by Ray Jason
 |
| A great sea gypsy family |
During the shrill cacophony of the
U.S. election campaign, many friends and strangers asked me why I did not
comment on it. The reason is because I
try to observe the world as a philosopher - and not as a pundit. My belief is that pundits assess the short-term
flux of events, whereas philosophers examine the long-term trends and
consequences.
Here are some of my
conclusions. Intriguingly, they might
provide some comfort to both camps – those devastated by the results and those
delighted by them. The Clintonistas
might recall that when Obama was elected, the Right was quite certain that the
world would end. But, indeed, it did not
end – although it also did not improve.
So even though you fear that Trump will bludgeon the planet off its very
axis, this is not likely to occur.
As for the Trumpians, you might take
heart in the knowledge that even though the goals of the victors are almost
never realized once in office, the fact that your triumph was a referendum
against the Establishment, makes it a far more potent force. But you will need to remain vigilant, or your
dream of Making America Great Again will go down in flames like Hope and
Change.
*******
If I was just a pundit, I would post
those last two paragraphs to social media and then settle back and count the
“likes.” But my hope is that the sheer
vulgarity of the campaign might inspire many people to look at the deeper and
more philosophical lessons from the 2016 (S)election.
Because we are programmed from birth to never question
the core principle that Authority Is
Necessary, we fail to understand that what 120 million people just did was
provide their consent for one government team rather than for another
government team. But GOVERNMENT wins –
either way. And every time that The
State wins, The Individual loses.
Needless to say, most people meander through their entire
lives without encountering such a radical concept. I will try to argue it as convincingly as
possible. But realizing that I will
probably fail, I will then close this essay by suggesting a style of living
that allows one to have as much personal freedom and autonomy as might be
humanly possible in this complex and inter-connected world. That alternative is The Sea Gypsy Path – and
since 1992 it has bequeathed me a life that is rich in happiness and meaning.
*******
The concept that government is a cure for society’s
problems and not the cause of those problems is so ingrained in us that it is
almost never even pondered - much less deeply examined. Most people have been brainwashed with the
belief that humanity is intrinsically greedy, malicious and violent and that
only authority protects us from descending into chaos. But I submit that the exact opposite is
true.
Governments and religions only arrived on the scene
about 10,000 years ago when our Paleolithic ancestors switched from hunting and
gathering to the Neolithic model of sedentary agriculture. The need to stay in one place for the
planting and harvesting cycle, led to villages and then to towns and then to cities. More importantly, and catastrophically, it
also spawned hierarchy and rulers and priests.
Since it is not philosopher kings who normally rise to power but vicious
war lords, this soon bestowed upon us standing armies and industrial level
warfare.
So, in fact, government does not protect us from
violence, but instead it initiates it.
Wars do not arise because one morning a million Scots spontaneously decide
it might be a good idea to invade Holland.
No, instead such conflicts are possible only because evil people who
have slithered themselves into positions of power, incite people to go forth
and slaughter millions of other humans with whom they have no personal
grievances and who have done them no harm.
This can only be achieved if the general population has been duped into
being subservient to authority, to government and to the state.
One of the other great, unnoticed crimes of government
is that they set themselves up as the umpires of morality. Every one of you, who is reading this,
understands that murder - unless it is committed in absolute self-defense - is
wrong. You do not need a legal system to
teach you this. And if the government
suddenly announced that murder is no longer immoral, you would still know in
your heart of hearts that it is wrong. At
first glance, the notion of a government making such a statement seems absurd,
but that is exactly what happens when a state demonizes an “enemy” and declares
a war. Suddenly, murder is not just
acceptable - it is patriotic.
The state and government and authority are like
triplets joined at the hip and they are connected through POWER. They have a monopoly on the legalized use of force. Under their control are the police, the
military and the Airport Grope Squads.
Let me state this more clearly. Under the present human social system there
is a tiny minority of people who rule over the rest of us. This control grid is so powerful and yet so
subtle that the vast majority do not even notice it. As the wise German writer Goethe so accurately
declared: “None are more hopelessly enslaved than those who falsely believe
they are free.”
And the people who “own” us are such insatiable
control freaks that they have genuinely diabolical future plans to dominate us
even further. Micro-chipping of every
human, the end of cash and the substitution of electronic money, mandatory
vaccinations and the GMO foods that are almost unavoidable, are all being
implemented by stealth. And the whole
trend towards greater centralization of power into fewer and fewer hands
continues to erode human individuality and sovereignty.
*******
Now let me return to the initial theme of this essay -
the recent elections. My contention is
that the problem is not which candidate got selected. No, the much greater problem is the fact that
over 120 million people consented to the continuation of a system that does not
care about them and that oppresses them.
And because the propaganda matrix is so effective that the vast majority
are not even aware of how profoundly government dominates their lives, there is
very little chance for sweeping improvement.
So what is a person who seeks genuine independence to do? ESCAPE!
Don’t fight the system – FLEE the system.
And the best way to do so is to adopt the Sea Gypsy
Path. Get yourself an ocean-capable
sailboat and get yourself free. Liberate
your children from the public education indoctrination system and
home-school them onboard. Renounce your
allegiance to any one country and become a planetary free spirit. Rely on your own ability to live cheaply, to
fix things, to travel on wings of wind and not as a slave to Exxon-Mobil. Embrace your new fellowship of ocean
wanderers who have a real sense of community and sharing. Harness as much as you can of the bounty of
Nature with your solar panels and your wind generators. Marvel at those times when Mother Ocean shows
her incredible power.
And if one day, you find yourself anchored near
AVENTURA, stop on by for a spot of rum.
I’ll look forward to hearing the tale of how you cut the rope and SET
YOURSELF FREE!