Anarchist to Abolitionist: A Bad Quaker's Journey
Making An Abolitionist
Words have meanings. Often different people hold opposite beliefs as to the meaning of the same word. And dictionaries are of little help, as can be realized by looking up the word "literally" in a modern dictionary. Merriam-Webster states the following as the second definition of literally: "2: in effect: virtually—used in an exaggerated way to emphasize a statement or description that is not literally true or possible." How have we come to a point where a respected dictionary can't accurately define the word "literally," and has to resort to using the word "literally" to state that it doesn't literally have to mean literally?
I resist this nonsense with every cell of my body, figuratively speaking. Words are the primary communication device used between humans. If we sit idly by while the ignorant among us destroy our ability to transfer complex thoughts, then we deserve to devolve into grunting apes, fighting over a banana that our masters have thrown into our cage!
That said, I am an anarchist, and I believe every human is born an anarchist. Anarchy is our natural condition and, like a wild horse that must be broken to be useful to a rider, we must be taught to accept a master by systematically breaking our will. Parents have been taught, through peer pressure and exposure to other parents, including their own, how to break the will of a child. Then at a tender age, parents turn their children over to the State to complete the indoctrination through twelve or more years of so called school, where non-facts are taught as facts, lies are taught as truth, and no effort is made to teach the children how to learn or how to discover. Government school is LITERALLY a prison sentence for a crime the child never committed. It is a day-prison, much like some prisons are weekend prisons, but prison it is nonetheless. And without this constant indoctrination of children, the State couldn't exist in its modern version, because people would find the idea of government as ridiculous as it actually is.
I used the word "anarchist" and, if you've been properly brainwashed by the State, you will undoubtedly have the wrong idea of what I'm talking about. Anarchy doesn't mean "without rules" it means "without rulers", and those are vastly different concepts. And anarchy doesn't mean communism. In fact, it is the exact opposite. If these statements confuse you, you may be reading the wrong book right now. You may want to consider reading "The State, Its History and Development Viewed Sociologically" by Franz Oppenheimer, or perhaps any of the works of my friend Jeffrey Tucker.
In addition to being an anarchist, I'm also an abolitionist, meaning I wish to abolish all forms of forced human servitude and bondage. If you're saying to yourself, "I don't understand. Slavery was abolished by Abraham Lincoln," then you are seriously reading the wrong book, and you don't even own your own thoughts. They have been planted in your mind by your masters, the plantation owners, and their lap dogs in the education industry. Shame on you for believing such nonsense!
If someone can come to you with a paper ordering you to give up possessions that you have acquired through rightful means, like work, trade, or gift, and if you refuse that paper's orders you can be arrested, then you are a slave. If you must ask permission for the privilege of fishing or hunting to feed your family, you are a slave. If you must carry a permission slip in order to arm yourself for the purpose of self-protection, you are a slave. If someone else can dictate what object you can own and what object you are forbidden to own or possess, you are a slave. These principles were first established in writing in English history in CE 1215 in the Magna Carta Libertatum, but these principles were already very old at that time. Throughout the centuries, they have been defended by the blood of faithful men and women, while cowards shrank away from conflict and refused to defend these natural rights, allowing slavery to continue.
Over the ages, slavery has been enforced on a variety of levels. Some slavery is very tolerable, while some slavery is not at all tolerable. When slavery is comfortable, slaves often don't consider themselves as slaves. But they are slaves just the same. Reality is not based on perception, but on the facts of a given situation. Remember, the "slavery" described in the Bible that forced the Israelites to flee Egypt was not total chattel slavery like pictured in the Hollywood movies. It was more like a tax that slowly crept up over the hundreds of years they were in Egypt, until it became intolerable. That tax started as a flat rate of 20%, but tyranny crept up to the point that the Israelites had to sit by and watch as their first born males were taken from them and killed to lower their population, while they were burdened with climbing tax rates. and right now, today in 2019, working class Americans pay proportionately more in taxes than the Israelites did in Egypt, while American children are systematically brainwashed by government schools. Yet Americans bow their head and bend their knee to their masters, and dare not speak of resistance. They solemnly place their hand on their heart, pledging their eternal soul to the State, as the government hymn is sung, and their holy cloth idol is unfurled to bless their precious panem et circenses, or in today's language, hot wings and sports.
If you were paying attention just now, you would have noticed that I pointed out two distinguishably religious features that worshipers of the State regularly display, namely the State hymn and the veneration of the State's cloth idol. These are two very obvious aspects of how the State is in fact a religion, but more on that later.
All that aside, I was born an anarchist and by the time I was free of forced government indoctrinations, my true nature was almost beaten out of me. I was mostly broken. But mostly broken is still slightly wild. There remained a tiny flame of freedom waiting for the chance to become the fire that burns in me today, and this story is how that happened.
First post & table of contents
If you would like to read the book in its entirety, you can purchase it with cryptocurrency at Liberty Under Attack Publications or find it on Amazon. We also invite you to visit BadQuaker.com, and, as always, thank you for reading.
This is why I don't often use the term anarchist, but refer to my self as an autocrat. I contend this word has been less assaulted by propagandists and indoctrinators, and people are left to look it up to ascertain it's meaning. There is a connotation that autocrat refers to ruling others, but that is only a connotation, and not contained in the word itself. Also, I do have a ruler: me, so I am not an anarchist, and autocrat correctly defines me.
I greatly appreciate your post. I am not sure if you are aware of the text of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, that is presumed to have abolished slavery in the USA, but in fact does not abolish slavery at all, and merely refines lawful slavery as that undertaken by the state. For people teetering on the edge of overcoming cognitive dissonance regarding their freedom or slavery, this has at times been an important fact that helps them to grasp their actual condition.
I await future posts with bated breath, and follow now to ensure I do not miss them.
Thanks!
I have approached the question of anarchy a while back in terms of international relations, which is like a huge example of what total anarchy would look like on a larger scale. You can read here if you are interested:
https://steemit.com/anarchy/@dr-frankenstein/pvzv8i
Some people who define themself as anarchist negate the reality that at some point, for security or food or ... a contract will need to be made between 2 people or more just to survive or benefit from skills because they cannot be looted.
You suggested the concept of autocrat which I find correct to some extent (individual level). You must be open to the idea of having rules/agreements, as long as you have the liberty to personally agree on them if you want to (sovereignty). Total anarchy is not suitable for advancing beyond a certain point of human needs, which is why the idea of having rules must be revisited by anarchists.