Episode 017: Jared recently had the opportunity to have an enjoyable conversation with Shepard from the “Shepard Thinks…” YouTube channel. On his channel, he shares the virtues of voluntaryism, life tips, business tips, and videos on his career in law enforcement. He delivers these messages in a well spoken, kind, and empathetic manner which we believe is vital in spreading voluntaryism to those whom have recently discovered the concept. Due to Shepard’s soft spoken, positive and peaceful delivery, Jared has suggested he be granted the honorary title of ‘Mister Rogers of Voluntaryism’. Enjoy the show!
Tag: peace
What Do You Know That You Don’t Know?
There’s a lot of knowledge inside a human. Most of it isn’t readily accessible with the conscious mind. It takes some work to access.
Suppressing Discussion Doesn’t Solve the Problem; It is the Problem
Everywhere one looks these days, the world seems to be moving away from debate on contentious subjects and toward demands that those who have unpopular opinions — or even just ask impertinent questions — be forcibly silenced.
Community, True and False
I distinguish true community and false community. The line that separates them is the locus of points at which people bring government compulsion to bear to compel those who disagree with them to fall into line or suffer punishment, the line that separates those who recognize and respect everyone’s natural rights and those who do not.
None Obligated to Obey Bad Laws
While I appreciate when governments express support for natural human rights, I wonder if they really understand the rights they claim to support. Roosevelt County was recently declared a “Second Amendment Sanctuary” by the county commission. How serious are they?
Some Men Just Want to Watch Mexico Burn
If you share this romantic vision, you might even welcome my analysis: “Yes, I’m inspired by revolutionary idealism. At least they tried.” Yet calmly considered, this romantic vision is inexcusable. Launching a bloody war without even asking, “How likely is this war to improve the world?” is as “romantic” as drunk driving at a playground. Giving revolutionaries credit for “trying” is ridiculous. If you combine brutality with wishful thinking about the consequences, your real goal isn’t to make those consequences a reality. Your real goal is just to exercise brutality.
The Peace of Mind in Probabilistic Thinking
It’s very stressful to be confronted with questions and claims about culture, physics, politics, psychology, health, economics, history, ethics, aesthetics, and philosophy and feel the need to have a clear answer. Especially when answers immediately get interpreted as sides and you’ll get lumped in with some tribal collective blob and be associated with whatever bundle of biases they may have, real or imagined. It’s like behind every possibility lurks a mob shouting, “Are you with us or against us?!”
Hills Worth Dying On
When I was young, every hill seemed worth dying on. Each step in life there are fewer. I’ve found that the smaller the number of things I think worth fighting for to the death, the happier I am. This isn’t because I’m less resolved or passionate about my life and goals. It’s the opposite. When…
Rich and Poor & Free Migration is My Jam! (17m) – Episode 291
Episode 291 has Skyler giving his commentary on the following topics: an essay he wrote in August 2010 on loving or hating the rich and loving or hating the poor as a libertarian; an essay he wrote in July 2017 on why free migration by peaceful people is the libertarian position; and more.
The First Rule of AIPAC Is: You Do Not Talk about AIPAC
For decades, howling “antisemitism” any time the matter came up proved an effective tactic for shutting down public discussion of the “special relationship” under which Israel receives lavish foreign aid subsidies, effective control of US foreign policy in the Middle East, and lately even state (and pending federal) legislation requiring government contractors to sign loyalty oaths to Israel’s government. The Israeli lobby’s power to prevent that discussion seems to be slipping, however. Why?