We are developing the social individualist meta-context for the future. From the very serious to the extremely frivolous... lets see what is on the mind of the Samizdata people.
Samizdata, derived from Samizdat /n. - a system of clandestine publication of banned literature in the USSR [Russ.,= self-publishing house]
|
Samizdata quote of the day Whether The People be led by The Lord,
Or lured by the loudest throat:
If it be quicker to die by the sword
Or cheaper to die by vote—
These are things we have dealt with once,
(And they will not rise from their grave)
For Holy People, however it runs,
Endeth in wholly Slave.
– Rudyard Kipling, MacDonough’s Song, not for the first time.
|
Who Are We? The Samizdata people are a bunch of sinister and heavily armed globalist illuminati who seek to infect the entire world with the values of personal liberty and several property. Amongst our many crimes is a sense of humour and the intermittent use of British spelling.
We are also a varied group made up of social individualists, classical liberals, whigs, libertarians, extropians, futurists, ‘Porcupines’, Karl Popper fetishists, recovering neo-conservatives, crazed Ayn Rand worshipers, over-caffeinated Virginia Postrel devotees, witty Frédéric Bastiat wannabes, cypherpunks, minarchists, kritarchists and wild-eyed anarcho-capitalists from Britain, North America, Australia and Europe.
|
Once there was The People—it shall never be again.
Meh.
white, priveged, ciagendered, patriarchal, jingoistic booster of a global oligocapitalist empire.
What could we possibly learn from him?
Paternalistic church and state always has one ultimate goal, to own…everyone and everything. Create an Age of Enlightenment based organization dedicated to individualism with the goal of undermining monarchy and the domination of church, name it the Illuminati, and learn a lesson or two on how the dark art of mass-enchantment (propaganda) can and will ultimately destroy you, and indeed, portray you as the monster you sought to slay. If a mere local shaman place a curse on you, your hens might lay funny eggs, or your cow could miscarry a dead calf. But if a powerful wizard (wielder of powerful political forces) turn against you, he can poison your reputation in the eyes of your family, community and indeed, the world and the world’s future generations. “Magick” is the artful manipulation of words and symbols to acheive changes in consciousness. One form of enchantment is to change, not the physical world, but merely the perception of it, to give a distorted view of reality through words, or a narrative. Who among us can deny that this latter form of magick does indeed exist and flourishes in our political halls?
Kipling an atheist? I never would have thought it. Kudos to him if true.
I think it unlikely that he was an atheist. I have not read that he was actively involved in any Christian denomination, and he certainly didn’t enjoy being boarded with a fervently Evangelical couple as a child, but judging from the short story “The Gardener” he was at least sympathetic to the idea of the resurrection of Jesus. The ghost story “They”, in which the protagonist’s life parallels Kipling’s own, particularly in relation to the deaths of both his children, suggests some Spiritualist influence. He was a Freemason at a time when, I believe, one had to profess belief in some sort of a Supreme Being to be a Mason. (He was very proud of the fact that his masonic lodge, in Lahore, included Hindus, Muslims, Christians and Jews). To sum up, he seems to have been a somewhat religious person who thought that untrammelled power wielded in the name of religion or anything else was an abomination. Or, as he put it in the third verse of the poem, Whatsoever, for any cause / Seeketh to take or give / Power above or beyond the Laws / Suffer it not to live!
You still have to believe in some sort of Supreme Being to be a Freemason. That’s why I’m not one of them.
Everybody believes in some sort of Supreme Being! It’s usually the spouse, or the Cause. In place of God, Communists believed in the Iron Laws of history, and ignored the rust (there’s irony for you). Or it might be that Perfect Being you see in that icon which others call a mirror.
Why do you want to join the Freemasons? Do you love secrets, or is it the fancy costumes?
You have a strange definition of “Supreme Being”, Nicholas.
Thank U, Laird!
Patrick, yup, there was only a short time period in the 18th century where one didn’t have to declare belief in some higher supernatual being from what I understand.
Thailover
May 7, 2015 at 6:22 pm
Loving is the Law.
Well maybe I should rephrase that to avoid being misunderstood. (As if).
Do what thou wilt is the whole of the Law.
MSimon, you got it right the first time. The Law of Thelema is, “Do what thou wilt is the whole of the law. Love is the law, love under will.” I find that Christians ubiquitously quote only the first part, presenting the Law of Thelema as being about arbitrary whim rather than what Crowley called True Will. But hell, they still present Crowley as a satan worshiper, lol.
Peace.
Thailover
May 10, 2015 at 2:44 am
It is rare to meet some one who has studied AC and rarer some one who understands him. About 40 years ago I belonged to a Temple in Chicago that was about 50% Crowley devotees. There was one particular girl who was as well versed as I was. A truly delightful person.
These days I do not spend much time with that sort of thing. Too busy doing my will. But the experience was exhilarating. We designed our own rituals. A new one for every holiday. The fellow running the place had a bookstore. El Sabarum. Since he was a devotee of the African Gods we celebrated those holidays. But he was into Crowley, Egyptian Gods. The whole lot.
MSimon, that sounds interesting. I’m an old fart myself, (50yrs old) and have taken upon myself to study various religions, folklore, and magick theory and practice. I’m also a bit into herbalism and natural medicines, just out of curiosity. But alas, I was born and probably will remain a science and logic nerd, and an Ayn Rand Objectivist/rational egoist. I confess that I don’t know much about Crowley, but I do know that the Christians distort absolutely everything to their own liking. Those that follow an Abrahamic religion would say that I follow a left-hand path. Who am I to argue? 😉
Peace and be well.