Wednesday, November 7, 2012

The Myth of Individual action


The myth of Individual action

Strength of the collective being

For decades now, Hollywood had been spreading, and is currently spreading the image of a lonely hero getting to defeat strong and powerful evil networks. A shadowy role of which we can only guess the educational role on the masses. Still and contrarily to what is commonly believed, any action at an individual scale is doomed to fail. Observing the individual in the societal prospect, this one is before anything else member of a family. Solidarity and mutual aid which are based, in spite of brief divergences, on blood ties and siblings. This first type of network and familial entrepreneurship culture were the cause of numerous successes, which even though of average scale, allowed the upward mobility of many families through inheritance and transmission. During the pre-industrial era mainly, several families who had kept strong ties for many centuries enlarged to become a clan: a family made of families with a common ancestor. At this level, responsibility in conflicts was collective and this praxis was responsible for much bloody revenge as it is magnificently represented in F. Coppola’s trilogy “the Godfather”.

Destruction of the collective being and loneliness of the individual.

By essence both collective and individual, the young citizen is quickly led to give up his traditional culture for the benefit of his individuality and more importantly, to promote it, mainstream culture having become dominant ideology through the medias efforts. His family weakened by centuries of fiscal and libertarian policy, the individual citizen, more and more alone in a shrinking environment does rarely sees himself in the idea of nation or people, of which values and ties are quickly destructed to the benefit of the dominant ideology. On the one hand freed from the yoke of family obligations and social reproduction, the individual is left alone and helpless, when his purchasing power vanishes. From the small family circle to the abstract national community, the citizen is in his right to wonder: How can I express myself? How can I be heard? How can I rebuild a community?

From passive individual to active network

Observing history through the economic and sociological point of view, we can easily realize that about 1% of the population has always commended the 99% others? A cynical reality to which is added the process of voluntarily keeping the masses in ignorance and constraint, allowing the dominant community to keep its overwhelming advantages. Discovering this reality, it can be both disagreeable and saving to witness the role of successive propagandas and communication campaigns on the masses. However, and in spite of the centuries of constraint, the natural and human process of leadership has remained the same: one or several leaders with subversive ideas will rally followers who share the same feelings and who has an active potential to struggle against the dominant ideology.

The necessity of hidden actions :

It has been proven many times, through the assassination or detentions of the greatest leaders (J.F.K, Nelson Mandela or even Tupac Shakur) that any activism against the dominant class (being today the bankers ?) only results in death, whether literally or in the figurative sense. From economic death through dispossession or fiscal racket too more coercive means (blackmail, wiretap…) and even incarceration or homicide, the dominant class possesses nearly all means to defeat its enemies. Therefore, free thinkers networks must be able to act and express without being noticed: either by keeping a non-dangerous status for the established order (few means, reasonable claims) or by using a fake screen and acting in the dark. The declared goal being to possess enough resources to be heard by the people.

Please belive that my goal here, Is in no way to discuss political subject but to wonder on how we could work to reach more people. Since it contains very technical subject, I ask you to forgive my possible mistakes.
Finally, To this article I would like to add the following areas of reflection :

  • How to help individuals to get out of loneliness?
  • What can be the bases for a united network?
  • How to obtain economic independence legally?
  • What are the resources to be heard by the greatest number of people?

 Todai Ling

6 comments:

  1. I know you already 'liked' (and therefore noticed) my video response, but I'll put the link here for others who might be interested... http://youtu.be/IY_c7av9BI4

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    1. Dear Ryan, thank you for taking your time to answer this post. I appreciate it and really didn’t expect so much.
      First I will try to sum up your ideas in order to make sure I understood it.

      You start the video underlining the point that the media does not create individualism but enforces it. I do agree with you that this physical and spiritual “disconnexion” from Nature and other living beings is not the only fault of the media but of many factors. The fact of the matter is, this individuality makes citizens much easier to control and is therefore, an asset for the dominant class, if not the foundation of its power.


      You believe the source of this problem to be disconnexion from place and advocate re connexion with it to reinforce social ties and spirituality. You recognize it is a biased point of view but at the same time, it greatly benefits from your experience and maturity (the passage about children, settling down in one place…clearly gives the image of an experienced and valourous –in the psychological sense of the word- family man). This brought me several thoughts about the very simple aim of life in itself, that are finding a good place, building a house and a family. I would like to point out that even though simple, these qualities are once again seldom depicted or even encouraged by the dominant ideology.


      The second point was the creation of small economic sale groups. Surviving economically together in the entrepreneur sense of the word. I must say that I wasn’t expecting this answer witnessing the state of the economy today. Even though very rare and sometimes sectarian, a few groups are surviving without any economic transaction through fishing, hunting etc… things with which you are familiar and probably experienced. I am not advocating complete withdrawl from society but simply the fact that it is still possible.
      Still, your conclusion about getting involved in a group which promotes mutual support brings us back to FMK, which seems to me – if we consider it in a growing process- as the best example of worldwide community sharing a common goal. The subject was also directed to FMK and Shi Zu, wondering how we could become more efficient in promoting a peaceful and balanced way of development from a distance, as Ryan and I live pretty far from the kwoon.

      Todai Ling

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    2. Continued efforts to express your teachings online is important, via FMK Blog & FMK YouTube. As the FMK YouTube channel grows, it will reach a greater audience. You can now even start gathering together students who have interest in the Martial Arts, as you gain certification on rank, you can establish your own official FMK kwoon at your location. Continued communication online via videos and blog will keep the bond strong with your connection to the kwoon.

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  2. Great post. Thank you for sharing. My quick reply to your questions.
    1) Joining a group or organization of which you hold great passion towards. Seeking for a significant other of whom you share mutual feelings towards.
    2) ?
    3) That is a difficult thing to do. I advise to find a job of which is not too contradicting to your values and aim to get paid the most amount of money you possibly can be paid. Live simple & frugal while you save your money. Obtain a lot of credit in the process and then finally, when the time is right, start your own business with the money you have saved, the credit you have obtained, doing what you love.

    4) Mainstream resources of course, but those doors are closed off to all those who oppose the system or dominant class. We are just left with social networking as the primary way of communication to reach out to the masses.

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    1. This comment has been removed by the author.

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    2. No I did not recieve the email for your order. But I have everything ready for you. The book, woodlock, & tanktops.

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