Libertas

Iolani Palace (Completed in 1882) in Downtown Honolulu, next to the Capital and State Library

This morning a woke up early and took a walk through downtown Honolulu. Even though I’m a night person and tend to work late, morning is my favorite time of the day. As I was walking through downtown, I watched all the people waiting for the bus, walking down the streets to their jobs, trying not to be late, and I thought how lucky I was. I wasn’t in a hurry. I was just dropping a book off at the library. I remember the dread of going to jobs I hated or even just being exhausted going to a job I once loved, if I ever did love it.

I did love teaching Spanish and my students, but I always hated the job, and the pay was crap. Everyone knows how badly teachers are paid. Even though I had summers off, which is more than most, I was still limited in when I could travel, study, or visit family and friends. I still had to ask for permission to take off, be sick, go to a funeral. I hated that. I hated the control that someone had over me.

Most people just accept it and say, “that’s life; get used to it,” but I couldn’t. The more I think about it, I see little difference between working at a job and slavery. I had to ask permission. My time wasn’t my own. I had to watch what I said. Slavery, like employment, is theoretically secure, but you’re really, like a slave, only as secure as the whims of your employer, and like slavery, there’s no real freedom, no matter what the compensation. You can at least walk away from the employer, but if you have dug yourself into debt and other obligations, you’re stuck, especially if you love security more than freedom.

Σπάρτακος; Spartacus (c. 109–71 BC)

I recently watched Spartacus: Blood and Sand and was struck by all the myths, traditions, and lies that kept the slaves obedient to their masters. The slaves justified their conditions to themselves and each other. They would not see alternatives or the injustice, and rejected fellow slaves for thinking differently. Worse, any slave wanting freedom was discouraged by fellow slaves. After thousands of years, different cultures and conditions, people act the same.

People today still accept their bondage to government, taxes, debt, and employment. They tell each other that that is the way it is and though they may dream of freedom they do not act upon that hope. If someone actually does, he or she is too often discouraged and told to remain in his or her place.

In the coming times, jobs will become less numerous and secure. Government payouts will not keep up with inflation. Both employers and government bureaucrats will become more dictatorial over their underlings. The quest for security will lead to slavery. Freedom, on the other hand, though riskier, will give you both.

Harry Browne (1933 – March 1, 2006) "“When you know that you're capable of dealing with whatever comes, you have the only security the world has to offer."

Becoming self sufficient, an entrepreneur, a sovereign individual, or even a PT (Perpetual Tourists) is scary. You’ll be faced with self doubt, struggles, barriers, and even failures, but the rewards are endless. Though I prefer freedom to security, I’m afraid that those who seek security over freedom will soon need to look elsewhere than to a job or  government handout for their livelihood. They will need to look to themselves instead.

The time to start will never be perfect, but the sooner the better. Start thinking in new ways in how to make a living. Not only will you be more secure, you may end up finding your dream life.

Recommended:

How I Found Freedom In An Unfree World by Harry Browne

The Sovereign Individual: Mastering The Transition to the Information Age by James Dale Davidson and Lord William Rees-Mogg

The 4-Hour Work Week by Timothy Ferris

PT by Dr. W. D. Hill