Worldschooling, Voluntaryist Ethnicity, & Statist Parenting (36m) – Editor’s Break 087

Editor’s Break 087 has Skyler giving his commentary on the following topics: his family’s recent travels and worldschooling; the many features of what constitutes a voluntaryist ethnicity; why the family can be viewed as a totalitarian institution and a call for voluntaryists to parent consistently with their principles; and more.

The Deviousness of “Have To”

“Have to” is one of those phrases that I only began thinking critically about when we travelled further along our unschooling journey. A major theme in radical unschooling is the removal of rules and obligations, and replaced with principles and choices. “Have to” often implies unchosen obligations, and can be, but is not always, incompatible with respecting your children’s autonomy and preferences.

75 Times Around the Sun

Yesterday I observed the 25th Anniversary of my 50th birthday.  On the original occasion, I opined that, like Merle Haggard, I could say “my life’s been grand!”  I said at the time that I had lived a great half-century, therefore no matter what happened to me after that I could say that most of my life had been grand.  The facts of the matter are that the continuing quarter-century has been even grander.

The Right to be Left Alone

You don’t have a right to be supplied goods and services. You do have a right to engage in voluntary commerce. I have a right to be left alone. When you attempt to force me to fund your consumption, you are violating my rights. When I refuse to go along with your scheme, I’m defending my rights, not violating yours.