Anarchistbanjo's World

Freedom is a powerful word and it evokes powerful images within each of us. To each of us freedom may be something different. Freedom is a need and it may express itself in many ways to many forms of life, not only human life. Freedom may be expressed as:

The need to be free as a falcon. The need for family. The need to hunt. The need to kill or be killed. The need to fly and soar. The need to find our own true will. The need to live and die with honor. The need to be true to ourselves at all costs. The need to live according to our conscience. The need to find the master within.

When we grant others personal freedom and respect we have the right to demand the same freedom and respect be granted to us. There is a great difference between the concept of live and let live and this concept. In the freedom concept we acknowledge that others have a need to act in the manner they choose. We also acknowledge that we have a need to act in the manner of our choosing.

Most importantly we acknowledge the dynamic necessity of each of us living in the same world. The concept of live and let live is passive and carefully avoids the placing of value or morality on any type of life. It denies the need for any conflict in life. In the use of this live and let live concept we avoid the need for giving our support to others. This concept is one of withdrawal and isolation. Live and let live does not work.

Each one of us is a unique individual. We each have personally experience things others have not experienced. We know some things from first-hand experience that others only speculate about. The people and environment in my life are different from those in anyone else’s life. The differences exist even to those closest to me because my world is seen through my eyes and their world is seen through their eyes.

Everyone must walk a unique and individual path in life. One person’s weakness may be another person’s strength. There is no way to say that anyone’s path is better than any other path.

Nature has ordained that all paths must be walked so that we may discover which paths are the best. We must be able to be supportive of those that walk a path different from ours.This is especially true when someone’s path is in conflict with our own. The concept of live and let live does not allow or encourage the support of others. The concept of allowing each to have personal freedom does allow this.

There is a need to acknowledge the rightness of competition. There is a need to be able to say may the best man, woman or team win. There is a need to acknowledge the dynamic vitality of life. There is a need to be united in the mutual need for freedom as opposed to just passively letting everyone do their own thing. There is a need to become involved in the lives of others and in community. There is a need to create an environment for others so they can flourish in a supportive atmosphere.

There is also at times a need to tell others to back off and alter certain behaviors that are disruptive or harmful. At times there is a need to confront others. At times there is a need to fight for what we believe in.

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If we don’t like the position we currently hold we are always able to win a better position through personal effort and struggle. Our position in life is determined by our effort and by our productivity and not by right of birth.

Those in positions of power through chance or birth cannot withstand the advances of those that struggle for a better world through personal effort. Life is dynamic and each position within the hierarchy is open to the competitive newcomer,. It is always possible to win a better life. It is also possible to lose your position in life to someone who’s more qualified, someone that puts out more effort.

At first we don’t know how to get the things we want in life. We have no experience and our computer program doesn’t include the proper steps for us to take. We can only work within our programming and our programming doesn’t include how to attain our goal.

All we have in the beginning is a strong desire to achieve our goal. As we hold this desire within us it gradually gains strength and will subconsciously lead us toward the way of achieving our goal. This subconscious behavior occurs during the development of spiritual energies within us. Our longing takes on the importance of a spiritual quest. The development of spiritual energies is passive and we don’t realize any volition on our part

One day apparently by accident we talk to someone or see a book about our goal. Our goal has found us; we have not found our goal.

This spiritual longing develops into a mental study of how to achieve our goal. We become aware of behaviors and activities that will lead us toward our goal. We also become aware of behaviors that lead us away from our goal

We learn as much as we can about the achievement of our goal from as many sources as possible. At some critical point we attempt to put into our own words and understanding those things which we have learned from outside sources. We attempt to make this knowledge our own, individually suited to our personal situation in life

We attempt to plan a course of action which will allow us to achieve our goal. The time will come when mental thinking is not enough. We will have enough confidence in our plan that our emotions will force us to take risks in a beginner fashion.

As beginners we try our first attempts to achieve our goal and discover that the achievement of the goal is not as easy as we had first thought it would be. Things are much more complex. In our efforts we are achieving first-hand experience relating both to our personal situation and toward the achievement of our goal.

Only pure desire and truly wanting to win will give us the emotional energy to physically go forward in spite of personal fears, lead feet, weak knees and allow us to get through this difficult novice stage.

Winning is a learning process and a cycle. We go from awkward beginner to basic familiarity and on to high competence in the area of winning our goal

Each step or stage must take place as an easy gradient. Set a realistic goal for ourselves within a realistic timeframe

The final end result is always the same. That which is truly earned gives more joy and satisfaction than that which is no challenge at all. We enjoy challenges to the extent that we can solve the challenges.

When we are confronted by a challenge that is too big for us it can shatter our lives. We must be able to break any challenge up into smaller goals that are achievable. When we do this any goal is achievable. When we do this we can win.

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True joy in life comes from struggling against opposition and finally achieving a hard won goal which is valued and cherished. If we are given something or it is too easy to achieve we do not value it properly and take it for granted.

Only those things which we struggle and fight for hold a lasting value to us. This is equally true in personal relationships. It is hard work to maintain a healthy relationship with someone else. It requires continuous effort.

Nothing in life stays the same, everything is changing. In our relationships with others we are either growing closer together or we are growing farther apart. It is not right to take for granted that the closeness we feel today for someone will be there tomorrow. It is not right to take the relationship for granted.

Relationships are dynamic and the greatest challenge in our lives. They are also the greatest potential for joy in our lives. There is a great difference between winning a friend and keeping a friend. There is also a great difference between winning a goal and keeping a goal.

Winning is a very important concept to understand. We must strive to win in life. Only in winning do we find the satisfaction that we crave. In contrast there is no shame in losing if we have truly tried our best. It is vital that whatever we decide to do, we do it well and to the best of our ability.

There is no room in life for halfhearted attempts. If we do to the best of our ability we will win. The outcome doesn’t even matter. Even in nature each blade of grass struggles and extends its roots against its neighbors for the nutrients in the soil and reaches upward for the life-giving rays of the sun.

This is not an act of hatred or malice toward its neighbors but an active life and of joy. There is a natural hierarchy in nature and those life forms with the greatest ability to adapt offer the most to each individual species and rise within the hierarchy.

The blade of grass that out competes its neighbors grows stronger and taller and through reproduction disseminates its genetic structure throughout the species. In the same manner the blade of grass that grows in soil where nothing else can grow expands the range of the physical environment where grass can grow. Through reproduction it also disseminates successful adaptive genetic qualities which allow the species to live under varying physical environments.

What of the mediocre blades of grass that are subdued and only managed to hold their own in a stagnant manner? They too are successful. Each blade of grass exists in an environment which is slightly different from its neighbors.

The conditions it faces are unique and contribute to the survival of the species. The blade of grass that dies in a harsh or unfavorable environment or dies because it is crowded out by other blades of grass does not die in vain.

It has tried to exist with every bit of vitality and life available to it and the manner of its struggle is also passed on to the species. In its death the message is made that life cannot exist under these conditions. The species then tends to avoid those and similar conditions that are harmful to it.

A simple blade of grass is not able to try in a halfhearted manner! By its very nature it gives in life all that it is capable of giving. Each plant performs a valuable function not only to its own species but in the releasing of oxygen it contributes to our own lives as well.

In a like manner the human race has a duty to itself and to the rest of the world to do the best it can. It has a duty to try to win in life and through winning make the world a better place for every living thing. There is also a natural hierarchy within the human race.

There are those that rise to the top by crowding out their neighbors. There are also those that rise to the top by expanding our physical world through individual discoveries and products.

If there is fault within the human race the blame is not in these people but in those that refuse to try, those that can’t even summon the strength for a halfhearted attempt at living. Still even those serve a purpose. The added burden they inflict on society has the effect of bringing out greater effort on the part of those that are able.

We all serve a valuable purpose whether we intend it or not. Each of us has our own proper place within the hierarchy of the human race and each of us will achieve that proper place. In fact we already have. Each one of us is in our proper place within the hierarchy of humanity right now

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In a way the human race is a single organism. You and I are small parts of the body of humanity. The single organism or collective is greater than any single individual and always will be. Even as our toes, fingers and eyes serve us, we in turn serve humanity.

We feel that we have the right to use our toes, fingers and eyes for our own purposes. In the same manner society feels it has the right to use us for its own purposes. Even as we are more powerful than our toes and eyes, society is more powerful than we are.

In an open dispute with society we as individuals can never win. The best we can ever hope for is a win-win situation in which we win and society also wins. But we don’t need to give up our dreams and goals in life.

We do need to make those dreams and goals compatible and congruent with what society expects of us. When we believe society’s wishes for us are in conflict with our own goals our thinking is too restrictive and narrow. We will not achieve our goals in direct opposition to society’s wishes, never.

If a conflict exists it is our thinking that must be altered. There is always a solution which benefits both society and us if we can only find. It. The trick is to never directly oppose society in open conflict because we can never win.

If society says we must act in a certain way and tries to force us into those actions; we have two choices. The first choice is to do nothing. We can alter our personal lives in such a way that we are not in open defiance of the directive, but in a way that we are not in compliance with it either

This is a passive aggressive position and will result in a standoff or stalemate in which neither side wins. As time goes on the pressures of this unresolved conflict will grow more and more serious and the consequences of continued noncompliance will also grow more severe. The ability of society to enforce the directive will decrease as time goes on. If we can resist long enough a solution will present itself that is favorable to us and agreeable to society at the same time. This solution will only come if it is forced through noncompliance and non-action.

During the days of prohibition the manufacture and consumption of alcohol were against the law. This law was not enforceable. Some people acted in open defiance of the law and others altered their lifestyles in a way that was not in open defiance. Some people made their own alcoholic beverages and kept quiet. What they made was for their own personal consumption. They did not try to sell or market the product to the public. These people for the most part were ignored by those trying to enforce the law.

Law enforcement efforts were directed at those individuals who were in open defiance of the law. They were after the bootleggers. They were after the ones that tried to sell directly to the public.

Many people suffered as attempts to enforce this law were made. Many good people lost their lives because of the enforcement of this law. It was finally realized that this law was not enforceable and it was repealed.

To rebel and fight openly against society places one outside the law. It makes them criminals in the eyes of society. There is an invisible line that must never be crossed. If the line is crossed the person becomes an outlaw and will never be able to regain the support of society.

The person who rebels in open defiance of society’s directives runs the risk of crossing that line. The person that uses non-action and quiet defiance does not run that risk. This is the power of the passive aggressive position.

A passive aggressive position is powerful when dealing with social pressures but it is not effective in dealing with individuals. A passive aggressive position taken with individuals will increase the likelihood of more struggle and personal abuse. It will weaken our position in life.

The confrontational and openly defiant position is powerful in dealing with individuals but not in dealing with society. Each time we successfully confront situations and individuals about personal concerns we become empowered through those actions. Each time we act in open defiance of social directives our position is weakened.

This may sound cruel and heartless but let others act in open defiance of unjust laws and social pressures. Let others prove to society that the laws are unjust and unenforceable. Do not become involved because it will severely weaken your position in life and your ability to attain your goals.

In the same manner never use passive aggressive behaviors when dealing with individuals. Never allow someone to make a decision that should have been yours to make. Never give away your power to another individual and expect that individual to use your power in your own best interest. Confront each situation squarely and consistently as it arises.

Your disagreements with society and its social pressures should retain a hazy and nebulous quality which will prevent society from making an example out of you by centering all of its negative force upon you as an individual. Deliberately draw those situations out indefinitely because you cannot win them but with the passing of time your position will become stronger when the situation is finally forced into a resolution. It will at some point be forced into a resolution.

Disagreements with individuals should be clear and definite. Each person should know exactly where the other stands. Each personal conflict should be resolved as soon as it is possible. The longer interpersonal disagreements last the more personal energy and power you lose and with the passing of time your position is weakened and respect is lost.

Self-esteem and respect for each individual are maintained at their highest when difficulties are confronted as soon as possible. Respect and self-esteem are lost when unsatisfactory conditions are allowed to exist for any length of time.

Be able to alter your behavior and use the techniques appropriate for your own personal position at any given time.

The support of society is tremendous when taken advantage of and should not be lightly thrown away or ignored. Social approval, popularity and fame are bestowed upon those that have harmonized personal goals with society’s goals.

In all cases we are rewarded for appropriate behavior and punished for inappropriate behavior. There are social consequences to every action in our lives

Learn to do what works and give up doing what doesn’t work. Fit into our social structure in a harmonious way that is a win-win situation. Realize that society is stronger than we are; only then can we adjust our behavior in ways that will still achieve our goals but not make us outlaws

Strive to do this while retaining personal self-esteem and respect for the individual rights of others. When we do this society also benefits. Society gradually rewards us with positions of increasing influence and our ability to achieve personal goals gradually increases. In this manner everyone wins and everyone remains true to their own inner nature. Everyone remains honest and true to both personal values and social values.

When we do this we will gradually be given our true and proper place within the body of humanity whether it be toes, fingers or eyes.

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