Sunday, December 18, 2016

Natural Law Made So Simple a Retarded Rhesus Monkey Could Grok It

I haven't given any attention to Mark Passio or Max Egan lately, so I'm embedding below two recent podcasts of Max's. Mark was a guest on one, and the other is this weekend's show. However, to grasp what Mark's saying you need to hear the solo show first so that's the order I'm going to embed them. The rest of this post will assume that you've listened to both podcasts. Also, because Long Post Is Long, a mercy cut; what I have to say will be behind that cut..

Now, if you've never listened to these two before you ought to know that they've been on this scene for years. Seen a lot of fads and fashions come and go, and you really hear it when Passio goes on his rants--wholly justified rants--about how shit many of those saying they're with him really are. You're not getting glad-handed here, especially from Passio, but Egan's had his moments (as he admits); they're men, and they've got their tempers and they only have so much patience just like the rest of us. They're just better at both keeping cool, and at recovering it when they pop off.

Now, what are both men going on about with Natural Law? They're talking, when you put into common words, being a fucking adult. That's it, and that's all it is. All of their frustration stems from their repeatedly, and long-running, experiences with people who are overgrown children in all but name. Humble and high-born, rich and poor, male and female, old and young- all often lacking in maturity that makes for acting on Natural Law (and not in the psuedo-mystical form some think it is).

They're frustrated with the excuse-making that people do to avoid facing up to their fuckups and dodge responsibility for their actions. They're frustrated with folks being so unwilling to do what it takes to make the change that they claim to want happen, like folks who say they want to get in shape but won't make the time to go to the gym or change their diet. They're frustrated that people are too worried about social approval to start calling others out on their bad behavior, especially when the harm cannot be ignored.

In short, they're talking like a pair of Mad Dads whose patience with the dumbass kids of their neighbors is about to run out- and we all know what happens when Mad Dad decides it's time to take his belt off. The Patriarch (and the Matriarch) is the symbol of responsibility in a culture, the one who wields the authority because he is responsible for executing the duties of leadership in the family; in tandem with his female counterpart, we have the origins for King & Queen--the Father & Mother of the Nation (family)--and now you see where Government comes from and why the State is a poor substitute for what emergently arises to provide that order.

But that's all Natural Law really is: Maturity, and therefore a ruthless dedication to dealing with reality as it is- and not deluding oneself otherwise. That means accepting that your actions have consequences, and not just on you. That means not participating in any action that does wrong, but opposing it instead, and acknowledging the consequences as being preferable to compliance with wrong-doing however dressed up. It's not easy, but it IS necessary if you want the freedom that so many claim to desire- but shrink from when confronted with the terrible responsibility demanded of those seeking it.

No sorcery. No devilry. Nothing supernatural about this at all. No need for gurus. No need for years spent pouring over tomes, or engaging in esoteric or occult arts. No need for going down rabbit holes of any kind; all it takes is the simple, but narrow, path of Growing The Fuck Up.

That so many utterly fail, and have so utterly failed for so many millennia, should tell you right there how hard it can be- but those who make it become something so much more than the naysayers could ever imagine. Maturity is a fucking superpower, and fictional depictions don't do any of them justice, but the closest image is E.E. Smith's Lensmen: Absolute Integrity. Immaturity is often a lack of integrity manifesting, and as such it can be fixed; that's why myths (n.b.: "myth" meaning "a story that a culture tells to itself about itself in the universe") like that of redemption through faith in Jesus have their power- to show that unfucking yourself can be done, and has been done, so you can do it too (but you're going to need help, and it's a process without end). However, NO ONE can do that for you- you got to do it yourself.

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