Bretigne Shaffer's Blog, page 5

It's Easter Again and Always

I don't know whether or not Jesus rose from the dead after he was crucified.

There, I've said it.

It's one of the reasons I don't call myself a "Christian" - even though I believe in a "higher power" (which I am reluctant to call "God", only because I imagine it looks very different from what most people mean when they say "God"), and I believe in the teachings of Jesus Christ. But that's for another post.

Whether or not the actual Jesus actually came back from the dead - a possibility I don't discount (because I also believe in miracles) but about which I don't have certainty - the story of his rising is of tremendous importance to humanity, perhaps now more than ever before.

Why?

Because what we humans are, what we are at our essence, is not something that can be destroyed by death.

What we are is not defined by anything of the material world – despite the increasingly deafening (and fearful?) roar to the contrary. It's hard, even, to define it with words. But if I had to define it, I would say that it is love. Or maybe: the marriage of love, intelligence, and the power to create.

Many have said that we are in a spiritual war, and we absolutely are. It is a war against the forces of darkness and for those of us who are committed to the light, it can feel overwhelming and frightening and even hopeless. It sometimes seems inevitable that the powers of darkness will win.

They seek control of every aspect of our lives, everywhere on the globe, and it seems they will get it; They are able to convince our friends, neighbors, relatives, that it is in their best interest to take whatever experimental medical concoctions they come up with, and we have no choice but to watch as our friends, neighbors, relatives, go along unquestioningly; They tell us we are nothing but physical beings, machines, and that we should let them make us more machine-like, and it seems that they will.

But here's the thing:

The forces of darkness have only a very limited set of weapons at their disposal: Fear, lies, and violence. That's it.

These may seem like formidable weapons. They may seem impressive and frightening. But here's what we've got:

Love, truth, and the power to create.

The darkness can't create anything. It is the opposite of creation. Its tools can't be used to create anything worthwhile or lasting. You cannot build a flourishing civilization on lies. Or on fear, or on the threat of violence. That is not to say that those tools are not powerful or cannot accomplish anything at all. But they are not generative. They are not creative. And a society built with those tools does not allow for creativity, or real flourishing.

It is more important than ever to cultivate the tools of light. If you've never understood the importance of "turn the other cheek", understand it now: Feeding vengeance, hatred, and violence only feeds the darkness. Feeding love and forgiveness feeds the light and helps it to grow.

This is how we will win.

Because our powers are generative, and in accordance with the principles of life. The powers of darkness are only ever destructive. Darkness can control, and it can consume, but it cannot create.

The way we win is by remembering who we are.

My Christian friends may laugh at me for saying this, or they may shake their heads and despair for me, but I don't believe one needs to have certainty about Christ's rising from the dead in order to appreciate the meaning of Easter:

We humans are not simply material beings. What we are cannot be reduced to our physical bodies or the chemistry they are composed of. We are made of love and light, and our souls transcend our earthly existence. By knowing this and honoring it, we achieve victory over death, and victory over darkness.

Happy Easter.

View more on Bretigne Shaffer's website »

Like • 0 comments • flag

Published on April 17, 2022 09:24

WTMWD #78: Not Crypto, Not Barter - Could XClave Bux Be the Alternative Currency We Need?

I spoke with Markus Allen, founder of XClave, a few months back, about his radical concept for creating independent private towns, including plans for an independent currency. At the time, I fully intended to post the episode in a timely manner.

Then our family decided to move out of California, and the next few months were a frantic blur.

Now, nearly 5 months later, this particular episode is more relevant than ever. With governments seizing the bank accounts of those who oppose their actions, and inflation starting to get very very real, we are in need of practical solutions to the problem of state inolvement in money and in financial systems. Could XClave Bux be the answer?

Listen to this episode and see what you think.

Check out XClave here.

...and XClave Bux here

View more on Bretigne Shaffer's website »

Like • 0 comments • flag

Published on March 10, 2022 14:35

Enter to Win a Free Copy of "Annabel Pickering and the Sky Pirates"!

I'm giving away ten copies of my children's/fantasy/libertarian/maybe-not-just-for-children's novel "Annabel Pickering and the Sky Pirates, book 1: The Fantastical Contraption" - you can read what Kirkus Reviews had to say about Annabel here, and you can enter to win yours here:

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Annabel Pickering and the Sky Pirates
by Bretigne Shaffer

Giveaway ends March 31, 2022.

See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter Giveaway

View more on Bretigne Shaffer's website »

Like • 0 comments • flag

Published on March 08, 2022 19:20

I speak with Kerry McDonald about Freogan Fellowship Learning, and our escape from California

Image: Public Domain.

I spoke recently with Kerry McDonald, Senior Education Fellow at the Foundation for Economic Education and author of Unschooled: Raising Curious, Well-Educated Children Outside the Conventional Classroom, for her newly launched “LiberatED” podcast.

We spoke about my family’s reasons for leaving California, the challenges in pulling up roots - even for someone like myself, who has picked up and moved to new places and new cultures more times than I can count - as well as why it is so important to speak up and fight back from where we are too.

Kerry asked what advice I would give to families contemplating leaving one of the more tyrannical jurisdictions… and I do my best to give a helpful answer.

I also talked about my independent education venture, Freogan Fellowship Learning (the education arm of my private membership association, Freogan Fellowship), and how we’re helping to revolutionize education.

You can listen to the whole thing here.

View more on Bretigne Shaffer's website »

1 like · Like • 0 comments • flag

Published on February 15, 2022 16:26

Freogan Fellowship Classes Start Monday

Image: Public Domain

"After taking the Common Law class, I feel more independent: I see my rights as a human being in a new light and understand the power/limitations of the government in ways that I hadn't before. Every US citizen needs to understand the common law principles. Thank you!"

– A student ("Our Common-Law Foundations", Fall 2021)

Last month, we finished our first-ever semester of classes. We only had two at that time: "Our Common-Law Foundations", and "Propaganda and the Personal."

Next week, we'll be starting our next session, with several more offerings. In addition to our first two clases, we will also offer:

The Constitution
Introduction to Austrian Economics
Early American History
Personal Finanace for Teens
English Literature
Creative Writing

You can see the class schedules here. Classes start on Monday and Tuesday, but we will be accepting enrollments through the end of the week.

In addition to our full-semester (13-week) classes, we will also plan to offer some shorter classes, including some single-session classes. Stay tuned for more information on those!

And please feel free to drop us a line to let us know about any other subjects you'd like to see, or any thoughts you may have about what we're doing. We would love to hear from you!

View more on Bretigne Shaffer's website »

Like • 0 comments • flag

Published on January 07, 2022 18:39

WTMWD #77: Can Poetry Save the World? I Ask Joyce Beckett, Professor of Literature for Freogan Fellowship

Image: Public Domain

Joyce Beckett is an Oxford-educated professor of literature who will be teaching a class in English and Irish literature for Freogan Fellowship Learing - the education arm of the private membership association that I recently started.

Here, Joyce speaks about the experience of poetry as a bulwark against the cultural and spiritual "colonization" that is the effect of mass media and culture.

Most of Freogan Fellowship Learning's classes are designed for teens - however this one is also open to adults. As Joyce says:

"Anyone, at any stage of their lives, with an interest in the profound effect

of words on the senses will be most welcome."

Joyce will also be offering a free sample class on Monday, January 4th at 5:00pm Pacific Time. To sign up for that class, or for more information about her full-semester class, visit Freogan Fellowship Learning.

View more on Bretigne Shaffer's website »

Like • 0 comments • flag

Published on December 29, 2021 12:32

A 19th-Century Snowball Fight in Japan

Image: Public domain.

This is my favorite winter image this year. It's from The Public Domain Review's "Snowball Fights in Art (1400 - 1946)". Check it out.

View more on Bretigne Shaffer's website »

Like • 0 comments • flag

Published on December 28, 2021 14:07

I Talk With Millennial Woes About Things We're Not Supposed To Talk About

I appeared on Millenniyule with Millennial Woes yesterday, to talk about "rebuilding civilization." I think Woes and I recognize many of the same problems, and we both recognize the magnitude of what it is we are up against, but we have very different ideas when it comes to solutions.

We discuss, essentially, what civilization is, and what is needed in order to protect it from those who might destroy it. I explain why he's wrong, he explains why I'm wrong, and we manage to have a civil conversation for about an hour and a half, wherein nobody gets cancelled, no epithets are hurled, and nothing gets flung around the room (although my cat does start to get nervous near the end.)

I doubt that either of us changed the other's mind much, but I did come away with a clearer understanding of his position - something the social-media moguls would really rather I not do. Why? Because if people can engage directly with those of a different viewpoint, if they can come to understand their position, instead of some distorted charicature of their position... then we might be a little less afraid of each other. And that doesn't help those whose very survival depends on the rest of us being at each others' throats all the time.

A healthy civilization - one that can thrive and endure - requires these kinds of conversations. It requires people to engage with ideas they do not agree with, even ideas they may find uncomfortable. That we are so far away from this as a norm, and that intellectual elites, those who run social-media platforms, and much of society itself are all actively working to squash this kind of conversation, tells us a great deal about the state of our own civilization and its prospects.

View more on Bretigne Shaffer's website »

Like • 0 comments • flag

Published on December 28, 2021 10:28

WTMWD #76: Christmas in the Darkness / The Rules of Christmas

I've recently started posting on Substack. (You can see my stuff here.) A lot of what I'm posting are articles and blog posts that I wrote many years ago, but that are still (sadly, in many cases) very relevant today.

This is one of them. I wrote it at Christmastime five years ago, and it is even more true in today's world.

Following my piece is my husband, reading the timeless "Rules of Christmas."

Enjoy. And Merry Christmas.

View more on Bretigne Shaffer's website »

Like • 0 comments • flag

Published on December 26, 2021 00:00

We're Already There

From the Freedom's Phoenix Online Newspaper.

"Paradise is exactly like where you are right now… only much, much, better."

Laurie Anderson

What if I told you that we're already living in Galt's Gulch?

What if I told you that we don't actually need to find a bunch of like-minded people and go in on a big piece of land together, far away from everyone else, and build our own societies from the ground up?

Not that there's anything wrong with that of course.

But it's not necessary. We already have the tools at our disposal - most of them anyway - to create and maintain free societies right where we are.

COMMON LAW:

Volumes have been written, some of them very very good, about how a stateless society might operate, how rights might be protected and crime dealt with in the absence of a monopoly on violence and the justice system.

But we already have a body of law that upholds the rights of individuals, protects their property, and defends contracts. It exists in stark contrast to the multitudes of laws created by politicians and their cronies – laws that often directly violate this older and more fundamental body of law. And it is enforceable.

Dale Brown, founder of the Detroit Threat Management Center, understands this. When he saw police failing to protect people from crime in one of the worst neighborhoods of Detroit, he moved in and started doing it himself. As he told Tom Woods, back in 2016:

"Any citizen can take someone into custody if they commit a violent act,” said Brown. “(I’ve learned better ways of crime prevention) because I have to. I'm accountable. I have no qualified immunity. That means, if I put my hands on someone it has to be legal. There has to be a way for me to explain it as a civilian. As a result, we've had no court date in 20 years. No lawsuits... in 20 years.”

Brown's methods rely on common-law principles. He and his Threat Management team only take action against those committing genuine crimes against people or their property. Because they are not agents of the state, they do not enforce laws against drug use or other victimless "crimes." And they employ the power of citizens' arrest, which is available to all of us.

Imagine how our world might look if there were Threat Management-like operations in every city. With the abject failure of police departments to protect people and property, their willingness to commit violent actsagainst those they are sworn to protect, and their inherent lack of any real accountability, private solutions like this have never been more necessary.

Others are using principles well established in contract law to hold accountable those in positions of power, using tools such as the Notice of Liability to stop city governments, school districts, and other entities from committing acts of trespass, for example; or

We do not need to establish a brand-new system of laws in order to begin protecting ourselves from political aggression.

PARALLEL INSTITUTIONS:

Likewise, we do not need to isolate ourselves in order to create parallel institutions and services to replace the crumbling state-dominated ones. Nor do we need to isolate ourselves geographically in order to build real, in-person communities based on a respect for individual liberty.

For many years, alternative-medicine practitioners and others have operated under private membership associations (PMAs), serving members only and not the general public. Their PMA status places these operations outside of the jurisdiction of much of the regulatory state, creating a space within which free-market activity can flourish.(For more information about PMAs, or to establish one yourself, see here and here. Here's ours.)

Meanwhile, creative ways are emerging to assist people in exiting broken systems, forging new ones, and connecting with others who wish to do the same.

Read the rest here.