One of my favorite books is one by Harry Browne called "How I Found Freedom in an Unfree World". I read this book in 2020 in the middle of the "pandemic" because, like so many others, I was watching Americans give up their freedom at breakneck speed. To make matters worse, they were giving their freedom up in the name of false religions like "science", "health", and, "for the greater good". I felt that at any moment their compliant energy was going to take over my life!
I found myself in a deep depression unlike any I've ever experienced. As a military veteran I found myself asking why I ever served. As a Christian I found myself remembering prophetic scripture. As a human being, I found myself feeling trapped. It was a bad time.
“No matter where you are now, you can unravel all the knots that you have woven into your life.” Harry Browne
Mr Browne wrote his book in 1974. One thing that amazed me as I absorbed the words of wisdom in this volume was how similar things were then to where we are now. Oh sure, the problems were different, but the attitudes of politicians and the public were almost a carbon copy of what they are today (with exceptions, of course).
I guess I was hoping for something that would reinforce my belief that liberty and freedom are choices we make for ourselves, not entities that are mysteriously granted or handed down by a politician, or anyone else for that matter. Mr Browne delivered just what I was asking for. I no longer felt so alone in my quest for true liberty.
It seems if someone like myself looks around they will surely be convinced they are quite alone. We'll be convinced there's no one else who truly wants to be free. In a country where more than half of the population are getting some kind of subsidy from "Unkle Sam" (misspelled on purpose), it's almost impossible to find others who yearn to be left alone by the system. And, guess what? Most of the time we will be alone in our quest to be left alone. We will be called every name in the CIA/FBI handbook. "Conspiracy Theorist", "Right Wing Extremist" (which always floors me because liberty is anything but "far right" or "extreme"), along with words that end in "phobe".
To be nobody but yourself — in a world which is doing its best, night and day, to make you somebody else — means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight; and never stop fighting”. E.E. Cummings
If we truly care about liberty and freedom, it may end up being a lonely road for us. A road in which if we broke down on the side of, we would be lucky to find a passerby who would stop and assist. This is something we must be willing to accept at times. If we choose a different path than the "herd" of humanity, we will be outcasts. I've never been more proud to be one of those.
Oh, this doesn't mean us liberty seekers are "anti-social". It doesn't mean we are aloof or arrogant. Many of us who yearn for true liberty can fit in with a crowd of "intellectuals" when need be, and also be perfectly at home with a farm family, a family of people from a completely different race or culture, and even a family of moonshiners in the backwoods of Kentucky or Tennessee. It's just that we see the world in a different way. We see a world where the possibilities are in our own hands and within our own grasp. A world in which we don't wait for any kind of "rights" to be granted by a politician's magic pen.
I'm sure many of you, like me, get frustrated because we "get it" when it comes to personal liberty and want everyone to “get it” as well! We understand that basic "rights" like being able to eat the food we want to eat, live where we want to live, associate with whom we want to associate with, participate (or abstain) from activities we do or don't agree with, take the medical treatments we want to take, and a myriad of other personal choices are clear and, for many of us, are written in stone. Every one of them is a line that must not be crossed. Because of our zealous understanding of these basic principles, we long to share this enlightenment with others and not only do we want to help those wayward souls "see the light", but we sometimes actively attempt to "change minds". Yet... our words, our way of life, our grasp of truth... well, it falls on deaf ears.
Mr Browne doesn't recommend doing this at all. In fact, he recommends (in a nutshell) living a life that sets an example and draws people of like mind to us. He emphasizes that fitting in with people who are *never* going to “get it” is a huge waste of time and energy (and he adds, why in the world would we want our closest friends to be people who hate what we stand for anyway?!) That's what I've been doing since I read his book. Have I converted anyone to becoming a liberty zealot? Sadly, No. Have I had opportunities to plant some good seeds? You better believe it.
“If you’re not free now, it isn’t because you haven’t done enough to change the world. Quite the contrary, it may be that you’ve been doing too much to change the world. The effort you’ve expended in that direction could have been used to provide freedom for yourself.” Harry Browne
I guess what I'm saying is... for those of you out there who have been working so hard on your family, your friends and your acquaintances: Stop. Be free. Live your life of liberty. Don't let yourself get bogged down with people who are still looking for an (s)election to grant them what they already have if they would just realize it. Don't waste your time on them. Oh, it's sad, and I know how heartbreaking it is to see people you care about not realize the gift they have as human beings and products of their creator. But we are wasting time on people like that. We must move on.
“There are hundreds — thousands! — of ways to be free when you concentrate on the power you have. But you can’t see them if you’re ocuupied trying to change others.” Harry Browne
Regardless of what happens the rest of this year, we must resolve ourselves to be the freest, most liberty minded people we can be. And we have to live that in front of others every day. When someone asks "why" we are doing some of the things we do, if they ask why we don't run down to the county assistance office every time we run into a problem, if they ask why we don't check to make sure that something we are doing is "legal", if they ask anything about our personal life of liberty, then (and only then) can we share with them our philosophy and attempt to turn on just a little bit of light in their mind and souls.
Great point about being able to be in any group.
I've met people of every class at wedding parties and got along with them even though we disagreed on a topic. Instead we talked about things in common. In the times there was nothing deep in common, talking bullshit about sports etc is ok too.
Build rapport with people and later on they'll listen to you.
It also helps me build my humility as I too used to think I could change minds.
Thank you for the suggested addition to this winter's reading list. I even found it on several non-Amazon sites!