A Country is Only an Idea - The Launch of Worldwide TDV Discussion Groups
Wednesday, October 26, 2011 at 2:52PM Man was once free. From the earliest days of human evolution humans found that working together in tribes helped us be happy and survive. However, as soon as the amount of people in the tribe grew to the point where not everyone could possibly know each other, those who wished to control others and to use others, such as Kings and Popes, flourished.
People's intellects were still very undeveloped so royalty and the church could use their ignorance to scare them into submission. Slowly, however, over centuries, people became less animal-like and grew in intelligence and awareness. Helped by the Gutenberg Press' ability to spread knowledge, people became aware that royalty were nothing but slave-owners and the people in the church only sold god, they did not provide god.
At that point, ideas about freedom and ways of organizing ourselves spread. Many ways have been tried since then. Socialism. Communism. Fascism. Some places, such as Thailand, clung to their royalty longer than others. And other places came under the control of ruthless dictators. The latest ideas, the ones that have most of the world occupied at this time, are around democracy and varying levels of socialism.
They've clung on for some time now because they sound amazing. Everyone gets a say and a vote! We'll group together to take care of each other! It sounds fantastic. Unfortunately, this style of political organization does not fit with the way humans are currently hard-wired.
Perhaps humans will evolve in the future to be as caring of the 7 billion others as they are of themselves. Until that point, democracy and socialism will not work. In the meantime, the entire democratic/socialist edifice is in a state of collapse - much the way that communism in the Soviet Union crumbled - because it did not conform to human nature.
Those who still cling to socialism and democracy mostly believe that "some people are bad" and therefore we need a government in order to control them. Unfortunately, they've never taken that thought to the next logical step and don't realize the circular logic of stating that "People are bad so we need a government MADE UP OF people".
While they continue to cling to this obviously failing system many others have begun to move beyond that. Many in the world are finding that their "country" is not a place but an idea. They may find that in the place where you live you have very little truly in common with the people around you. Yet, via the internet, you can find like-minded people from all over the world.
With that in mind we are launching TDV discussion groups spanning the globe.
THE LAUNCH OF WORLDWIDE TDV DISCUSSION GROUPS
We recently received the following email from a TDV subscriber:
Dear Jeff,
I've been posting for years, on many other forums and blogs with similar content as to TDV and have received almost nothing back.
Then I posted on the TDV blog, saying that I wanted to form a TDV discussion group in Northern Thailand where I live. The response from my comment on your blog has amazed me. I've already received four responses from highly intelligent, articulate, well-read men.
They are not "wannabes" just surfing the 'Net. They are men who already know their way around the Internet, and around the world... Now, here's the amazing part: Two of them are already living in Chiang Mai - where I live! One lives on my street! A third man is coming to visit Chiang Mai in December.
For me, many years and hundreds of similar posts elsewhere, resulted in nothing. Then a post on your site, and, suddenly, many, worthwhile, contacts. The number of only 4 may seem small, but, statistically, given the tiny population of "us", it is very large. You have found a way of attracting the attention of other like-minded people. And you are doing it in a way that others -- such Gonzalo Lira, "Simon Black", and their ilk -- are not.
So, Jeff, please keep thinking and writing as you have.
Peter
Chiang-Mai, Thailand
We were very happy to hear from Peter that TDV has enabled him to find his fellow "countrymen", who just happen to be in Northern Thailand. One of the goals when we started TDV was to make it a community of like minded individuals who we could make connections and friends amongst who we may need to be able to count on for information, help or insights as the monetary system collapses.
Just today we received another offer to TDV'ers from a Chinese-born man who now lives in Patagonia, Argentina who stated, "Anyone interested in escaping to beautiful Patagonia, Argentina, feel free to contact me via email and tell me a bit about yourself and what you are trying to do. I live in paradise, far far away from chemtrails, toxic waters, gangs, etc."
When we asked him for more info on where he is and what he does, he responded with the following:
I was born in Shanghai in 1965 and saw what a police state looks and feels like at a tender age of 5 or 6 when the local police took away my uncle during one night in 1971 using blatantly manufactured evidence that I witnessed. Ever since that life bookmark of an experience, I can smell totalitarianism, fascism, etc. a mile away. The US is way beyond Nazi Germany or Communist China. I have worked in the US for over 19 years as a professional engineer and a very small time business person. I was sent to Tucuman in 1998 due to a job requirement for 2 months. I went kicking and screaming, but afterwards feel in love with Argentina and the wonderful people here. When I decided to leave the US in 2006, I google Argentina and Bariloche kept coming up. I love nature and the incredible natural beauty that is here. Currently, I am near El Bolson, 2 hours south of Bariloche, living on a small chacra.
Currently, I am putting together my hen house and greenhouse, in preparation for doing the small scale alcohol and food production.
Best,
David
So, without our involvement, already two TDV discussion groups have been formed, one in Chiang Mai and one in Patagonia.
It is clear that this is an area that many are interested in. Therefore, we are now announcing that for anyone who would like to start a discussion group in their area that you can send us your name, email and location to support@dollarvigilante.com and when we find other like minded people we will attempt to connect you.
As well, we are working on installing new message boards into our site which will facilitate associations much easier. We are hoping to have that up in the next month.
Also, for subscribers, don't forget the private TDV Facebook group where there are already dozens of people from around the world who gather and trade information regularly. If you are a TDV subscriber and would like to join, just go to the page and request entry.
CONTEST TO RE-NAME TDV DISCUSSION GROUPS
The only thing that isn't so great about the new TDV Discussion Groups is the name! "Discussion Groups" doesn't convey the adventurousness, style and individuality that most dollar vigilante's normally embody. If you can think up a better name for the TDV Discussion Groups, please email us at support@dollarvigilante.com.
Reader Comments (5)
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…democracy and ... socialism … sound amazing. Everyone gets a say and a vote! … Unfortunately, this ... does not fit with the way humans are currently hard-wired.
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For vigilantes seeking liberty, that's the heart of the matter.
Understanding the failures of democracy and socialism is crucial to finding some place to live that is better than where they are now.
If we don't understand, we could make the mistake of jumping from frying pan into fire.
For those who want to understand, I recommend, "Democracy: The God That Failed", by Hans-Hermann Hoppe.
(Link: http://www.lewrockwell.com/hoppe/hoppe4.html)
But you don't have to read the book, because the title tells you everything you need to know.
I accept the premise that democracy is failing.
That idea helped me decide where to live, after I escaped from The West.
I avoided democracy.
What to look for in it's place?
I decided a better strategy was to search for countries with generous levels of government corruption.
You may be surprised that I actually went looking for corruption.
It's true.
My thinking went like this:
To gain personal liberty I must avoid strong governments.
A country with very little corruption can govern strongly.
No thanks to that.
A country with a massive corruption has no economy, no social cohesion, no protection of person or property.
Wouldn't want to live anyplace like that.
But a country with noticeable corruption would not be capable of governing very well, because the corruption would get in the way.
There, I thought, I might find maximum, possible, personal liberty, without much government interference.
So I chose the middle path: a country with noticeable corruption, but not total corruption.
I assumed whatever that government tried to do, it couldn't do very well.
After seven years of living in such a country (Thailand), my assumptions have been correct.
In a country with noticeable corruption, the government can not govern very well or very much.
(I've posted some details about that here, http://www.henrymakow.com/thailand_is_paradise_found_for.html )
As a result, I found freedom from the heavy hand of a strong government such as those now dominating all, large, democracies.
Also, without effective government, people are highly motivated to look after themselves, their families, and their neighbors.
And, if they have time and energy left over, they reach out to help others.
I value living in a culture like that.
Fortunately for vigilantes who want to escape from democracies, there are many countries in the world with noticable levels of corruption, just enough to make government mostly ineffective.
(Most such countries are in Latin America and Asia.)
Unfortunately for vigilantes who are still living in democracies, the gates could slam shut at any moment.
The time left to escape is very short.
I welcome comments and critique on any of these ideas.
-- Peter
Chiang Mai, Thailand
Peter4@allmail.NET
What are the chances of Thailand becoming a democracy?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Crisis_of_Democracy
It's a philosophical argument to promote world government. Note that this world government is already mostly in place -- we have 150+ privately owned central banks, one in just about every country. 57 of these central banks own their own corporation, called the Bank of International Settlements, which coordinates the activities of central banks worldwide. And people are worried about the US Federal Reserve for crying out loud. That's like attacking the little pinky toe of the Jolly Green Giant.
UN Agenda 21 is the central banker plan to create world communitarianism, for putting the capstone on the global financial ownership by private entities. This capstone will include changes to religion, education, private property ownership, health care (via Codex Alimentarius), and just about every facet of life you can think of.
www.TerryMcDonaldWriterFromPortCredit.blogspot.com