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“Spiritual movements are revolts of thought against inertia, of the few against the many; of those who because they are strong in spirit are strongest alone against those who can express themselves only in the mass and the mob, and who are significant only because they are numerous.”
— Ludwig von Mises — (1881-1973) Economist and social philosopher
Source: Socialism. Indianapolis: Liberty Fund. 1981. p53http://libertytree.ca/quote /Ludwig.von.Mises.Quote.A84E
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I ran across an essay I posted about lessons learned from a 2013 community-building seminar in Grangeville, Idaho: schools of thought VS the other kind. Here is an excerpt from that essay:
One lesson I’ve carried since that seminar has been:
40% of American 12-year-olds expected to create their own businesses;
to be self-employed and even employers as adults.
That number drops to 4% by high school graduation.
Waving at the grand display of trophies ringing the high school auditorium, David Beurl asked what would we get if we encouraged kids to develop their creativity and entrepreneurship as much as we did their athletics? Perhaps instead of sending athletic teens away [from our community], we might retain clever young business people and leaders.
I would now add “and artists, inventors, creators, musicians, happy and ambitious people.”
Government-controlled schools, mass media and mainstream everything are all part of the herd’s guidance system. The innovaters and natural leaders are not welcome by those who would control them and the masses for fun and profit.
The main artery up the left side of Montana is a heavily travelled highway 93, the southern 40 miles of which is two lane. The ruts are deep, sometimes full of water or ice.
Some of us drive on the ridges where potholes are few, plowing through water doesn’t happen nor does hydroplaning suddenly one way or another. We do have to be more alert and put greater effort into the task of driving, but find the less-trammeled path more to our liking.
Cruising along in the ruts, vaguely centered between the white lines is thoughtlessly simple and perfectly normal. That 95% do it is why ruts exist.
The rest of life is just like that.
