Tuesday, May 3, 2011

How to Change the World



The world is not a perfect place. More precisely, people are not perfect. In fact, most people are gloriously stupid. And they seem to never listen to what should be common sense. Trying to change them is damn frustrating. I suspect it is impossible.

As a libertarian (and other things,) I know this frustration very well. I deal with economic illiteracy and social busybodiness on a constant basis. Part of me wants to take everyone and make them sit through an indoctrination seminar like Alex in A Clockwork Orange. But the problem is that you can't force people to be free. The method is a total contradiction to the message. The problem with the world is that it is full of other people trying to change the world through force.

There has to be a better way, and there is. Forcing people doesn't work. The War on Drugs has done little to curb drug abuse, but it has filled many prisons and forever scarred the permanent records of many people. Arguing with people does little either. People don't listen to reason no matter how reasonable your arguments might be.

The way to change the world is simple. Start with the one person you can control--yourself. Be that change you want to see in the world. Change yourself and lead by example. Of course, simple is not the same thing as easy. Changing yourself can be damn hard. It is so much easier to go around trying to reform other people than it is to reform yourself. It is no surprise that famous busybody Mayor Michael Bloomberg has led a campaign to try and ban salt in NYC restaurants. The guy buries his own food in the stuff. So, he goes around trying to take the stuff out of other people's food. If this seems grossly absurd and hypocritical, you now understand the behavior of the statist. These people wish to exert a control over the world that they cannot exert over themselves.

Changing yourself is an ambitious project. The hardest thing to master is yourself. It is much easier to tell other people to be charitable than it is to give your own money. It is much easier to police the habits of others than to reform yourself. It is easy to buy exercise equipment, but it is very hard to actually use the stuff. The first thing you learn by focusing on yourself is that you need to go easy on other people. Change is hard work.

When you change yourself, an amazing thing happens. Other people notice. Lose some weight, and people will want to know your secret. Be happy, and others will want to know why you are happy. Don't be surprised if your change also provokes hostility. You will find that you end up with fans and enemies. All you have done is change yourself, and it is already brewing a revolution. This is what happens when you lead by example. People see the change, and they want to be the change. As others follow your example, it inspires more people to do the same thing.

The answer is to be a One Person Revolution. A leader is just an individualist with the courage to forge a new path. This person is not a dictator so much as someone who decides to cut from the herd. People follow because they choose to follow. They are shown a better way, so they take it. A thousand arguments pales in comparison to one good example.

An example of this One Person Revolution in action is Leo Babauta. There are literally hundreds of self-improvement gurus and websites. But Leo is different. Leo doesn't preach. His revolution began with himself and his desire to change. He started with deciding to stop smoking. He didn't preach about the evils of smoking. He didn't launch a public information campaign. He didn't try to push through regulations and legislation banning tobacco. He just decided to stop smoking. He went on to apply the same thing to other habits. His story was so inspiring that he sparked a movement on the internet of others who decided to follow his example. I don't think this was Leo's goal or plan. He just wanted to change himself.

Leo does tell his story. That is as preachy as he gets. He is one of the most non-aggressive people you will encounter on the internet. When you read Leo's work, you don't feel judged. You feel inspired. Every example he gives comes from personal experience. And he is the first to admit that he is not perfect. That sincerity and humility has an awesome effect. You feel that what he is saying and living is real. It is authentic.

I try to live by my own beliefs instead of preaching about them. I am an atheist which seems to be the first thing people note about me. But I don't go around preaching about atheism or trying to deconvert the religious. This is because I don't care. What I do try to do as much as possible is to live in a rational way. I question things and encourage others to question me. I go with the empirical set of data. I am willing to change my opinions on things. This mindset is what brought me to atheism. I never force atheism on others. Instead, I try to live without delusions, and this doesn't apply just to religion. Everything I believe and do is open to scrutiny. The result is that everyone in my social circle feels free to talk to me about anything or usually just to talk shit to me.

I know other freethinkers who aren't like me. They always want to debate, and it is not the empirical way I prefer. They opt for sophisticated syllogistic philosophical arguments. This achieves two things. The first is that it annoys the fuck out of people. The second is that it leads people to believe that atheism is simply a trick and a matter of word games. This leaves people with the idea that atheism is bullshit. Naturally, this emboldens theists to play word games with me hoping for similar results. Instead, they end up chastened with my one question, "Where is your evidence?" Without evidence, there is no argument, and theists have no evidence. My argument is simple but unbeatable.

I am friends with other atheists who are big on groups, public information campaigns, and all that jazz. I was supportive of these efforts until I had a falling out with the local atheist group. Being a lone wolf atheist after that experience opened my eyes to the thesis of the essay you are reading now. My life is louder than any billboard you will ever read. The reason for my falling out with that group came from the fact that they wanted to change the name of the group to something more ambiguous and to hide the identities of people who belonged to the group. This runs totally counter to being a good example. The reason atheists want billboards is because it allows ample cover for them to hide behind. It is easier to preach it than to live it. The irony is that the atheists most fearful of being open about their atheism are the ones who call for the most forceful measures to get others to become atheists. I am very open about my own atheism, but I am quite indifferent about the beliefs of others as long as they don't interfere with me.

I am also a libertarian which does make me quite preachy on matters of policy and politics. I endeavor to make all those arguments from the same empirical viewpoint that informs my atheism. I go with the facts. Other libertarians try to argue on the basis of first principles which results in those silly syllogistic arguments. This is why libertarians are seen as deluded pot smokers in an endless college dorm room bull session. I argue from facts, and those facts are devastating. When I point out the many failures of government, it sounds like a comedy routine because it is so absurd. But I'm not making jokes. I am literally reporting the truth. When you tell people that it takes a gallon of diesel to create a gallon of government subsidized corn ethanol, even Al Gore relents and says this is stupid.

On a personal level, I live out my libertarianism by abiding by the Silver Rule. I choose to help people, but it is always subordinate to the rule to do no harm. Often, I say no to things. And when people try to put a Golden Rule guilt trip on me, I just turn it back on them. I can live by my rule. They can't live by theirs. This is why my way is better. My way is real, and it works.

In terms of my lifestyle, I do not drink or use drugs. This becomes most noticeable when I am at a bar and order a Diet Coke. I never preach about what others drink, and I don't care. It is the drinkers that become pushy wanting to buy me a beer and questioning my decision not to drink. Don't ever push me. I push back, and this can be quite violent. It is sweet pleasure to beat the fuck out of a drunken fool who won't get out of your face.

I am also a minimalist whatever that term means at the present time. I have always preferred a simple life in terms of material things. It is only in the last few years that this lifestyle acquired a name thanks to people like Leo Babauta. I don't care a whole hell of a lot about what other people blow their money on though I am secretly amused. During the boom, people would criticize me for not spending my money, and I would get defensive. During this bust, they are the ones who feel defensive.

In all of this stuff, I endeavor to practice what I preach. I find that the easiest thing to do is to stop preaching. This is ironic considering that I keep this blog. But a blog post only becomes a sermon when you turn off the comments. I see these posts more as conversation starters because I find my readers change my thinking as much as I may change theirs. I see these essays as large piñatas for people to smack on. This is how I change myself. I put myself to the review of my peers.

If you want to change the world, start with yourself. Be a good example and more people will follow you. Be a leader not a preacher. Show the rest of the world how it is done. This will result in admirers, imitators, and enemies. When you have all three of these, you are making progress.

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