Slavery seeking control freaks?

In one of the many blogs I read there was an entry about a clever way to try to get around the social pressure, and sometimes actual rules against... wait for it.. those evil clotheslines.. Er, what? Clotheslines? Really? There are people who have so little going on in their lives that they hate clotheslines?

Well, yes. Sadly I actually know some people for whom this is an important issue. Why? I cannot fathom why...

However it comes down to control pure and simple. All rational persons want a measure of control over their lives. To be rational in the most basic sense means to seek to avoid the five basic harms: Death, pain, loss of freedom, loss of ability, and loss of pleasure. Yes there are times when it is rational to trade off one for the other (when the pain is too great, it is rational to seek death) but without going into the complexities of how these all can relate, we are safe in recognizing that we all seek to avoid these five harms. This is normal, and is behavior found in all moral agents..

But somewhere along the lines in our culture we have gone FAR beyond these basics. We tend to seek to control every aspect of our lives.

So how do we get from clotheslines to seeking to control every aspect of our lives? Well the only complaint about clotheslines is that someone (either the complainer or someone else) may actually see the clothesline.. So the complaint really spelled out is that such persons want to control not only every aspect of their own lives so as to avoid those five basic harms, but they want to go so far as to control the very particular photons which may come into contact with their eyes! Worse yet, they want to control the photons which may come into contact with the eyes of others...

They want this control so badly that they seek to be controlled so as to never be faced with the possibility of others not being controlled.. This is at the core the only explanation for governments, including but certainly not limited to Home Owner Associations...

If that is not frightening to you.... well, honestly I have no idea what to say other than to say that I wish to control no one, nor do I ever want to be controlled.

People, learn to respect others enough to allow them to live their lives.

More Thoreau via McElroy

Wendy McElroy, noted author and lover of freedom offers up another great post on Thoreau and the support for the state: http://wendymcelroy.com/news.php?extend.2898

"I am sometimes upbraided for excoriating policemen or the military or [fill in the blank with the state agent of your choice] because I allegedly do not take into account that policemen or military are individuals with unique motives and values. The accusation runs...it may be true that the legal system currently expresses and enforces injustice, but many individual policemen are honorable and believe in the constitution. Thus, it is unfair to hold them responsible for a system that they are trying to change.

I disagree. As long as an individual freely chooses to violate the rights of peaceful people -- and the War on Drugs (to state just one example) is clearly such a violation -- then it is not a defense to claim the individual is decent enough to know his actions are wrong any more than it is a defense to say "it is his job"....which is to say, he is not only violating rights but also getting paid for it. These are not defenses. These are further condemnations. If a policeman knows it is unjust to smash in a door in the middle-of-the-night because someone may have drugs in their sock drawer, then he should not do it. Like the employee whose video "Why Bank of America Fired Me" was featured here on Sunday, they should refuse to violate innocent human beings. If they chose to do so, then they must take personal responsibility."

More on her site... WendyMcElroy.com

Blog changes

As you may have noticed I have changed the name of the blog. With that name change comes a slight change in focus, from exclusively travel and the building of my off grid home, to include elements of philosophy, including a focus on the value of the individual.

As the title implies, I have no desire to rule any others, nor do I accept the claim that anyone has the right to rule me (or any other person for that matter). This is the pinnacle of peaceful coexistence and the necessary consequence of simply recognizing that others are also inherently valuable.

As this understanding and respect for others has been one of the major factors in the decision to lead the life I am living, including the off grid home I am building, I decided that I should not try to separate it out from the adventures of living.

I hope that you enjoy these changes..