Your post-edible realization reminded me of a moment I experienced years ago. I didn't grow up religious at all, rather "culturally Jewish." So I never had a sense of God or higher power and was kind of just content to float through life.
After smoking with a friend, he declared that "we are God's big toe" and suddenly that made more sense to me than anything else. Like there is no God, there's just us and if you want to believe in anything "bigger" than you have to accept that *we* are that thing, we create it of ourselves, etc.
I guess that would be a form of anarchy. Not believing in any one larger power, but rather believing that we collectively *are* the larger power. It may have been the weed, but I have never been surer of anything than I was of the God's big toe theory in that moment.
I think it's important to realize that a single person, or even a small group, cannot perform all the functions necessary for health, security, food, shelter, and all the other necessities. A certain amount of freedom must be sacrificed on the altar of cooperation. That being said, to a great extent, the sacrifice is optional.
Most anarchists wouldn't see cooperation as being counter to freedom, but in support of it -- by supporting other people, we enable them to do more of what they want, and they in return allow us to do what we want. We can collaborate together towards common goals, and walk away freely when those goals have changed, etc.
It also matches with their ideas of autonomy. That word's been co-opted by the right to mean "I get to do whatever I want," but the left anarchist understanding of autonomy is that people, by nature, are social creatures, and as such, have a responsibility for the well-being of their community. The gist is: do what you want, but not at anyone else's expense, and make sure you take steps to ensure others get to have the same freedom as you do.
Point being, freedom is not the same thing as selfishness, and in the anarchist understanding, helping others is just something we naturally do as humans. Which nicely segues into my previous series on here: https://betterstrangers.substack.com/s/mutual-aid-101
Your post-edible realization reminded me of a moment I experienced years ago. I didn't grow up religious at all, rather "culturally Jewish." So I never had a sense of God or higher power and was kind of just content to float through life.
After smoking with a friend, he declared that "we are God's big toe" and suddenly that made more sense to me than anything else. Like there is no God, there's just us and if you want to believe in anything "bigger" than you have to accept that *we* are that thing, we create it of ourselves, etc.
I guess that would be a form of anarchy. Not believing in any one larger power, but rather believing that we collectively *are* the larger power. It may have been the weed, but I have never been surer of anything than I was of the God's big toe theory in that moment.
If you decide to start one, I'll join your cult, Eden. I love that.
I think it's important to realize that a single person, or even a small group, cannot perform all the functions necessary for health, security, food, shelter, and all the other necessities. A certain amount of freedom must be sacrificed on the altar of cooperation. That being said, to a great extent, the sacrifice is optional.
Most anarchists wouldn't see cooperation as being counter to freedom, but in support of it -- by supporting other people, we enable them to do more of what they want, and they in return allow us to do what we want. We can collaborate together towards common goals, and walk away freely when those goals have changed, etc.
It also matches with their ideas of autonomy. That word's been co-opted by the right to mean "I get to do whatever I want," but the left anarchist understanding of autonomy is that people, by nature, are social creatures, and as such, have a responsibility for the well-being of their community. The gist is: do what you want, but not at anyone else's expense, and make sure you take steps to ensure others get to have the same freedom as you do.
Point being, freedom is not the same thing as selfishness, and in the anarchist understanding, helping others is just something we naturally do as humans. Which nicely segues into my previous series on here: https://betterstrangers.substack.com/s/mutual-aid-101