Glad To Say "We Are Entering An Era Of Shattered Illusions"
Posted by Zenphamy 10 years, 3 months ago to Philosophy
Recently, straightlinelogic submitted a post "Revolution In America" advocating a look at the objective reality of the current state of the country as a tyrannical police state, and a realistic projection of it's fate and our's in it's ultimate failure. An argument was proposed for helping that collapse occur sooner rather than later in a way and a time frame that offers an opportunity for the productive and liberty minded of our society to affect change in a non-martial method through denying financial support.
The comments and responses to that post were surprising (disappointing) to some of us, on an Objectivist site. But rather than just abandoning the argument and hope for a more thorough discussion of the topic somewhere else, I've spent some time in further search for supporting arguments and ideas that offer further opportunities for the application of objective reason to the real world we all find ourselves in.
The referenced author offers strong arguments for Objectivists to examine themselves for illusions that keep them from any positive actions. From the article linked:
"The structure of history is held together by two essential and distinct kinds of links, two moments in time to which no one is immune: moments of epiphany, and moments of catastrophe. Sometimes, both elements intermingle at the birth of a singular epoch. Men often awaken to understanding in the midst of great crisis; and, invariably, great crises can erupt when men awaken. These are the moments when social gravity vanishes, when the kinetic glue of normalcy melts away, and we begin to see the true foundations of our world, if a foundation exists at all.
Catastrophe occurs when too many people refuse to accept that around us always are two universes at work. There is the cold, hard reality that underlies everything. And on the surface is a veil of deceit and compromise. The more humanity compromises vital truths in order to enjoy the comfort of illusions, the more mind-shattering it will be when those illusions fall away. These two worlds can coexist only for short periods of time, and they will always and eventually collide. There is no other possible outcome."
and:
"Our mission as an opposing force to globalism is to come to terms with our own illusions and to erase them, to stop compromising and to stop waiting for the final shoe to drop and to take positive action now rather than after the endgame develops. This means preparation and organization for the worst-case scenarios. This means making one’s family, neighborhood and community as self-reliant and secure as possible. The excuses have to stop. The distractions and intellectualized silver bullet solutions have to stop. Hard work and risk are all that are left, all that matters. If we do this, and if we do this now, then victory is possible. In any contest of strength and will, he who knows himself best, he who sheds all illusion, will be the winner."
I would argue that many here and throughout the Objectivist and Liberty communities are mired in their own illusions of intellectual superiority, personal camouflage, and individual safety that prevents any realistic discussion of the true and imminent dangers faced by all.
The comments and responses to that post were surprising (disappointing) to some of us, on an Objectivist site. But rather than just abandoning the argument and hope for a more thorough discussion of the topic somewhere else, I've spent some time in further search for supporting arguments and ideas that offer further opportunities for the application of objective reason to the real world we all find ourselves in.
The referenced author offers strong arguments for Objectivists to examine themselves for illusions that keep them from any positive actions. From the article linked:
"The structure of history is held together by two essential and distinct kinds of links, two moments in time to which no one is immune: moments of epiphany, and moments of catastrophe. Sometimes, both elements intermingle at the birth of a singular epoch. Men often awaken to understanding in the midst of great crisis; and, invariably, great crises can erupt when men awaken. These are the moments when social gravity vanishes, when the kinetic glue of normalcy melts away, and we begin to see the true foundations of our world, if a foundation exists at all.
Catastrophe occurs when too many people refuse to accept that around us always are two universes at work. There is the cold, hard reality that underlies everything. And on the surface is a veil of deceit and compromise. The more humanity compromises vital truths in order to enjoy the comfort of illusions, the more mind-shattering it will be when those illusions fall away. These two worlds can coexist only for short periods of time, and they will always and eventually collide. There is no other possible outcome."
and:
"Our mission as an opposing force to globalism is to come to terms with our own illusions and to erase them, to stop compromising and to stop waiting for the final shoe to drop and to take positive action now rather than after the endgame develops. This means preparation and organization for the worst-case scenarios. This means making one’s family, neighborhood and community as self-reliant and secure as possible. The excuses have to stop. The distractions and intellectualized silver bullet solutions have to stop. Hard work and risk are all that are left, all that matters. If we do this, and if we do this now, then victory is possible. In any contest of strength and will, he who knows himself best, he who sheds all illusion, will be the winner."
I would argue that many here and throughout the Objectivist and Liberty communities are mired in their own illusions of intellectual superiority, personal camouflage, and individual safety that prevents any realistic discussion of the true and imminent dangers faced by all.
