Protests in Puerto Rico: Will They Change Anything?
The view from our friend's balcony on Saturday
This beautiful island paradise we now call home has people who want to be free from corrupt, immoral rulers. Unfortunately, few see that any “ruler” is, by nature and definition, corrupt and immoral. No human being has the right to rule over another human being. You own yourself. You have the highest claim of ownership to rule over yourself, and you are also the only person who can give that claim up to someone else.
The protests today will be huge (and you can follow along via social media), but I wonder what, if any, lasting change they will bring. The battle is not out on the streets in protest, but in the minds of each and every one of us. Do we truly love ourselves enough to take full responsibility for owning ourselves or will we turn to others, again and again, to rule over us? Replacing one master with a kinder, gentler master is not a solution because the system itself that allows a master is the problem.
We can build new systems which don’t rely on extortion (taxes are theft backed by threats of violence), but are voluntary with local, transparent, competing service providers. The main requirement for such a system to exist and function is not a technical one. It’s a matter of elevated consciousness. And no, I don’t mean utopia. There are ways we can effectively manage bad actors, since they have a role to play in stretching the defenses of the system and ensuring it stays resilient. We don’t have to be perfect first, we just have to get rid of the myth that authority over us is real.
No people in costumes (judges, police, or otherwise) or pieces of paper (constitutions, laws, etc) make it real. Protests asking for something from a ruler, without the right mindset, only reinforce the positional thinking of a ruled people. This is the mindset we can break free from.
You own yourself.
You are free.
Build a life of freedom and tools to free others, if that’s your jam. Find your groovy joy and embrace it fully.
I hope for peace today. I hope for freedom.
Both Facebook Video Live and YouTube Live have multiple people covering the events going on right now, and I've enjoyed David Begnaud's coverage:
For more of my thoughts that directly relate to these ideas, please see:
The Myth of Authority
What Is "Activism" to You?
The Loop: Why Voting and Revolutions Don't Work
I found myself very surprised at seeing this today as it was the first time that the people have really crossed politically ideologies to make an effort towards a unified goal. My hopes are that despite it being a black-eye to PR in general, it will lead to delivering a message to government leaders; past, present, and future that it will no longer be acceptable to put their needs in front of the nation they represent.
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I'm hoping with you.