Consider the Ramifications of Bowing to Government Authority
I urge all of you who accept government as a necessary evil to consider the psychological ramifications.
You are saying to yourself, "I am subservient. My life has so little value that I need others to control it. I don't need freedom because I cannot trust my own instincts and problem solving abilities."
You are thus sacrificing self-esteem for the esteem of mortals who believe they possess divine right of kings. You are bending the knee in the belief that others should hold your hand from cradle to grave, as if you were a perpetual child. You are totally sacrificing all of your dignity and decency as a human being.
Move Beyond the Childhood Desire to be Abused
Your belief in rulers has kept you stuck within an earlier developmental stage. You have not come to terms with childhood impulses and the shock of authority on the system. You have not overcome the poor treatment you have received since you were birthed into this world.
Thus, you remain hitched to the notion that violent parents are always needed. You have not overcome the essential crisis of trust versus mistrust. Paradoxically, your heart tells you to mistrust all authority, but in a confused act of desperation you continue to trust all people who represent authority.
And you battle this trauma throughout life.
Love of Authority is a Byproduct of the Abuse we Suffered; Break Free of It
It is a tragic scenario based on the dysfunctional abuse we all suffered; but if you consider this truth, it may allow you to break free and grow into the adulthood of anarchism.
I realize this is painful and humiliating to hear, because I suffered this psychological battle of anarchism versus familial servitude. And so I am not trying to be ugly. I just want to help everyone overcome the immaturity and cultural dogmas regarding authority.
For humanity to progress, we must all grow. We must all change.
So bear freedom aloft, break away from all shackles, and realize your adulthood...realize how powerful you are as an individual. Bear aloft the banner of freedom, and reject those who want to create a continuation of your abuse.
Consider the words of anarchist Voltarine De Cleyre:
“Subvert the social and civil order! Aye, I would destroy, to the last vestige, this mockery of order, this travesty upon justice! Break up the home? Yes, every home that rests on slavery! Every marriage that represents the sale and transfer of the individuality of one of its parties to the other! Every institution, social or civil, that stands between man and his right; every tie that renders one a master, another a serf; every law, every statute, every be-it-enacted that represents tyranny; everything you call American privilege that can only exist at the expense of international right.Now cry out, "Nihilist-disintegrationist !"
Say that I would isolate humanity, reduce society to its elemental state, make men savage! It is not true. But rather than see this devastating, cankering, enslaving system you call social order go on, rather than help to keep alive the accursed institutions of Authority, I would help to reduce every fabric in the social structure to its native element.”― Voltairine de Cleyre, The Voltairine de Cleyre Reader
My name is Sterlin. Follow me @sterlinluxan and Psychologic-Anarchist. I also run the Psychologic-Anarchist Facebook page and produce many YouTube videos. My interests lie in the intersection of counseling psychology and anarchism. I write about the depredations of psychiatry, and also the new philosophy of compassionate anarchism. We have a large community devoted to discussing psychology and relational voluntaryism.
Perhaps the fear of my child growing up to be obedient to an amoral authority was one of my main drivers to implementing peaceful parenting as the lifestyle we live.
Sterlin. This post moved me. Man. Why do we want to go on serving the authority that abused us? Is it based on unmet childhood needs, such as the need for acceptance and love, being thwarted? Thanks for this.
That means a lot, sir. And yep. I think what you said is the crux of the matter. We simply repeat our experiences and relationship styles from our youth later in life. It is no wonder that the State has manifested in this abusive way, then.
I'm afraid this won't resonate with the large number of statists who believe they're just fine, but they need the state to control "those others".
I couldn't agree more. There are two types of people on this planet; those who think the government works in their best interest, and those who think. Personally I think jury nullification might be a useful vehicle at the local level to keep government in check.
It is the truth!
Thank you! I agree.
Government is not reason, it is not eloquence — it is force. Like fire it is a dangerous servant and a fearful master;" ...
Government is useless and very bad an most things except for breaking things and killing people. Government is insane. The insane are typically violent.
. "If the only tool that you have is a hammer then every problem looks like a nail.
The nail that stands out get's the hammer. If you want the hammer do things to bring yourself to the attention of the hammerweilder.
I'm not convinced that nowadays you have that many people who love or even feel the need for authority. (Whether they can live without it, it's another issue) They maybe feel a sort of stockholm syndrom that they find hard to escape since authority is at the core of most of our society. Needless to say that there is nothing wrong to have a guide, a mentor, a reference point, in other words a kind of consent authority.
Without going all Molyneux - there is a good reason why historically parents, clergy, teachers, and government officials all let out their inner-spanking fetish on poor defenseless children as well as young adults.
Fantastic work Sterlin, it all rings true for me!