infinite individuality

I think the biggest problem with authoritarianism is that authority gets lazy and resorts to rule by decree and demand rather than requesting consent. As soon as society demands action rather than requesting a fulfilling of duty, it erases the character of the action required. Those who say conscription is ever justified are the only people who might deserve to be conscripted. I've been lucky enough not to have to experience war in my lifetime. I know many who have not had that luxury. But I have seen how the demands of the experience of violence and requirement of exercising violence impact the psyche. I have seen the way in which it changes the view of a man. I am infinitely grateful to him for having steered me away from that life with his form of masculinity. It was about strength and respect, rather than demands and force. He never beat me into submission, he made it clear that the best path was submission to his wiser authority. And truth be told, since his authority was exe...

We are victims of ourselves more than anyone else. Acceptance of that truism is the first step to personal responsibility. When we act on this truth, we are able to be that only Jesus that some will ever see, because we always have the choice to act in love. Sometimes that love is tough. Sometimes it means letting go of your own desires for the sake of those you love. It doesn't mean they aren't there, but you choose not to act upon them. And when you do that, it's fascinating how it seems to bring those desires back to you. I hope it continues to work as such. Because there are plenty whom I miss. But I have to be brave. I have to move on, I have to see the beauty in the new as well as the old. But this is part of losing oneself. It means reaching out. It means playing with others. It means having the self-honesty to be myself. I know there's a whole wonderful world outside, waiting for me, full of loving, wonderful people. I just have to engage it. It's easier ...

I have hope sometimes with Trump for the really long game, because in my eyes, his administration has been making the government a satire of itself. My hope is that it sparks the political Eureka we need that we're better off looking to each other to directly provide for the general welfare and mutual defence rather than expecting it from the State. When we demand those things from the State, we look for others to act as a sovereign over us in order to accomplish an end that can only come about through voluntary consensus. We defer our responsibility to enact justice ourselves and thereby attempt to avoid accountability by blaming that sovereign when there are injustices in the world. That's why I believe the more local sovereignty lies, the better, as long as that sovereign is respecting all individuals justly. What breaks my heart most about the world is that we have enough wealth so every one could live with access to food and shelter, yet we haven't figured out how to...