I Shall Return

I have decided to go semi-dormant. I know that I have not written much on Associated Content thus far to justify making an announcement like this, but I think it is important to do so. As of the past month or so that I have been doing this most of my articles have been focused on libertarian politics, in fact, all of them have. I announced some time ago that I was going to be writing my column every day; I don't know what happened but I have more or less failed in that arena. This is definitely not my last column, in fact at some point I do intend to start writing on a daily basis, but I can tell you that this may very well be my last "serious" column for a while.

I think the point needs to be taken to heart that libertarianism is all over the Internet and libertarian columnists, writers etc. are a dime a dozen. We libertarians already agree with everything that these people are saying, so I don't get why it is that we spend so much time reading their work when it is aimed at us, and conversely, why they spend so much time writing it. There was a time when I used to check up on what they were saying at LewRockwell.com, Strike The Root, and all those other sites every day but now I look at them and I think to myself that reading them won't accomplish much. Sure, whenever I need an argument on some subject to use I just go over to LewRockwell.com and do a search on that subject and I am almost certain to find something I can use. The point is, however, that checking out sites that already agree with you every day is redundant. As for reading libertarian books and materials, I don't see why I need to if I already believe every word of it.

As time has gone on I've been very interested in politics but my interest is petering out simply because there is little to do. I already know what I believe about the issues and I already know that the state is a criminal organization and that the American people are naïve to this subject, so why even follow it seriously anymore? As far as I am concerned, all the libertarian arguments have been outlined by others and all that needs to happen now is publicity, and don't ask me how that is supposed to happen. The point is, why write editorials that agree with the party line when there are already hundred of them on the Internet? It might make sense for libertarians to flood the Net with editorials, columns, and articles so that other people will be led into libertarian arguments more easily, but that is boring. Besides, most of the people who spend their time reading political stuff on the Internet already know what they believe so when they find what we're saying they either agree or disagree. It took me more than reading a few articles to move from progressive liberal to libertarian, and again it took me just as much convincing to move from minarchist to anarcho-capitalist. I don't see what adding to the host of articles that already make the same points I'm making actually accomplishes.

I have decided that I am going to be taking something of a semi-sabbatical from writing. What I mean is that I will not be writing regularly, and while I am not sure if I will be writing at all I can tell you that I'm not sure that I won't be. I might write a few pieces here and there and I might not. I am not sure how long my semi-sabbatical will last, but I feel that it should last until after the 2008 election. A new era shall dawn in politics, a bad era once again, but it will be a fresh new day. The Bush era has been catalogued, documented, and written about and so adding more chapters to the chronicle of those eight dark years is relatively pointless. I have also decided that I will be shifting away from a serious focus to a more satirical one.

I feel that as serious as the criminality of the state and the entire system connected to it is, I believe that its own aura of seriousness is a central problem. As long as the state reigns mythical in the minds of the people, it and its minions will continue to triumph. If one mocks the state and the goals of the statists, the wind will be more easily taken from their sails. Additionally, satire is much more fun than waxing and waning about philosophy and economics. Satire is also something that can appeal to a broader audience than anything else. In the long run I may never totally abandon "serious" libertarian pursuits, but I am going to be focusing more and more of my energies on satire. When I return from my semi-sabbatical expect a change in my work, hopefully a change for the better.