The Fate Of The Few

“A League Of Dead Men”

In a previous essay, “Our Reason For Being,” we asked ourselves what it means to truly be independent.  In what ways are we empowered to make our own decisions? When we’ve lived a life void of self-initiated risk, how could we possibly feel we have the right to associate with the innovators. After all, it is the innovators that are the risk takers. If we want to change our life and make a difference, the first thing we have to do is take an honest look at ourselves. In previous essays we have discussed how vital it is to recognise where our personal values end and where societies influence begins. How much of what we feel we want or need is a direct result of our own intention, and how much is merely social input? What we have been told is important, what we’ve been convinced is a problem and how we’ve been persuaded to believe that the way things are is the only way they work, all form part of this input. A well-constructed world view that requires our acceptance in order to survive. But what happens if we choose to no longer accept it? If we no longer react to life around us but choose, instead, to instigate our life, things will begin to change rather rapidly.

As soon as we take on the responsibility of fuelling our own trajectory, the possibilities become infinite. We grow beyond the limitations we used to accept and realise that we can achieve and attain everything we’ve ever wanted. All it takes is a little time and effort. And once time has passed and the effort been made, we find that we are in a position to help others do the same. The success we experience has the desire to be shared. We need to help others understand that they can rapidly transform their lives in ways they never thought possible. They can become the hero that they need and champion their own cause. All they need to do is trust that they, themselves, are who they really are and not who they’ve been told to be. This is the most difficult part of our journey. So difficult, in fact, that it often becomes a spiritual experience. The reason being, is that in order to grow into who we really are, we need to make room for the death of who we thought we were. Our goals, our wants, our perceived needs, as well as the people we love and those we choose to surround ourselves with; are all external manifestations of our internal calibration. We want to live a particular kind of life, so make the decisions that will most likely lead to that. Our education and studies, the career paths we pursue and even the romantic partners we seek out, all form part of our ideal checklist. But what happens when everything we thought we wanted dies? When we are exposed to how the world really works, what happens to the person we thought we wanted to be? Are we still relevant? Are our hopes and fears significant? This links back to the three-fold principle of information, perception and behaviour. The information we have access to directly impacts our perception and our perception then dictates our behaviour. This is how we are designed; it’s survival. Because when we are warned that a certain food is poisonous, our perception of that food is that it is dangerous and the resulting behaviour is that we avoid it. Information. Perception. Behaviour. This is the key to our survival. But when we learn how to harness it, it becomes the key to our emotional, spiritual and psychological evolution.

In this triad partnership, the only thing we have direct control over is our perception. Given that information is external and our behaviour is simply a result, perception becomes the only part of the equation that we have any influence over. I’m sure that many people have heard the self-help slogan of “you can’t control others but you can control your reaction.” It falls under the same guiding principle: we can’t control the wave but we can learn how to ride it. In order to take the next step on our journey of personal growth, we need to learn how to be presently engaged with the world around us. This means that we have to receive information in a neutral capacity. We shouldn’t react to everything in our environment, but rather focus on understanding our environment in order to determine its relevance to us and whether or not we are required to engage. When we’ve blindly onboarded so much of the world around us, there’s no boundary for where we end and the rest of the world begins. This is how we lose ourselves and become who the world tells us to be. This is where the vast majority of people currently sit. They believe others are exclusively accountable for any hurt they have ever experienced and remain simultaneously convinced that everything which lies beyond their jurisdiction and influence somehow involves them. We can see examples of this in the manufactured outrage people display online over situations and events that in no way concern them. Whether it’s a political scandal, the death of a stranger or the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, people take to social media in a fit of absolute fury, condemning the world and doing their best to present themselves as compassionate people. The accepted term for this is “virtue signalling.” People jump on the coat-tails of inflamed situations to prove to the world that they, too, are virtuous, righteous, courageous and strong while simultaneously doing absolutely nothing. Using a hashtag doesn’t change anything, posting a black square doesn’t abolish racism and cropping in a Ukrainian flag doesn’t end a war or negate the fact that Ukraine, itself, shares half the blame. It begs the question: why do people who claim to care repeatedly engage with tactics that have proven to be useless?  I believe that the answer is fairly simple: it is far easier to point fingers and throw blame at others instead of taking responsibility for our own shortfalls and failures. In a world where the merit of our character is often determined by our contribution to society around us, it stands to reason that those  who contribute next-to-nothing will find any excuse to shift focus. Instead of finding ways to make a difference in small, manageable ways, it’s far easier to point at a bigger problem and express outrage at the alleged injustice. But here’s the real kicker, if every person decided to be accountable for their own contribution to the world around them, the world would heal pretty fast. The sad truth is that this isn’t happening. So many people around us are terrified of standing behind something they believe in and seizing the opportunity to make a small difference because of how they’ve been treated. This is a direct consequence of the inflamed culture we currently live in, where people are attacked, mocked and bullied for choosing to commit to their own point of view. If changing the world is what we want, and having everyone make small positive changes is how we make that happen, we need to empower people to do exactly that. We have to stand up and champion others when they choose to make a stand and we must defend them when the herd attempts to silence them. We must do all this even if we disagree. Every single idea, strategy and perspective needs to have the opportunity to fully represent itself to the world. The reason this is vital is because good ideas will rise to the top and bad ideas will suffocate. Good ideas need to be supported and bad ideas to be challenged. The only way that this can happen is if we make room for the free flow, access and exchange of information. Because even when good ideas are supported, they need to pass the test of being both realistic and effective. That’s how reality works. The strong survive and the weak get left behind. This is why we should never be concerned about whether or not bad ideas will assert themselves, because the only way they can do that is if they survive the scrutiny of the public square and don’t buckle under the pressure of Truth. Both of which are incredibly difficult to do, which is precisely why debate has been silenced.  When you can’t win the debate you don’t have it. If bad ideas are unable to survive the trial of inquiry, it’s in the best interest of those who carry bad ideas to avoid inquiry at all costs. Label your opponents as insane, block people from hearing alternative views, and reward those that treat your ideas as infallible gospel. This has to change. As a collective, we have allowed ourselves to become disengaged with how the world works. We’ve grown complacent, lazy, indifferent and tired. This has allowed the political landscape to become littered with bad ideas that survive thanks to the hostility that protects them. In our tiredness and indifference, we’ve decided that facing the hostility is too much effort so choose, instead, to let it be someone else’s problem. If we accept this as the norm, how can we possibly expect things to improve? As cliche as it sounds, tomorrow is built today, and it is because of that fact that we each need to pick up the proverbial brick and place it where it belongs. Because as the inspired Ronald Reagan once said: “If not us, then who? And if not now, when?”

My goal with the podcast section of The Outpost has been to help people understand why the current political landscape is shaped the way it is. My strategy to achieve this is been to illustrate a timeline of how things break down, and do so episode by episode. “Zombie Statistics” (ep 2) are used to create a specific world view, “Echo Chambers” (ep 3) are then weaponised to incubate that world view. Once that world view has been fortified through incubation, it becomes easy to convince people that the truth is a lie and that “Cows Go Quack” (ep 4). As soon as people reach this stage in their political lifecycle, they happily bend to the will of those in control. Those in control maintain control by convincing people that they are always free to choose, they just need to choose correctly; “The Illusion Of Choice” (ep 6) This intellectual sleight-of-hand pushes people to place more faith in institutions than they do in themselves, where the establishment becomes divine, “In Science We Trust” (ep 7). And when society is at this point, the time to be concerned has passed because the collapse has happened. It is no longer about prevention, but remedy; “Our Reason For Being” (ep 8). And now we are here, episode 9, where after all is said and done, we realise that it is within our immediate capacity to be the change that the world needs. By championing authenticity, we can empower ourselves to remedy that which has been damaged, and secure a future for generations to come.  The fate of us few is to join the “League Of Dead Men” that fought the good fight for the sake of people they will never meet. We need to accept that many of our efforts will go unnoticed, however, we must also understand that when we are indifferent to where the credit falls, there is no limit to the amount of good that can be done.