Freedom Tribe

I feel an urge to clarify something. It’s probably superfluous after this ramble, but given the response around the web to my comment yesterday, made in an old thread, I want to be as clear as I can be.

I don’t regularly visit One Small Voice, because the posts are sporadic and often more techy–geeky than my reptilian brain can handle (also, it’s too easy for me to slither in to the “abundance of jewels” I’ve found scattered about and not emerge for hours ... and with my brain swirling with even more thoughts than I’ve time to consider, much less share). So that’s why I didn’t see his post-election item until this morning: I Unvoted!. We’re still working on restoring graphics upload capability here, so I can’t present his images for your convenience, and I dislike hotlinking to images unless it’s explicitly approved by the originating site ... so I encourage you to hie thee thither for the best way to deal with a ballot that I have seen to date.

I recently let slip that my view of the pro-freedom community as “family” had started to change. I hesitate to say more at this point, because my thinking is still in process, but other conversations here have started to weave a tapestry into which I feel somewhat comfortable with thinking out loud. And I’ve no doubt that sharing my half-spun, somewhat woolly threads will allow further exploration, to all our benefit.

Before we slip into the garden glade, I want to make it clear that this line of thinking was not my original idea: a cherished friend dropped the idea-seed into my mind, and it’s been working in there ever since. It’s my understanding that my friend prefers a measure of anonymity, so I shan’t be pointing to direct sources of this individual’s ... besides, the seed came in private conversation. Anyway, my mystery friend deserves all the credit for the idea, and I will take all the responsibility for my usual bumbling, rambling presentation of it.

I just learned, via “cls”, that Marshall Fritz passed away last night. He’s another person I should’ve mentioned yesterday; I covered both the Advocates for Self-Government and Alliance for the Separation of School and State as a Free-Market.Net editor (the first of those links currently has a tribute to Marshall at the home page, with links to more information about his life).

My first in-person exposure to him came at the Freedom Summit to which we were both invited to participate. As I recall, the bulk of his contribution was in support of religion, yet in doing that he didn’t come across as condemnatory of those who didn’t believe. I was impressed by his sincerity and passion, even though I didn’t agree with that particular message.

Most individuals have probably come across his most famous bit of writing, perhaps without even knowing it: he wrote the World’s Smallest Political Quiz. For that alone—although he did much more to advance the cause of liberty—Marshall is truly one of the giants of our time. My condolences to his family, friends, and colleagues.

It was twelve years ago—not this date, exactly, but this day, if you follow the distinction I’m drawing—that the Liberty Round Table was born.

Busybusybusy, and FAPped again, to boot, but I’d still like to do my part to help counter the quadrennial Futility Fest that’s building to fever pitch. I am so glad the worst of the noise will be over soon! Two things I was able to browse to today caught my attention.

First, from Kent McManigal, One State, published at The Libertarian Enterprise. Kent deftly pierces much of the immigration hysteria. Very nicely done.

Second, Wendy McElroy’s essay In Praise of the Consumer might not be the essay you’re expecting based on the title. She briefly touches on several issues I’ve thought about a fair bit:

Even if it is a small act, like sending badly cooked food back in a restaurant, it is important to stand up for yourself. And it is a lightning quick way to sort good businesses out from the bad ones. If the business responds to your reasonable complain [sic] by trying to satsify you -- sometimes a simple apology will do -- then it deserves your loyalty and your endorsement to others. If not, then not. ....

Austrian economists will read the foregoing and patiently explain to me (perhaps in the tone used with small children) that consumer feedback has always been acknowledged as part of the self-correcting mechanism of the free market. And, of course, that is true. My point is that consumer activism seems to be a much ignored and little respected aspect of a healthy free market; it is acknowledged as a footnote not as a full 50% of the exchange. Odd. Because consumer power is one of the main checks on government intervention into the marketplace. When people take care of themselves, they don't look to Big Brother to be their advocate. Consumer activism preserves freedom and the smart and aware consumer should receive as much political and economic respect from libertarians as does the smart and aware enterpreneur.

Why don't they? I suspect that many libertarians simply do not respect the average person on the street.

I’ve largely been on the sidelines of the Austrian pool, with occasional dabbles into the water, but my limited experience bears out her point—and her larger concluding point too, sad to say. To the degree it’s accurate, it also helps explain why we aren’t usually very effective educators/recruiters for the freedom philosophy, but that’s a different ramble for another day.

Relationships are ever-shifting things, and although I think most adults know this it can still come as a surprise when a relationship that was considered steady comes undone.

Part of my recent bout of quietness here stems from various relationships being in a fairly obvious state of flux. Some of those changes are obviously to the good; others aren’t, and a couple others are being deliberately tended, to see how they might grow. An online acquaintance from some years ago has recently popped back into my life, and in so doing has got my brain buzzing with ideas and contexts I’ve not considered much, if at all. A major theme in our explorations is relationships. I expect to say much more on that here as the conversations spool out, but for now I’ll toss out this little thought–grenade: he is, without deliberately trying to (so it appears to me), slowly persuading me that the family metaphor is not the best one for the pro-freedom community. Sorry, Kirsten.

Because some relatively newish friends of mine have been exploring the issue of principled voting and nonvoting, I’d been toying with the idea of writing on the subject again. But I simply haven’t been able to summon any enthusiasm for the task—not even framing it in terms of it being for their possible benefit. Perhaps I’ve already devoted my allotment of life force to the issue, I dunno ... but I’m happy to say that someone else whom I respect has written an excellent piece on the subject:

... I love this country, but I hate its government.

If it is alive, government wants to kill it. If it is valuable, government wants to steal it. If it is beautiful, unique, or quirky, government wants to standardize, regulate or get rid of it. If it is interesting, risky or in any way not already completely safe and benign, government wants to dumb it down to manageable and predictable levels.

And no, putting your favorite idiots in charge will not fix it. Even putting smart people or caring people in charge will not fix it. ....

... [I]s it better for me to vote for an evil tyrant or not vote at all? Seriously. Those are the choices as best I can tell. For another thing, if it doesn’t matter who I vote for, then why does it matter that I vote at all except to prop up a system which I vehemently oppose? ....

After a good discussion recently, it has become clear to me that not voting in and of itself is not necessarily a sufficiently clear message that I have no faith in and no respect for the system. Therefore, I am spelling out my message explicitly right here.

I will not vote in this election.

I will not participate in this distraction and sham, and neither laziness nor apathy is among my reasons behind my choice.

I think most of the possible voting choices are unethical. Specifically, I believe it is unethical to vote to place another human being in a position of power over a peaceful person who cannot opt out of that system if there is a reasonably realistic chance your choice might prevail. I believe it is unethical to vote to steal a peaceful person’s property- be that theft in the form of taxation, eminent domain, zoning, gun control, the drug war, fines or penalties for victimless activities, or any of a bazillion other activities I could list. I believe it is unethical to vote to take away any peaceful choice a person could make- be that choice to carry arms either openly or concealed in public, to fuck bicycle parts, to wear clothing with distasteful graphics, to speak, publish or read offensive material, or again any of a bazillion other things that do not violate anyone else’s right to their own equally individual choices.

Kirsten says much, much more that is worth your attention in Casting My Whole Vote. She’s captured my thoughts and feelings much more concisely than I probably ever could.

Please note that I use the term "libertarian" both for lack of another and because it is what others use. I realize that it has been greatly abused.

Kevin Carson says that "...hierarchies are repugnant to libertarian values...". Jim Davidson says "...that if you are a racist, you are not a libertarian, if you are a sexist, you are not a libertarian, if you are against equal freedom for gays, the transgendered, the polyamorous, you are not a libertarian, if you discriminate against people because of their choice of religion, you are not a libertarian, if you think people from other countries should be rejected because of their choices in clothing, culture, religion, or behavior, you are not a libertarian..." A while ago there was a troll who said that if you believed in a deity you could not be a libertarian. I know someone personally who holds that position. I am sure there are many other things (X) that someone, somewhere, considers anathema to their personal values and therefore has decided that those who believe (X) are not libertarian.

I view this as incorrect. I view libertarian values as very narrow. A libertarian is someone who does not violate the rights of others. Those rights are narrowly defined as Life, Liberty, justly acquired Property.

It is always a pleasure to learn that one’s scratchings have been of value to someone else; it’s even better when they’ve been used in such a way that comes back to the author, thereby expanding his thinking in some way. That’s what’s happened here lately—NonEntity has had another essay, titled Non-Money, published at Strike the Root; and he credits my recent musings on trust as an inspirational factor. It’s hard for me to winnow out a good, representative snippet, because he touches on several important facets in the challenge of creating economic systems independent of the state. Instead I encourage interested folk to read it in its entirety—it’s pretty short—then return here, where I’ll toss out some thoughts I have and invite feedback on any and all relevant issues.

I am all kinds of happy to announce that NonEntity has accepted my invitation to become a Conspirator. Here’s his bio, for the curious. I don’t know how frequently he’ll post, but his comments have already been worthwhile, and I hope we’ll get better glimpses into his mind, whenever he wants to share.

Welcome, NonEntity! Skål!

I know I’m far from the sharpest reptile slithering around, but even after a supposed clarification, I am still at a loss to grok Francois Tremblay’s recent post, Why Hierarchies Are Immoral.... Perhaps someone here can help enlighten me.

It was Billy Joel who wrote a song some time ago about love relationships ultimately being “a matter of trust”. While that’s true, the larger point—and the reason the song has been repeating in my mind for a few hours now—is that all relationships are built upon trust. Every contract, formal or informal, every market transaction, happens because there is some degree of trust between the participants. It appears to me that trust is such a deep, implicit part of that most of us probably don’t recognize its role, unless something happens to disturb it and therefore bring it to our attention.

I know this. Good things are always all around us. It’s true despite the economic uncertainties I have been entirely too focused upon of late. It’s true despite the weather, despite how wealthy or impoverished one is, despite how healthy or ill one is.

It’s just that we often focus on getting from one point to another, from one condition to another, from one goal to another ... and in the focus on the getting, we forget about the being. Being present to our lives as we’re living them.

Yesterday, I was very pleasantly reminded of a very good thing—an intriguing person with whom I’d become acquainted at the Freedom Summit when I spoke there a few years back. That was an abundance of goodness all by itself, but there’s more; he offered an essay for my consideration for publication here. It is so beautiful and profound (and timely) I simply couldn’t say no.

I hope you enjoy Time Is Money (not) as much as I do. It’s by NonEntity—yes, he of Strike the Root fame. (As is the custom on guest essays, comments are welcome here rather than on the essay page.)

I see more good things ahead, too. Short term, more blackberry picking with the snolfs today, and longer term ... well, the possibilities abound. I see a few more clearly than others, but all will be shown in time. Thank you, NonEntity.

Costa Rica:
Arenal Kayaks – kayaking tours and more; trusted individual with whom I have done business and been highly satisfied

USSA:
Cat’s Curiosities – Cat Farmer, Las Vegas; online bookstore and physical shop in NV; trusted individual whom I have met in person; have not done business with yet
Jill of Many Trades – Mama Liberty [email to myeft_coach at yahoo.com], Wyoming; offers EFT and other energy therapy coaching, either in person or via email and/or telephone; teaches several levels of handgun classes & is NRA certified instructor; retired nurse and knowledgeable herbalist; trusted individual whom I have met in person many times, and have done business with and been highly satisfied
Mailable Art – “A. Subset”, mobile; individual I have met in person, briefly; have not yet done business with
The Marksman’s Box – Gene McCarron, Wyoming; individual I have met in person, briefly; also vouched for by Mama Liberty; have not done business with yet
Restored Spirit Arts – jewelry, including custom made jewelry; trusted individual with whom I have done business and been very satisfied
Richardson and Bluhm – Warren Bluhm and B. W. Richardson; I have met both, and satisfactorily done business with both; highly trusted individuals
Navigating In the New World – book by Australian Shaun Saunders; individual whom I have known well for years but not yet met in person; highly trusted
J. Smith books – Jon [email to j-wyant at austin.rr.com], Fredericksburg, Texas; he’s also near completion of massage therapy training and will accept clients for cash, gold, silver, or barter, fees dependent upon session length and distance to come to you; trusted individual with whom I have successfully bartered
Sunni’s Caramels – me, WA (north of Seattle, south of Bellingham); homemade caramels, truffles, and other treats; special orders welcome; can make gluten-free chocolate cakes, cheesecakes, and regular cakes, pies, etc. for local pickup or delivery
Sunni’s Salon – Tom Ender and me; Amazon and other bookseller’s affiliate sales; Salon Payola guarantees a review; I will review books, music, movies for other sites for a fee [barter welcome]; I am also available as a ghostwriter or copy editor
Vera Verba – Sean Hastings and Paul Rosenberg; book publisher and seller (print and online, although the entire catalog is not currently available online); t-shirts also available; I have met Paul in person multiple times and have a great deal of trust in him; have not yet done business with VV

If you want to be included on this list, please send me an email [either my first name at this domain or sunni.snake at Gmail; sending to both is a good hedge against the email demons that have been intermittently bothering me] with “Agora” somewhere in the subject line. Please include a link to your web site, if you have one, or an eddress; your business(es), general location, especially if important to your work; payment form(s) accepted; and if I do not know you, two pro-freedom references I can contact to vouch for you.