I had a Dream, that One Day. . .

April 6, 2009 by Sam Dodson
Filed under: Issues, Obscured Truth Network, Personal Freedom, Question, Uncategorized

I’m not borrowing from Marin Luther King’s great speech, although I am inspired by the way he shared his vision for what could be with others to bring about change in the world. You see I said, I HAD a dream, not I HAVE a dream. It’s 4:30a.m., and I’ve just awoken after having a rather vivid dream where. . .

I was learning how to fly. Nothing too incredible mind you, at best I was able to barely make it to the top of a a set of double doors in a mall, designed to control the environment, by keeping the hot and cold air from changing places. I struggled early on in learning how to fly. It’s of course very difficult because I’ve never flow before. Strangely enough, when I believed I could fly in my dream, I started flying, little spits and spurts at first, then gradually more an more. I remember something or somebody chasing me, and my flight was used to leave them behind. I didn’t feel they were chasing me, the feeling was one of persecution. For what, I don’t remember, but I would venture to guess it’s my ideas.

Near the end of this dream, I traveled through a courtyard, filled with children and their parents, where life-sized Lego men, were wondering about. You know, the 20-something kids they get to wear these oversized often hot and uncomfortable costumes for low pay. In this instance there were 3 or 4 of them, and 2 were police Lego men.

In avoiding my persecutors I accidentally bumped into one of the police Lego men. He of course made a big show of this, and lectured me on the law and his powers as a police officer. I of course explained to him and the audience, that using aggression and violence to achieve your means was an ineffective means of changing ones’ behavior. The children seemed to understand what I was pointing out, and they laughed at him.

He responded by trying to crack me over the head with his harmless plastic baton. I flew to the top of the door where he couldn’t reach me. This Lego symbol of authority became so enraged, not at me, but all the children laughing at him, that he stormed off, walking away from the real door, slamming head first into a fake Lego door off to the side. As he slams into the door and realizes, it doesn’t work, the children laugh even harder, and I awake to share this with you. . .

This this week’s Talkback was one of the most exciting episodes to date. I looked back through the archives, and Ian started calling in November of 2007, with me joining him in August of 2008. This week, we had at least 10 people call in offering a pro-liberty perspective, and it was a very frustrating experience for the hosts, who were both politicians. They simply didn’t know what to do in the face of this, and the show melted down in a way I’ve never seen. I can’t help but think this is what’s in store for all government bureaucracies. First in Keene, then New Hampshire, and eventually, the rest of the world.

I realize that’s a bold statement to make given the reality of government’s control over everyday life that exists today. I also realize it was bold for MLK to talk of little white boys and girls playing with little black boys and girls in an era of racism, intolerance, and hatred based in ignorance of the differences in our outward appearance.

If you listened to this week’s Talkback, you also heard one of the statists call in to say with an arrogant air of superiority in lofty terms, how the “Free Staters” amount to annoying flies, having accomplished no real change in Keene, and Cynthia was eager to agree. He’s got a valid point, and the best part about it, he’s right.

In his small limited paradigm of government control of the population, of a ruling class telling the subjects what they can and can’t do, the liberty activists haven’t been begging our masters for incremental baby steps towards freedom. Those who want to take such steps should be free to do so, but I don’t see free range chickens being much freer than those in the chicken coop. Sure, they may have nicer living standards, but don’t they all still end up at the slaughter house?

One need only to look at Alaska’s marijuana decriminalization (or re-legalization) effort to see the effect of changing the laws without changing people’s underlying beliefs. Lasting change occurs when peoples’ underlying beliefs about the world change, because society, is simply a reflection of what people believe it should be.

So while this guy repeatedly calls Talkback and posts to the Free Keene comments section spending his time telling us how insignificant we are in his condescending pseudo-intellectual argument; We show the children and their parents how to laugh. We show them the absurdity of it all. We show them the ineffective methods employed by government. We show them how to effortlessly float above the current problems for which they have no answers. We are showing them how to laugh at the state, by understanding their false claims, their fear mongering, and their scarcity mindset; As they laugh, the world changes, because society is simply a reflection of what people believe it to be.

~SamIam

Comments

8 Comments on I had a Dream, that One Day. . .

Zeus on Mon, 6th Apr 2009 7:19 am

My most recent dream involved me and Vin Diesel (as Riddick) running from Jason Voorhees (who was hacking and slashing his way through all the Crystal Lake Campers to get to us).

So anyway, we were all running around in some abandoned factory, Jason (assumedly) far behind us and then Riddick and some chick disappeared into the darkness ahead. Well, I figured that was a real bad idea because a) Riddick’s got the Shine and I don’t and b) I’ve seen enough slasher flicks to know what usually happens when you think you’ve escaped Jason. So I escaped by waking up.

I have no idea what this dream means but since I rarely ever remember them, it was quite unusual.

Flying around and infuriating LEGO cops would have been much more pleasant.

Devin on Mon, 6th Apr 2009 5:15 pm

To SamIam:

BELIEVE.

I hate that word. By using it you indicate that you have chosen your ideology as arbitrarily as the statists.

In reality, I know that you base your thoughts in logic, but the usage of the word does a great disrespect to everything else you said.

Either you know something as true or you don’t. I know that aggression is destructive in all its forms. I don’t believe it. I know it as a truth, and I choose to base my actions accordingly. I believe in nothing, and that is one of the most self-empowering statements that a human being can make.

Please. No more beliefs. They will make no real progress for liberty since the ideas of liberty have no basis in beliefs. They have a basis in logic, as does every truth.

Paul on Mon, 6th Apr 2009 6:02 pm

You can believe something because it is logical, can you not?

Devin on Mon, 6th Apr 2009 6:40 pm

I s’pose, but then you are being rather redundant. Is it not much clearer to state the root of the ideas of liberty as they are instead of obscuring them as what feels right rather than stating them as what is right? One definition of believe is to “credit as being true”, but the word doesn’t really have that meaning anymore. Just as the word liberal does now, the word believe has many extra detrimental connotations. Beliefs imply faith. Another word that has become the downfall of “society”.

Paul on Mon, 6th Apr 2009 8:49 pm

I guess, in my use and experience, I consider believe to mean exactly that, “credit as being true”. Perhaps I am abnormal. It would cover anything that is not proven beyond a shadow of a doubt, at which point “know” would be used.

So, if your neighbor jimmy is the shifty type, he’s been talking about needing a lawnmower, your lawnmower goes missing, and you notice a shoe print that’s his size in the grass, you “believe” he took it. If you catch him on videotape, you “know” it.

Actually, I fully appreciate that this second part is indeed unusual, but I consider “faith” to have a similar meaning. To me, it does not mean to accept something without reason, it means to have confidence in something to the point of action.

So, if I examine the blueprints to an airplane, and find that to the best of my knowledge the design is logically sound, I may therefore believe it is airworthy. If I subsequently board the plane, than I have demonstrated faith in its airworthiness.

Or, I may believe you are trustworthy because you borrowed some money from my friend last year and paid him back. I show faith in your trustworthiness by loaning you money.

Devin on Mon, 6th Apr 2009 11:31 pm

If that’s how you wish to define the words “believe and “faith” then so be it. Your use of them sounds very logically based. However, when you use them in place of clearer terms you are failing to demonstrate what is different about the ideas of liberty. Nice sounding beliefs are a dime a dozen.

Joel on Wed, 8th Apr 2009 10:03 am

Actually, I’ve heard this argument before, but then it was “feel” that was the bad, wishy-washy word, and “believe” that was the good word.

Of course, there’s also “think”, which doesn’t have any bad connotations, but it also isn’t strong enough in every case. There’s “know”, but in many cases it’s not appropriate to the context. (“I ‘know’ that capitalism is superior to communism” sounds a little bit arrogant, even though it’s entirely true.)

“Belief”, to me, means “think strongly, firmly, am convinced of”. It’s the best word I know of for this context.

NonEntity on Wed, 8th Apr 2009 11:44 am

I frequently use the term “believe” in respect to my understanding that I am not omnipotent. There is always something new to learn and new facts to be applied to almost any equation. So it is with humility that I express my current understanding as a belief subject to further knowledge gained. It is the mark of my attempt to remain open minded.

“Faith,” on the other hand seems to imply the willingness to accept things regardless of the evidence, or lack thereof, for their being. I think that those who believe they know the “truth” may be acting more in faith than in open-minded skeptical examination of reality.

- NonE

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