On Bullets and Belly Laughs

Submitted by Bill St. Clair on Sun, 28 Aug 2011 17:43:29 GMT  <== Politics ==> 

Joel at The Ultimate Answer to Kings - Excellent essay on the utility of dropping out and having frequent belly laughs at those who would be king.

... It took a while to learn that, in the context of this sort of discussion, there are at best three kinds of people and none of them are left or right. Those three groups are:

Those who want to rule
Those who want to be ruled
Everybody else.

...

And it has everything to do with freedom. Freedom won't come from without, because the world just isn't wired that way right now. Those first two groups are too strong and numerous and entrenched. So what? I don't care what they do anyway. The only thing I can control is right in here. I can't bring myself freedom, in the objective sense of creating a free world. But I can change the way I react to the world's chains. I can stop buying the bullshit, and just go ahead and live no matter what they want. And if the way of life that steers me toward isn't right for most people, fine! Other people need to find their own way, because only a damned fool would look to the likes of me for answers.

Nobody else can make me free. Not elections, not revolution, not spiritual enlightenment. Only I can make myself free. And when I am free, I am free regardless of my circumstances. In a hundred-room mansion or the dankest dungeon, I am free if I am free. Nobody can put those chains on me but me. I did it once, by accepting that nobody was going to save me from the chains but failing to see that didn't mean I had to wear them.

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