Courage and The Libertarian Way
Sticking by your convictions and living with integrity takes courage. The pressure of satisfying other people’s needs can tempt you to act in ways that are detrimental to your well-being. You attempt to please others through selflessness and self-sacrifice. You promiscuously give away your highest values. Successfully living The Libertarian Way requires that you know what your highest values are—and you uncompromisingly live them through the good times and the times of adversity.
Values
Achieving your goals and desires means knowing exactly what your values are—and acting consistently in tune with them. You must think rationally and take effective actions. You never purposely trade a higher value for a lower value. You reject any philosophy, such as altruism, that preaches sacrifice and self-immolation. You are an individualist who always attempts to act in your own best interest. You are a rationally selfish individual.
Now I admit it takes effort to be this type of person. In addition, you must develop ironclad courage. Other people don’t always appreciate the individualist. Dependent people are sometimes envious of the self-reliant individual—often hating him. *Altruists may demand sacrifice from him—to no avail. The individualist lives for his own sake. He is happy to trade value for value with others. He would never sacrifice his life or values for them—and he would never expect them to sacrifice their life and values for him.
For many the disdain and condemnation of others is too heavy of a burden to carry. It’s much easier giving up important values—taking the road of least resistance. Tragically, they have to sacrifice one of their most important values in the process—they have to sacrifice their mind—they have to deny reality. They sentence their soul, their spirit to a world of illusion. They have condemned themselves to a hell on earth.
If you have decided to be faithful to your values, to live as a rational individualist and to experience life with unshakable courage—you must be aware of some facts of reality.
*If altruists can’t convince someone to voluntarily sacrifice their highest values—they will enlist the compulsion and coercion of the government to enforce their irrational demands on this innocent individual.
The resistance of those closest to you
Sometimes it is those closest to you who offer the greatest resistance. The stand in opposition to the path you are walking. You feel as if the enemy is in your own camp.
You have discovered the virtues of unhampered capitalism. You believe in the efficacy of your mind. You meditate to increase your power of reason and intuition. You utilize deductive reasoning when analyzing social phenomenon. You consistently indulge in rational thinking in everyday living. When a particular problem is stumping you—you're able to aid your reasoning abilities by tapping into your intuitive powers. You become more efficient and your work productivity increases considerably.
With the above virtues as part of your life—you realize that you have transformed yourself into a much better person. You believe it should be as obvious to others—as it is to yourself. Shockingly you find out this isn’t so. In fact those closest to you often offer the most resistance. They suddenly become more critical towards you. They disdain the values you hold so dear. They act as if you’re “full of it.” They complain that you’re not a “normal” person. And they chastise you for not being like everyone else. You’re told that you’ve changed for the worse.
This can be rather disconcerting. All of this negativity coming from someone you value is hurtful. What are you to do?
A rationally selfish individual lives by his highest values—whether anyone likes it or not. You are an individual of integrity—right? If you decide you are—you are also an individual who possesses unshakeable courage. You remain committed to your values. You single-mindedly advance towards your goals.
The Kingston Trio sang an inspirational song (great song by the way) in 1963 called “The Reverend Mr. Black.” You may or may not agree with the Christianity of the Reverend, but the following verse applies to all individuals who display courage in holding steadfast to their highest values.
Written by- (Billy Edd Wheeler / Jed Peters)
“You got to walk that lonesome valley. You got to walk it by yourself. Oh nobody else can walk it for you. You got to walk it by yourself. “
And that you must do.
The negativity and resistance of others
Since the establishment has bamboozled the vast majority of people, expect resistance from them. Realize that most people don’t have the ability to form independent thoughts. They believe most of the fallacies their parents, the schools, the mass media, their religion, the government, etc. have taught them. Many of these teachings are contradictory. It is impossible to integrate contradictory thoughts. Yet many believe as the Queen does in Lewis Carroll’s “Alice in Wonderland.” She said “Sometimes I've believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.”
What is disheartening to the libertarian is feeling he is at the mercy of these people. Discussing important philosophical or social issues with them is frustrating. They are usually not interested—and if they are, they contradict you without a shred of logical reasoning backing them. It’s enough to cause a libertarian or any rational thinker to believe he was born on the wrong planet. Since he is reality oriented he arrives at the conclusion he is on earth—and this is where he belongs.
You have no choice but to associate with anti-libertarians, neurotics and other irrational people. Of course, you can limit your interactions with them as much as possible. Since you are human—you no doubt have some imperfections of your own. You are not perfect. I am sometimes painfully aware of my own imperfections. I especially became aware of the fact that my relationships with others were less than satisfactory. I forced myself to learn effective methods of human interaction. This greatly improved my communications with others.
Conclusion
Don’t allow the ignorance and negativity of others to get you down. It is difficult enough to live with your own imperfections. You’re doing yourself a favor when you indulge in daily activities that improve your life. You read libertarian philosophy. You study praxeology—the science of human action. You meditate to experience the joys of higher awareness. You live by your highest values and practice rational selfishness. You experience value for value relationships. You trade value for value. You enjoy all the Libertarian Pleasures of the body, mind and soul. And you have the courage to live The Libertarian Way.
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