Where do we go from here? Things are about to get very interesting

By David McElroy · September 25, 2011

Most of us know what we don’t like about our current political systems. When we share our frustrations, we hear the inevitable question: What can you do about it? I think we’re getting closer to answering that question. Soon, it’s going to be time for you to decide which path to follow.

When I’ve talked here in the past about potential alternatives to sticking it out under the current system — or even worse systems, in the case of the places some of you are reading from — the answers have had to be pretty theoretical. We’re at a point at which the theoretical takes halting steps to become the possible and then the practical. And that’s when it gets exciting.

One of the most exciting projects in the world right now is going on in Honduras. It’s not the final goal of complete independence that I’d like — when people can build their own countries as easily as they can start companies today — but it’s a huge step in the right direction. It has the potential to be a game-changer for those of us who believe that economic and other freedoms can give people a chance to bring themselves out of poverty and find a better way to live.

In late July, Honduras approved a constitutional change that’s going to allow groups to petition to start new cities — charter cities or free cities, for instance — on undeveloped land in the country. In the new cities, the applicable law will be Hong Kong law and economic freedom (or better), according to Michael Strong, who is working closely on the project.

I’m telling you about this now because there’s something coming up later this week that I’d like to encourage you to watch. (And you know that I don’t watch television, so it has to be special for me to encourage it.) John Stossel has a show on the Fox Business Network looking at the question of “What if Libertarians Were in Charge.” As the final segment, Strong and his wife, Magatte, will be discussing how free cities will reduce poverty and create jobs, hope and prosperity in the developing world.

I’ll mention it again later this week, but here are the times: Thursday, Sept. 29, at 10 p.m. eastern; Saturday, Sept. 30, at 9 p.m. eastern; Sunday, Sept. 30, at midnight eastern; and Sunday, Oct. 1, at 9 p.m. eastern.

Sometime later in the week, I’ll also be directing you to a new website that will go live explaining all about free cities and their potential to bring much higher levels of freedom and prosperity.

So now that there’s an alternative to work toward — one that’s about to get off the ground as a real, pragmatic alternative in Honduras — we’re much closer to answering the question of what can be done. It’s just a first step, but it has the potential to be an interim step toward something much bigger that can bring real competitive governance in the long run.

No matter what your motivation, this has the possibility of being a game-changer. It’s a chance to show that more economic and social freedom can create prosperity, but it’s also an opportunity to lay the foundation for changing an entire country. Honduras is poor and has many people with little hope of a better future economically. The free zones will create jobs and wealth that will change their lives and create tremendous opportunity for those of us who would like to work with people’s social and spiritual needs. Any time a society is undergoing huge changes, people are open to considering things they wouldn’t have considered before. It will be an exciting time and it will require people who are willing to sacrifice and work hard — in a place that’s not going to be terribly developed at first — in order to build new enterprises and help change the world for the people who live there.

Most people aren’t going to want to go be a part of it. I understand that. (It’s something that I probably will want to be a part of if I can.) But even if you don’t want to directly be a part of it, it has the chance of having a ripple effect in the rest of the world — by showing what can be done when you allow people to be free.

This is a future I can be happy about — helping work to build a free society and also working to meet the needs of local people who are desperate. I don’t know whether that appeals to you, but it makes me a lot more excited than staying here in my nice little suburb and wishing I could change things.

I’ve always wanted to change the world. This seems like a good small way to start, in a way that can meet physical, financial, educational and spiritual needs of poor people who can be set free in many ways.

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On a live awards show Sunday night, one man made a joke about a female celebrity. The husband of the celebrity was offended and hit the man who made the joke. Or maybe it was staged for entertainment. Who knows? Who cares? Social media is full of discussion — and even arguments — about this idiocy today. This baffles me. Let’s assume for a moment that the event happened as reported. People have been having such idiotic fights ever since there have been humans. Half the bars in the world see such brief dustups regularly. It simply doesn’t matter. The fact that so many people believe they need to talk about this — or even need to have opinions about it — is more evidence of the bizarre media brainwashing that convinces many to care passionately about brain-dead trivia. Your life will be happier and saner if you focus on yourself, your family and your friends, not on whatever scripted (or spontaneous) bilge that the media wants to pipe into your home.

I’m in the middle of migrating this website to new servers this week. This means you might encounter some unexpected behavior until I get all the bugs worked out. Clicking on my links (including this one) might cause your browser to give you the message that it’s a site without a current security certificate. It’s not actually unsafe, but there’s something which isn’t yet set up for the security certificate. I apologize for any such errors you might encounter while the process is going on. If you notice any problems with content which didn’t migrate properly, I would appreciate you letting me know the details at davidmcelroy@mac.com. Thanks for your patience.

I often wonder what animals think when they look at us and consider the society we’ve created. Yes, I know this is fanciful and unrealistic, but what if they could? Would they be astounded at how we treat each other? Would they be disgusted by the ugliness and pettiness which fill so many of our daily interactions? The truth is that I’m feeling pretty disgusted with humanity tonight. I made the mistake of reading some online interactions that I should have avoided — and it sickened me. The people involved appeared to be vile and stupid and arrogant. I wish I could pretend they’re a tiny minority, but I know better. It’s times such as this when I most need to escape much of “civilization” and disconnect from their world. If humans are going to be worthy of “ruling this planet,” we have a lot of growth to do. And I fear that growth is nowhere in sight. So my buddy Thomas, above, and all of his friends would be right to judge us harshly — and to think, “Why do you folks get to be in charge?”

I should have expected this, but I honestly didn’t. The article I wrote last week about disagreements over treatment for autistic children brought me angry emails. You could almost call it “hate mail.” Of the five emails about it so far, two have been to tell me that I’m wrong to even listen to critics of the most popular therapy for autistic children — and the other three tell me I’m wrong for not condemning the treatment as the “obvious” abuse it is. If you read the article, you know I didn’t take a position on the issue, because I simply don’t know enough to have an opinion. But by talking about the issue, I stepped into a heated controversy. The emails from the two sides convinced me of nothing. But they did give me even more empathy for the unfortunate parents who have to figure out for themselves where the truth lies for their children.

Have you ever had what you thought was a new idea — and then discovered that “old you” had the same idea years ago? I had that experience tonight. And it’s been wonderful. I came up with an idea tonight for a very short satirical film that would be a promotion for a fictitious college. The point is to make the college promote — as good things — everything which is actually terrible about most modern colleges. Then I remembered a fake college that I invented back when I was in college. I had created student recruitment brochures and various newsletters back then, so I decided to call my “new” college by the same name I’d invented years ago: Ochita College. As I searched my computer for any old material I might still have about Ochita from the past, I discovered an email I sent to someone in 2009 — outlining essentially the same idea which I came up with tonight. Since I didn’t remember writing that, it felt like magic. So my next film project just might be this one instead. If all goes well, you might soon see “Ochita College: Your Future Starts Here.” This should be fun.

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