On Working toward an Anarchist Ideal
On Working toward an Anarchist Ideal
Immediately, some will be turned off that I like the idea of anarchy. Furthermore, some will find it even more confusing that I generally vote Democrat. I even like the idea of a republic. Even the Tea Party has some good ideas. There are all these words, Democrat, Republican, Tea Party, Libertarian, Communist and Anarchist that aren’t bad ideas. And, I’m even aware that some might call me idealistic. However, I do not believe that there is anything wrong with working toward an ideal. The ideal I believe in happens to be anarchy.
For most people, my guess is that they would equate anarchy with having the rug pulled out from under them. Historically, that has been what anarchy has been. If there was no rule of law, then there was bedlam. This usually happened suddenly, such that anarchy usually represents the most dystopian times of history. But, I don’t think it has to be that way. Anarchy can work if it is coupled with a socialist mentality. However, I am not joining the socialist party yet to get there. There are some that equate socialism with large government, so what I am talking about may seem preposterous to them.
First, in my history I went to a lot of heavy metal and hardcore shows. I was not afraid at these places. Though they have potential to be a place of gang fights, I didn’t see it that way. What I had was a lot of frustration. It seemed as if the government had given me nothing, while I had paid my taxes. Sure I got a good high school education, but I could have gotten that from my parents. Law enforcement didn’t protect me. After all, I felt safe at hardcore and metal shows, a place where the police aren’t safe. I also came to see technology as being the antithesis of manhood. The government seemed to only protect that technology could continue, and I didn’t want that. I espoused a more primitive lifestyle. One where it might be said, “It takes a village to raise a child.” I did not care who the ruler of the land was, or that the USA might be taken over. Anarchists don’t overthrow power. They simply don’t recognize it. It was not until I got a check from Social Security, SSI, that I finally felt like the government had given me something back. Maybe government had a purpose after all?
On SSI I picked up Plato’s Republic again, and it was like I read it for the first time. The first time I read it, I hadn’t appreciated it. This time, I understood the power of a republic, but most anyone will criticize Plato’s Republic. The cost of having a republic is the toll it takes on the family. Everyone gets educated, with a phenomenal amount of competition, and weeding. In a republic, everyone is trying to make it to the top, such that Plato recognized something that most conservative Republicans don’t. You can’t have it both ways. You can’t have a strong sense of family values and have a strong republic. In fact, the idea of the republic is big government. Republicans say small government is best, but they just don’t mean it. They can’t have small government if they want to have a republic. This causes me to lean toward the liberal democrats. As Plato saw it, democracy was closer to anarchy than the republic, and he didn’t like it for that reason. So, as you can probably guess, I like the libertarians. However, the libertarians are just too radical for me right now. I might vote for one as a congressman or a senator, but not as a President. Being libertarians is a goal that we should work towards. Then, slowly we peel away government and peel it away some more until finally we have anarchy. This is far from the idea of having the rug pulled out. In fact, though I am an anarchist, I don’t believe an anarchist utopian ideal could happen in my lifetime. Why? We need to learn to share first, and this might require some legislation, and that is why I am a Democrat. We need to be a rural village, and learn to socialize before we can actually go back to creation and love her as the hunter gatherers we once were.
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