Perpetual Youth

Nobody asked but …

I have written recently that my father, who lived nearly to 94, said that he never stopped feeling like a boy — in effect a second-class citizen.  I felt that way too up until about 15 years ago, when I began to study voluntaryism.  Now I make no distinction between men and boys.  In fact I make little distinction between women, men, girls, and boys.  When I realized that with freedom comes responsibility, I quit gauging my own success in terms of what other people thought.  As a voluntaryist whatever I become, I have made the choices, usually voluntarily, that got me there.  It’s a liberating idea.  I no longer have to blame others for problems I see in my life.  I no longer have to congratulate the uninvolved for my wins.  Although, a little diplomacy softens the passage.  The best benefit is that I no longer live in an authoritarian world.  The second best benefit is that the opportunity is there for everyone.

— Kilgore Forelle