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July 8, 2009 at 15:15:14 Permalink Promoted to Headline (H3) on 7/8/09: Dignity, Freedom, Idealism & Expectations Diary Entry by R. A. Louis (about the author) |
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A philosophical look at neglected and oversimplified issues from a radical perspective. "The Nature of Resistance" & thoughts about "Dignity & Freedom" ::::::::"We are far too slow to outrun it now but not too far gone to care"
--Balance by the Mountain Goats
I was recently chatting with a dear friend about various philosophical perspectives
and, being mildly provoked and not completely devoid of ego, I felt the
the need to defend my own perspective. People always seem to try and
pigeonhole me as being an excessively idealistic hippie or an
excessively cynical anarchist. Perhaps there is some truth in both
assessments (I can only hope that Derrick Jensen has the same problem).
In any case... this is my personal perspective/self-assessment in
regard to what I write and stand for philosophically."If you tell the truth, that way you don't have to remember anything."
--Mark Twain
What I try to present in my writing is, in short, this:
A) The problems (and the origin of the problems) facing humanity and the biosphere.
B) The ideal ways I feel these problems ought to be dealt with (on a personal and collective basis).
C) What I actually expect to happen in the world (generally and specifically) regardless of any particular strain of idealism.
Idealistic Contradictions
What
I've come to realize about myself over the years is that while I do try
to present necessarily radical solutions (necessary because the situation
we find ourselves in is so dire), I do not have an incredible amount of
faith in any of those solutions being applied for the purposes of
bringing about a soft landing (whether they be proposed by myself or others).
The problem with idealism is that it is often presented in an intellectual
vacuum and often starts to crumble when presented with the most basic
opposition. Take, for example, Gandhi's position of absolute
non-violence. On close examination of his writing you find at least one
instance where he writes about the duty to physically "subdue" an
axe-wielding maniac running amuck
in a village. Or, you might find his letter to Hitler which,
apparently, he actually believed might move the Nazi leader to abandon
his imperialistic war efforts. George Orwell examines these things exquisitely in his famous essay about the "great soul.""The
essence of being human is that one does not seek perfection, that one
is sometimes willing to commit sins for the sake of loyalty, that one
does not push asceticism to the point where it makes friendly
intercourse impossible, and that one is prepared in the end to be
defeated and broken up by life, which is the inevitable price of
fastening one's love upon other human individuals."
--George Orwell, Reflection On Gandhi
In
my own experience I am often reminded of an exchange with a man whom
many would perhaps consider something of a modern day saint, Howard Zinn (who in any case promotes Gandhi's political methodology of non-violence). I asked Zinn (after a talk he had given about non-violent civil disobedience), "How many non-violent activists would it have taken, chained to the gates of Auschwitz, to shut it down?" As I've mentioned elsewhere, I was most disappointed with his glib response of "About a million."
The point I'm obviously getting at is the demonstrable long-term ineffectiveness
-- and in some cases a subtle hypocrisy -- regarding such idealism.
Certainly it is true that short term objectives may be achieved by
non-violent civil disobedience
(and that tactic certainly has a place when trying to make the world a
better place) but I often see the true legacy of such movements as
being remembered with inaccurate fondness. In Gandhi's case... his Indian nationalist movement ended up splitting
the nation along religious lines and it is now in a nuclear standoff
with Pakistan. He himself saw this as a horrible failure of what he was
trying to achieve. One could try to debate whether or not the average
Indian is better off due to his efforts when considering the socio-political and environmental conditions of modern India. It is true that the British empire was appropriately expelled from India, but that is lmore likely due to the mass rioting and increasing aggression towards the British imperialists (immediately proceeding their departure).
Similarly, in the U.S., Martin Luther King is often credited with advancing civil rights by means of non-violent civil disobedience. And while that's undoubtedly true, to an extent, the mass rioting and open revolt
by large sections of the public may have also played a role in
prompting the state to concede some rights to African Americans. (One
might also point to the Stonewall riots as a starting point for the gay rights movement.)
As
one last example... I will point to another fairly prominent &
saintly activist in form of Julia "Butterfly" Hill. She is the person
who sat in an old-growth sequoia (which she called "Luna") as an act of non-violent civil disobedience
to protect a portion of the environment. Hollywood is currently making
a movie about her experience but what often gets overlooked are the
facts that A) the surrounding forest still got cut, B) her organization
ended up simply buying the land, and C) the tree she "saved" eventually
ended up having a chainsaw taken to it and only stands today because of
giant metal braces which were attached to it.
The Nature of Idealism (& why people cling to it)
As
a previously sustainable species, humanity did not evolve to deal with
the myriad of problems which we not find ourselves confronted. It was
quite arguably easier to be idealistic in simpler times because the
potential threats faced (pre-)historically were not so potentially devastating. Certainly it is true that humans in the pre-civilized world faced threats and death but, even if you don't buy into Marshall Sahlins' ideas about the Original Affluent Society,
it's obvious that the primitive world did not face the threats of
nuclear war, human-induced climate change, and the general pressing
issues of widespread environmental degradation. Most reputable anthropologists will agree that that primitive humanity did not face the the overwhelming threats of genocide and mass starvation that so many in the modern world confront regularly.
The point is... on an evolutionary
timescale, humanity has very quickly moved away from a relatively ideal
situation to this point today where billions are, in a very literal
sense, living in a nightmarish dystopia. All you have to do is look at the great numbers of people who are malnourished, living in wholly dilapidated slums, or who are slaving away in sweatshops. And that's before mentioning the refugees and victims of modern conventional warfare (although they are likely to be included in those previous categories).
Obviously,
things could be far more ideal. The real question is... how likely
things are to get better before they get worse & how effectively can lasting and widespread positive change be brought about by intentional and direct actions? Pragmatically,
as a utilitarian idealist, I'm talking about the greatest long-term
good for the greatest number. To me, in short, that means a return of
humanity to the primitive form of society which many anthropologists suggest existed in the form described by Sahlins.
We can debate the specifics of how ideal primitive societies were before civilization so altered the literal and (figurative) landscapes, but I am not seeing a more likely or favorable alternative (in terms of a historically demonstrable ideal).
Some would suggest the opposite extreme as an ideal -- these are those people who who promote the technological singularity up to, and including, the transfer of human consciousness
into digital form. And while I do believe there is a slight possibility
of this singularity happening... I generally doubt it's likely, I doubt
we'd survive the process to bring it about, and I'm hardly convinced
it's a great ideal -- unless the fictional lifestyle of the Borg seems
ideal to you. As ill-defined as it is, I'll leave it up to the reader
to decide if this future is possible or ideal -- but my intellect and
my instincts cause me to doubt and recoil at the suggestion. At the
very least we're probably talking about a new form of eugenics in
regard to the advancement of this dubious singularity.
Arguably, the status quo
of our actual society, techno-industrial mass society, already promotes
many projects which aim to bring about the singularity. Prominent
computer scientists have even started a prestigious "Singularity University" which is funded by Google. So this is a vision which people are truly working to bring about.
To
me, this idea of progress seems horribly misguided, at best. This is
the path humanity has been going down since the dawn of civilization and, to quote another great philosopher:
"The end of the human race will be that it will eventually die of civilization."
--Ralph Waldo Emerson
So the problems we face are not due to a lack of technological
progress but, rather, because we've had far too much of it. And thus we
come to a choice of how to ideally proceed as a society. Do we stand by
and behind the technocratic status quo or do we resist it? Do we remain neutral on the subject and does that amount to complicity or acceptance either way?
The Nature of Resistance
My
political instinct and intellect compels me to promote, stand behind,
and generally favor those ideas and actions which seem to work towards
the greatest utilitarian good (in terms of health and freedom) for the
greatest sustainable population. [As an aside I'd like to note that a smaller than sustainable population would probably be OK as well.] Assuming
for a moment that such ideas and actions could be readily recognized,
the individual and sub-groups would still be presented with the problem
of picking winnable battles. Freedom-loving individuals and groups
would, naturally, be in support of preserving and protecting the
rights, freedoms and/or liberties of the individual.
This is
what I'm getting at... Suppose you were in an isolated society of 100
people. A few in this society somehow achieve some sort of political
sway over most
of the rest who then begin to serve and militarily empower that
minority of politicians. Now, if this power-grabbing minority attempts
to persecute, enslave, torture, or kill another relatively isolated
member of the society -- who seems to be purely or mostly innocent --
what risks are you willing to take on the individual's behalf and what reasonable expectations
should the tormented individual have of you? What if the individual
were your parent or lover or child? What if, somehow, you never met
this other individual in your small society? Would, and how much,
should these particulars matter -- and why?
You'll have to excuse me if this hackneyed hyperbole seems cliché,
but these are the basic types of questions that too often seem to go
unasked and unanswered in this modern, techno-industrial, mass society.
And if you are reading this... then you are, to some degree, part of
that society. Do you really know what you would take a stand for and
how would you answer such basic questions as these just posed?! [I'd love to receive some comments in response to these questions.]
Dignity & Freedom
In
general, it seems to me, that most people have a very weak, hollow, and
limited definition of freedom. And, although I'd prefer to be having
sex or eating chocolate... I think this is a fairly important topic --
in terms of self-understanding and community building -- so I will attempt to offer some outlines of a reasonable definition of freedom. [Perhaps this will lead to more sex & chocolate -- if not for me, then for others.]
One thought about freedom which has stuck with me for many years amounts to this... Freedom isn't something you have so much as it is something you allow.
An individual who truly values freedom does so beyond what he or she is
capable of and values the unhindered existence of all beings. A society
that values freedom does so in regard to others and seeks not to
infringe upon those activities which do not infringe upon the freedom
of others.
A problem, historically,
is that people have been excessively concerned about their own freedom
(seeing what they could get away with, as it were) and have thus
bastardized freedom by using their abilities to limit the rights of
others. As if to say: "A free man, in a free society, ought to have the
right to own slaves or impose their will at whim upon others."
The contradictory
hypocrisy of such a sentiment (and actions upon it) is obvious. Those
who would approach and engage the world in such a manner cannot truly
be said to value freedom. It is difficult to imagine how a society of
such selfish individuals could be sustainable -- especially if they continue to push the limits of what they are capable of doing merely for the sake of doing it.
Beyond
simply human beings, someone who truly valued freedom would value the
freedom of all beings. This is no small point and presents us with the
physical danger to our health brought about by infringing upon the
freedoms of others to exist without molestation in the natural world.
The
earth's biosphere is a closed system which evolved into a balance of
rich diversity over billions of years. As valuable and necessary
species are driven to extinction en masse by homo sapien sapiens,
we (as a species) not only violate their right to exist, but we also
threaten our own ability to exist -- and this is the most fundamental
right there is because without the right to exist any other freedom is
moot.
The naturally existent wilderness is necessary for
life to exist. Without life, freedom is moot. Therefore... destruction
of the biosphere is the most fundamental attack upon freedom.
Resisting impositions upon freedom (however a group or individual can or must) is not contradictory
because the initially imposing force is acting selfishly and against
the freedom of other beings. [And I'm talking here about reckless and
wanton destruction for superfluous gain -- i.e. clear cutting
& strip-mining as opposed to acquiring food & the basics for
survival.] In fact, to not resist wanton destruction of the natural
world is contradictory
to a being which values it's own life and freedom. If one feels that
they and others have a right to exist... resisting all forms of
unnecessary domination and destruction is a matter of freedom-loving
dignity.
The fact that survival and resistance is more difficult
at different times does not change the fact. The fact that honor,
dignity, and survival itself are often mocked... does not make it less
honorable or dignified to struggle for freedom and survival. And have
no doubt... honor, dignity, survival and freedom are often overtly and
subtly mocked in various ways. If you pay attention you will observe
this mockery if you haven't already. But each individual must choose their own values -- regardless of the values of techno-industrial mass society.
Dignity, Freedom, and Expectations
Have
no doubt that the struggles we are facing today are like others in
human history (as we are dealing with the potential extinction of the
human species along with many others). Negative feedback loops related
to climate change, desertification,
and the species which humanity has already wiped out may, inevitably,
lead to humanity's demise. And if the human species is not wholly
doomed... the aforementioned
problems (and others still [i.e. nuclear war, peak oil, overfishing])
will likely cause the first decline in the human population since the
dark ages. All the evidence is there if you are willing to face it.
"So,"
one might ask, "why do anything?" And, so, again, I return to the
concept of dignity. It did not have to be this way and many people have
fought against the culture of destruction and the genocidal processes
of civilization.
We have a right to exist on this planet (as do all naturally occurring
species)! Whether or not there is much reason to hope, why make it more
comfortable or easier for those who continue to profit from the
traditions of destruction and degradation? Perhaps a touch of hope is
required to avoid falling into the trap of sadistic retribution but, in
any case, there are, simply put, many highly destructive groups and
individuals that need to be permanently stopped before they destroy all
life on this planet. They need to be confronted directly, often
covertly/clandestinely, and very carefully if you wish to keep confronting them.
Only
madmen would want to possess the weapons and tools of mass destruction
that are now being wielded around the planet. So, indeed, the lunatics
have taken over the proverbial asylum (and they have fairly widespread
support from the ignorant, naive, and spiteful masses [who have been
bred and devolved under the conditions of techno-industrial civilization]). These are the people who need to be confronted and stopped.
Conclusion
So that's how I see things and I'm saying so (again) before I can't. I have no illusions about freedom of speech or intrusive surveillance (I know what happened to Judi Bari).
But I don't feel there are enough people expressing opinions such as
this one and, so, I feel obliged to express it. I also know that I am
not planning to riot in the streets or engage in any other illegal
activities. I've done all those kinds of things which I am going to do
and I'm starting to feel old beyond my years. And so now, anymore, I
just try to express what I feel needs to be expressed.
Nihilo Zero
Ray Louis is an aging, burnt-out, radical activist. He is of the opinion that most people have no idea how harsh and brutal the government is because they have never really done anything to resist or oppose it. While he doesn't at all engage in the (more...)
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