The Struggle of Remaining an Individual When Collectivism is Demanded

"WE MUST HANG TOGETHER OR SURELY WE SHALL HANG SEPARATELY"

It’s difficult to juggle being an individual with knowing that you will struggle in the fight going forward unless you find your tribe and start to plan. No disrespect to my friend Marc Clair, but I have become a "watcher" of sorts and am saddened by some of what I’ve seen and conversations I have heard. First, I would like to say that I am an incredibly flawed person. Decisions I’ve made in the not-too-distant past caused many—mostly people who don’t know me and probably enjoy watching people with some niche fame struggle—to question my discernment. I admit that I missed the mark. But I have learned from my mistakes and moved forward. Second, I have become much more liberal with those whom I would consider allies than I have been in the past. As Charles Haywood has stated and which I wholeheartedly embrace, we should have "no enemies to the Right."

Responsibility

We must think of ourselves and our families first and foremost. If you can’t take care of yourself, how can you take care of your family? And if you can’t take care of your family, how will you be of any use to your tribe? I get that some people want to remain completely independent and have no need or desire to team up with others. However, if a time comes when that person needs help, who will they turn to?

Back-biting

We live in a time when individuals are running to churches to help them find the truth they’re searching for. It hasn’t escaped me that many people who abandoned Libertarianism as a "movement," one in which argumentation and debate are inherent and encouraged, have found their way to religious traditions where they are able to continue the tradition of contentiousness over what is the "real truth" and who are the "heretics." People I’ve never witnessed being overly animated when it came to politics now reveal emotion when discussing matters of FAITH. Maybe it has nothing to do with the subject matter and everything to do with the personalities involved. Maybe it’s argument for the sake of argument. There is no joy in politics, but there should be joy in your faith. After witnessing these discussions and debates, my question is, "Where’s the joy?"

Harmony

I bring up faith because it is a simple dynamic in which to point out how one is an individual yet part of a collective. No one in the Christian tradition comes to a relationship with Jesus Christ other than through a personal experience. That individual is then grafted into the Church and becomes a part of the collective. Christians are admonished not to forsake the gathering of the saints (no matter how difficult that can be), as we are a collective, a family.

Unity

I admit that I was someone who, not too long ago, preached individualism. But even when I considered myself an anarchist, I realized that if by chance an anarchist enclave were established, we would need to rely on each other for safety, etc. After the last three years it has become clear that for the vast majority of people having a collective on which you can rely upon for emergencies, at the very least, is something to be planned for. Whether it be gathering stockpiles of essentials, moving together into a general area, or seeking to elect members of your tribe to local government to fortify yourselves against this tyrannical regime (by a process deemed legitimate in the eyes of most), people should be doing something to move their plans along.

I am not someone who preaches one thing while doing another. I find keeping your cards close to your vest to be a wise strategy. But if you haven’t started planning, now is the time to at least identify your collective. It’s unclear whether Benjamin Franklin spoke or wrote the words in the sub-heading of this Substack, but one thing is for sure: this Regime has made it clear that if you don’t believe the things they do and your actions are not ones included on their list of approved activities, you are their enemy. They have made it clear that violence against citizens is on the table. Is there a chance the government can go full tyranny and start rounding people up? Yes, I think there is and we have already witnessed it. But, given the current year and the crop of people the State is recruiting to be their enforcers, should they go dystopian, I believe you’d have a better chance to survive and win in tight-knit groups that share the same goals and values than on your own.