the endeavour to live free, and courage

Zenaan Harkness zen at freedbms.net
Fri Dec 29 02:43:14 PST 2017


A gem, from zerohedge (and other choice one liners sprinkled
throughout the rest of the linked article) - enjoy :)



https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-12-28/how-defeat-tyranny-no-shortcuts-no-secret-weapon-only-indomitable-spirit
How To Defeat Tyranny: "No Shortcuts... No Secret Weapon... Only
Indomitable Spirit"

 …
 The Source Of All Freedom
 -------------------------

 Beyond the internalized conflicts within liberty movements, there is
 a defining methodology at stake. The gravitational pull that
 strengthens communities, the fuel that drives optimism and a respect
 for the future, the thing that makes us all more than what we seem
 to be on the surface, the thing that catches authoritarians off
 guard, is our propensity for courage and human kindness. Without
 these two things, any fight against tyranny is destined to implode.

 Endeavor requires risk, and all risk requires courage (or perhaps
 stupidity, but courage can often be mistaken as stupidity). The
 greatest endeavor in the history of mankind is the endeavor to live
 free. This is one of the few things in the world actually worth
 fighting or dying for.  It only follows that such a fantastic goal
 would require ultimate risk.

 Courage is the willingness to take risks while knowing full well the
 consequences of failure. In some cases, courage means taking action
 while knowing that there will be consequences even in success.
 Sometimes, there are no benefits to the courageous beyond the
 knowledge that they have benefited others. The fight is not about
 profit. The fight is not about personal survival. The fight is about
 something much more.  Something difficult to define, but intuitively
 felt.

 Taking terrible risks with the intention of benefiting others, many
 of them not even born yet, requires human kindness.  Kindness in
 itself can be a form of risk.  A self-absorbed sociopath or
 narcissist will never achieve greatness, because greatness requires
 actions that are counter-intuitive to self preservation. A person
 who embraces moral relativism will also never accomplish much for
 the future. Kindness requires moral resolve, not moral
 “flexibility.”

 It is these two characteristics that will help to dissolve the
 conflicts within liberty activism listed above.  It is these two
 characteristics that defeat tyrants, and so it will be these two
 characteristics that tyrants will seek to undermine. It is difficult
 to conquer a people when they are not afraid of sacrifice and when
 they are not afraid to organize in the real world. It is difficult
 to isolate people with selfishness when they are driven by the
 empathy inherent in kindness. ALL solutions, all practical
 strategies rely on the existence of these two forces within a
 movement.

 As 2017 comes to a close, it is my hope that every liberty activist
 prepares for more dangerous days ahead. But above all else, their
 preparations must flow from a foundation of struggle and self
 sacrifice, foresight and endurance, community and practicality,
 courage and kindness. If not, then really, what is the point?
 …


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