your self. When love awakens in your life, it is like a rebirth, a new beginning.”
What happens when this grace and gracefulness unfold in the anarchist's soul? What happens upon experiencing this rapturous metanoia? What occurs after these anarchists have unplugged and rid themselves of their fetters? What does their character contain? What are its contents?

The Contents of the Anarchist’s Character; A Matter of Principle

The anarchist is a person of sheer principle, of unyielding dignity and decency. Once they become what they may have not expected to be, they might adopt a central thesis for living, a framework of interconnected thoughts, to explore, invest in, and radiate outward. It is these traits that form the shape and contour of the freeman, which will allow him or her to act as a thought leader, someone who will allow the seed of anarchism to grow and bloom within folks who have not directly experienced the hot steel of government violence.

Some anarchists have even attested to how the realization of anarchism has made them whole, how they have never felt so powerful, intelligent, and loving. Before their epistemological advance, they were disconnected, confused, and clouded. But after they embraced truth, their mind expanded like the universe after the Big Bang. And they gained an interconnected mental network of principles.

The basic principles they now accept are called axioms. They are self-evident truths. A person owns himself and the fruits of his labor. She owns her property. And he has a right to self-defense, defense of that property; however, she also accepts nonaggression where his neighbor stands, for this is the dictum of cultural respect. It is antithetical to the barbarisms of socialism, communism, and the rampant Statism. It is these principles that have lifted the fog of thought, as if the anarchist has taken a smart drug without the side effects.

Ralph Waldo Emerson composed a beautiful poem called Boston Hymn in defense of the aforesaid principles, including individual liberty and self-ownership. The poem was meant to combat slavery, but it is as relevant today. Here is a bit of it:

But, lay hands on another To coin his labor and sweat, He goes in pawn for his victim For eternal years in debt. To-day unbind the captive, So only are ye unbound; Lift up a people from the dust, Trump of their rescue, sound! Pay ransom to the owner And fill the bag to the brim. Who is the owner? The slave is owner, And ever was. Pay him.”

Principle Building and Thinking for Oneself


An anarchist should also build his own principle, and ally himself with the notion of thinking for himself. He must be his own form of art and work his art like magic for all to experience. It is his personal manifesto lived out for everyone to see, so that the entire world learns to turn itself toward him, explore his dimensions, and realize the glory of living decently and peacefully-- it is a kind of sainthood, except its goal is to stimulate people to adopt self-efficacy, self-esteem, self-realization, and nonviolence. The goal is never to indenture people to him, to enslave them as a cult figure would enslave the gullible.

Above all, the freeman leads by example, and his beauty and bodacious grace should shower all the world in what the world should be, what it wants to be, in petals of peace and goodwill. In turn, people will react to this; they will listen, adhere, consider, contemplate, and learn of the advantages of truth over the despair and violence of government. It is within this silhouette of principle and grandeur that everyone musters the courage to accept self-responsibility and self-dignity.

Conclusion; An Ode to Anarchists


Ultimately, the anarchist reverberates with the hymnal of truth through the winding tunnel of a destructive reality, of which some refer to as a form of damnation. But it is a hell that can be doused by the purity and character of the freeman.

So this is an ode to anarchists with the strength of character to wake up; this is a compassionate way to say thank you for turning away from the travesty of governmental evil. It is also a periscope turned inward, for other to see the shimmering stature of the anarchist, and what the poetry and music of his soul looks like, in the hopes that more will have a realization and begin to comprehend not only the reasoning and logic of the anarchist tract, but to feel the pain and longing of the anarchist as individual.

The goal is to place this yearning for freedom on display, to allow others to feel it so deeply that it rattles their bones, and grabs them so intensely that it thrusts them headlong into understanding, and encourages an eruption of truth in their spirit. And this is of utmost and vital importance. Future generations deserve this call for peace above all, as they are born an anarchist and deep down, their wish is to die as one, peacefully and serenely -- without ever knowing this beast called government.

I originally wrote and published this one https://psychologic-Anarchist.com (My Steemit name is displayed near the bottom of the home page).

Authors get paid when people like you upvote their post.
If you enjoyed what you read here, create your account today and start earning FREE STEEM!
Sort Order:  

I don't think you can be an anarchist and go around destroying people's property. Once you aggress, don't you take on the form of rulership?

You nailed it tee-em. Once you initiate force, you are no better than a ruler. I personal advocate compassion and education as a method for changing society.

Me too. It's kinda baby steps for me. Not voting has been pretty easy. My next big step is discussing a point of disagreement without losing the other person. In other words, selling my viewpoint without getting heckled by communists. Lol

Me too! Are you familiar with the compassionate or soft anarchy perspectives? Our community has started to find ways to bridge the divide. Here is an article I wrote a few months ago.

https://psychologic-anarchist.com/2016/03/31/anarchy-and-emotion-toward-a-softer-aesthetic-for-freedom/

I joined the Facebook page but have been on Steemit more and more.

"The basic principles they now accept are called axioms. They are self-evident truths. A person owns himself and the fruits of his labor. She owns her property."

While I understand what you are getting at with this, all of it is imprecise or false.

"The basic principles they now accept are called axioms."
As I explained here http://nicksinard.com/2016/07/20/axiom-vs-priori/ when we refer to axioms we refer to synthetic a priori statements, but it can be misunderstood as a type of axiom that is in mathematics. Those types of axioms are just postulated and accepted as true. The "axioms" we are referring to are the type that cannot have their truth "undone;" in other words, they can only be denied with performative contradiction.

"They are self-evident truths."
If they were self-evident truths then everybody would realize them and anybody arguing against them would be lying, i.e. purposively misleading a person(s) from the truth; however, this is not the case. People sincerely and honestly believe the body-ownership principle, the homesteading principle, contractual exchange, and the non-aggression principle, following from the past three, are untrue. These a priori statements are, again, just statements whose truth can only be denied with a performative contradiction.

" A person owns himself and the fruits of his labor."

The first part is imprecise. One does not have property rights in one's "self" in the sense that it is separate from the body. One only can have property rights in scarce, contestable resources. One does have property rights in, i.e. has the justifiable exclusive control of, one's body (so long as one doesn't commit an aggressive action.

The second part concerning "the fruits of one's labor" is a faulty metaphor. It leads to intellectual disasters such as the justification of intellectual property. One does not own one's labor because (1) one can only have property rights in scarce, rivalrous resources and (2) labor is simply an action. Labor is not some metaphysical substance that can be mixed with a resource. Following from the fact that one does not own one's labor, one does not own " the fruit of one's labor." See also https://mises.org/blog/thoughts-intellectual-property-scarcity-labor-ownership-metaphors-and-lockean-homesteading and http://www.stephankinsella.com/paf-podcast/kol-037-lockes-big-mistake-how-the-labor-theory-of-property-ruined-political-theory/

I cover both points in http://nicksinard.com/2016/07/19/short-thought-intellectual-property/

"She owns her property."

A "property" is a quality and as such it makes little sense to call a scarce resource "property." It makes much more sense to say that one has a property right in a scarce resource. Towards the ending of this article http://nicksinard.com/2016/07/24/argumentation-ethics-libertarianism-culture/ I address this as well.

Overall, I like your work Sterlin. I do think you can be too metaphorical and imprecise at times for the purpose of sounding less "logical" and more "emotional", but in general you have some good insights.

Nick, i appreciate the insights and I agree with mostly what you are saying. Unfortunately, you tackled this mostly with your head instead of heart. This was not meant to be a rigorous logical piece meant to precisely articulate the LEM truths anarchism. It was purposely intended to be poetic and beautiful, while only touching on the logical aspects of the philosophy.

This content was originally posted here: https://psychologic-anarchist.com/2015/12/31/on-becoming-an-anarchist-the-character-and-contour-of-a-freeman/

Are you the original author? You may want to verify this so you're not flagged as a plagiarist!

Yes I am the original author. I posted my Steemit account at the bottom of my home page.

https://psychologic-anarchist.com/

Awesome, great content by the way!

Thank you so much. I intend on putting more new content here on Steemit, but I feel like I want to share all my old content with the community as well.

The picture you have painted here with words Sterlin is the only version of anarchy I can understand or accept. I am not interested in precise distinctions or classifications as much as I am in using my own intuition and instinct to navigate into higher pathways of holistic thinking and feeling. It is a beautiful picture that helps change the way we see the world together.

The harder, logical mind has its place but too much of that and it wants to micromanage every detail of life. It’s a lot like a ruling force or a government.

The creative, expressive mind is softer and lets things be as they are naturally and is often overlooked entirely. It’s a lot like anarchy.

There seams to be too much hard thinking and too little expression of emotion.

Well done sir!

Well stated, friend.

What you said matches my own perception almost identically. I certainly think in some situations logic and economics can be of use, but I believe the ecstatic feel of anarchism that we live and breathe will have more of an impact on society. Because like you said, it is this picture that helps alter our perceptions.

And besides, most anarchist philosophers are perpetually stuck in their heads and they miss the deep love that anarchism provides.

Thank you!

  ·  8 years ago (edited)

Thanks for sharing

You can see my Steemit account at the bottom.

https://psychologic-anarchist.com/

Awesome!

Thank you! Please up vote! This is a message we are trying to get to as many people as possible!

So nice until you brought ownership into it. You just had to, didn't you?

Hey, Bacchist! Thanks for commenting. What's wrong with ownership? You don't believe you can own your own house?

"The barbarisms of socialism"

Please stop calling yourself an anarchist.

For someone who hates ownership, you certainly like to own words, don't you, bacchist?

Why should I stop calling myself an anarchist? I think maybe you and I share more in common than you might think.

You've already made it pretty clear what you think of socialists and communists, so I find that highly unlikely.

Well, I just think communism as a political philosophy has been destructive. However, I am not opposed by trying to find ways to bridge the divide in a hypothetical anarchist environment. Would you be willing to communicate openly and work with me? I don't harbor Ill-will toward individuals.

I do want to work towards some sort of synthesis. But my hope that it is possible is waning...