A journey often begins by looking inward. If we are honest, however, we have some mea culpa to recite. For long, many of us ignored the groundwork necessary to rebuild the foundations of a society that respects freedom. As countries get the governments they deserve, we should not be surprised that now we are experiencing some pain. After all, macrosystems are often the result of incremental changes on what lies beneath, steady buildups of cultural and social layers of consciousness that seem to eventually to pup up out of nowhere.
We have descended into a nominalist society where universals are said to lack real meaning and words are given meaning at the will of a generation that never knew better. The reality that can be perceived by the mind has been substituted by the perception of our senses and the taste of our appetites. Many of us were not just dormant in our affluence, taking liberty for granted, but in effect cooperating with the statist assault.
The new worldview that is now so strongly built on feelings instead of upon truth took decades to form and we were basking on the sun of comfort. The man of culture and thought is now shunned as archaic and elitist; out of touch with modernity.
Who is celebrated?
It is often the barbarian who despises mores and is “true to himself.” Authenticity is his hallmark regardless of the kind of person he is. The barbarian thinks he knows by intuition and perception and is not moved by logic and reason, as the latter are two poles of the same weapon used by “oppressors.”
Because culture is more powerful than politics, pre-rational worldviews are more essential than the present articulated politics. Thus, as we fight for freedom we most move from a fight based on the concept of freedom from certain constraints into a deeper fight based on the idea of freedom for what we hold dear. We better not forget.
That is why the Freedom & Virtue Institute exist, to challenge and transform a culture through an engage experience of freedom connected to the values of old. We ask you to join us in this daunting but exciting journey.
With respect,
Ismael Hernandez
