9 Comments
Mar 13Liked by KW NORTON

“Men are held back by the fear of freedom - freedom scares them because of the doubt and pain they are unable to overcome.”

While this is probably true for a lot of people, I’ve generally found that the fear is often a result of the expected reaction of other people to the expression of freedom. How often have you been criticised when exercising your freedom in some way? How often are you praised? It takes a well balanced person not to be intimidated/jealous by someone who is free- that takes work and is hard (and is often because that person is free too).

Expand full comment
author

All too true. Helping educate each other and our kids to be rugged individualists - who don't worry overly about what other people think - or about being dependent on being praised - is probably more conducive to a free thinking and behaving society.

Being overly dependent feeds into totalitarianism.

Being well balanced is certainly the name of the game.

Expand full comment
Mar 13Liked by KW NORTON

All is given by our Creator in service to humanity, but we are also gifted with free will, so we determine our fate, if we use the tools in accordance to the guidance given so humanity can prosper will reach realms unimagined, but if we allow our power to be usurped then our fall is inevitable. The techno-God, homo-deus narrative is the biggest myth ever fabricated. Already it is fraying at the edges, having barely existed for not even two proper decades. The laws of nature cannot be violated and the pendulum always swings back.

https://open.substack.com/pub/hsog/p/civilization-at-the-cross-roads?r=2dt5hy&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web

Expand full comment
author
Mar 13·edited Mar 13Author

Beautiful comment thanks. Yes we must understand that this happened on our watch and take responsibility for seeing that it is both remembered and will never ever happen again. Our nature and the universe always seek balance.

But in response to the cited essay I do believe our fear and anxiety - in this case - is not from some primal fear of the new and of change although those are good points - but from the misuse of completely inexcusable "science" used - instead of for the good of all - used for "population reduction" (i.e. genocide)

Expand full comment
Mar 13Liked by KW NORTON

Religion was hijacked first

Science is now being hijacked

Ultimately this is a battle over humanitys free will and a handful that envy it.

the gift of free will came with guidance

If we ignore the guidance we will suffer from not knowing how to utilize a gift so powerful

And its not that complicated, the entry level is pretty basic - honesty, integrity, transparency, accountability

The fringe minority who believe that might is right is the only philosophy can only compromise humanity by operating in secret, behind closed doors, everything they do is in darkness

The rest of us have to shine a light on to that darkness and expose the truth of everything and then the process of healing and growth can begin

Expand full comment
author

Great comment and commentary thanks. It has felt like a spiritual battle for the very soul and free agency of humans for many years.

Our task - shining that light.

Expand full comment

You are consistently inconsistent, your advantage and the key to your writing, KW.

You say "hyper-controlled environment of autocracy, of totalitarianism, of the Nazi or Communist or Socialist or Capitalist" when it should be "Crony Capitalist." Capitalism has drug more people out of poverty, while the others have only mired people for generations in such poverty.

The mistake we made was allowing the "crony" variety to not exist, but dominate.

AI, if skillfully employed will eliminate such errors, but only if we allow it to flourish.

But we, as a people must take the blinders off each one of us individually, to achieve the freedom to fly (metaphorically).

How to do it with government interference, flush them back to the founders.

Expand full comment
author

Thank you so much. Crony capitalism is the only kind we have ever known. I wanted to cover economic structures for promoting these unalienable rights but the essay got too long. Gives me the chance to write yet another. More questions!

Expand full comment
author

Thank you so much for restacking!

Expand full comment