by Chris Basten

  As a fallible human being, my philosophical outlook on life is vulnerable to my temperament at the present moment. While I have learned to listen less to emotional tides that perpetually wax and wane, I am always susceptible to the powerful undertow of listening to my feelings instead of my intellect. Read any of my past articles and convince me otherwise.

Like most writers, I am a fussy sort that wants instant gratification and a little recognition to go with it. Read me and like me, in other words. While this isn't an entirely bad approach to building a message worth paying attention to, it will not last if it continues to be my only guiding principle as a young writer. I want to create communication that is sexy and receives plenty of looks. I want to be noticed and receive credit where credit is due. To say it bluntly, it's all about me and always has been about me. They say the truth will set you free and sometimes it stings a little when you confront it once and for all.

Besides my lust for world-renowned appreciation, what is it I am really after? Why do I bother contributing my thoughts to 'No Force, No Fraud?' I've assessed this with much consternation as of late. I want nothing else than to make a genuine contribution to the world before I expire someday. I don't want to be just another face in the crowd who paid his dues to society and checked out without so much as a whisper. Indeed, isn't this what most of humanity wants? That is, don't most humans want to be thought of well and remembered fondly? We want to reach out and make some sort of difference in other people's lives no matter how large or small it may be. Perhaps this is why I write to an audience.

While all of the above may be pure and true, I've found much more than this to be central in my focus. While recognition, in addition to influencing others positively, is what drives me at a primitive level, I have found that I am writing for something beyond mere sentiment and good will. What I am after is creating a lasting impression that transcends just looking good to the masses.

In essence, I have found what it is about life that continues to inspire me despite whatever fragile mental state I might be in. It is a driving force that envelops a philosophy I think and feel is worth living. It isn't just libertarianism or laissez-faire economics that compels me to document and share my thoughts, for these ideas would be nothing without a foundation of basic principles.

We all have basic principles that we live for and live by whether they be faith, kindness, charity, compassion, or leadership. These principles shape us whether we consciously recognize them or not. We take them for granted amidst our rush to get everything accomplished throughout our busy days on earth. And yet they are still there guiding us in thought and in deed. They poke at us as gentle reminders when we are burnt out and grumpy and seem almost magically present when we find enjoyment in what we are doing.

In the midst of the volatile temper tantrums that I have with myself, I always come back to the same question: Why bother? Not just with my writing, per se, but life in general. I don't mean this in a suicidal sense but a philosophical one. Really, why continue trying to make a difference? Why not coast through, get by, survive on what I need, and let someone else more influential do it? The temptations to ignore these haunting questions are always present but this does not make them go away.

My answer used to be a resounding, "I have no idea," and then I'd go take a nap. I'm still susceptible to this kind of response and probably always will be. However, the more I learn about my world, the more I am discovering an answer worth living for and sharing with my fellow man. It isn't a principle that is brand new but it is one that never gets old.

What I have built as a personal foundation is the principle of freedom. I'm not talking about the synthetic, nostalgic, patriotic, chest-beating, flag-waving kind of freedom that the media gets titillated about. The kind of freedom I am referring to is the kind that knows no interference from a centralized force that exists to take everything away from those who do not support it so that it can be handed to the parasites that do. I am speaking of the freedom to choose one's life without being forced to live otherwise because the majority has applied pressure and mandates so that you can live exactly like them against your will. The brand of freedom I am passionate about is that which respects an individual's right to be human as one sees fit in a way that respects the welfare and property of others.

Isn't that what 'No Force, No Fraud' means? If one is not forced to do what they do not want to do, how much incentive is left to be fraudulent and underhanded? If one is free to exist and choose a life they desire to live, the motivation to corrupt and distort loses much of its luster. This is why I will never grow weary of living for and writing about the virtue of freedom. I look at the world and see freedom allowed to such limited degrees that it makes me want to give up entirely and just numb out on TV like most others. But then it dawned on me that the amount of freedom exists in direct proportion to the amount of people willing to keep it alive and spread it all the further. This is why I write. This is why I will never tire of freedom.