I hope there is a lot of gray area in this. The less dependent on the machine, tucked away in some lonely corner, maybe the better off one could be. I am in the middle of it. I am completely dependent on it. Even the people who see what is coming, don't want to get out, even if they could.
I hope there is a lot of gray area in this. The less dependent on the machine, tucked away in some lonely corner, maybe the better off one could be. I am in the middle of it. I am completely dependent on it. Even the people who see what is coming, don't want to get out, even if they could.
If I had a few stalwart friends, I would gladly find someplace on the fringe and hope for the best. I don't believe in survival at all costs, but I don't want to live a meaningless life of consumption and distraction either--and be socially controlled by sociopaths. Rather the pursuit of purity of heart in silence and simplicity in a small community, even if difficult, would be my choice.
Interesting conversation, both. I have to say, I think that times are going to force our hands.
I have indeed lived with one foot in each camp, so to speak. Mark wouldn't mind me saying (he's written about it himself) that one difference between us is that I have a family and that he (through choice) doesn't. It is easier to live outside the Machine if you don't have children to raise. We have raised ours in the country, homeschooling them, and there is still no escape from electricity, the Internet and car ownership, even as we try to minimise it.
But I have a feeling that a time is approaching where it is going to be made very much harder to maintain the grey zone. How much longer will I be permitted to live without a smartphone, a credit card and a vaccine pass? I don't know. I think a time may come when we have to make a choice. Until then, as Hermit says, taking some kind of Benedict Option will not happen for many, because we are comfortable enough. When enough of us are driven to it, I think then things will begin to change. For some that is already happening.
I hope there is a lot of gray area in this. The less dependent on the machine, tucked away in some lonely corner, maybe the better off one could be. I am in the middle of it. I am completely dependent on it. Even the people who see what is coming, don't want to get out, even if they could.
If I had a few stalwart friends, I would gladly find someplace on the fringe and hope for the best. I don't believe in survival at all costs, but I don't want to live a meaningless life of consumption and distraction either--and be socially controlled by sociopaths. Rather the pursuit of purity of heart in silence and simplicity in a small community, even if difficult, would be my choice.
Interesting conversation, both. I have to say, I think that times are going to force our hands.
I have indeed lived with one foot in each camp, so to speak. Mark wouldn't mind me saying (he's written about it himself) that one difference between us is that I have a family and that he (through choice) doesn't. It is easier to live outside the Machine if you don't have children to raise. We have raised ours in the country, homeschooling them, and there is still no escape from electricity, the Internet and car ownership, even as we try to minimise it.
But I have a feeling that a time is approaching where it is going to be made very much harder to maintain the grey zone. How much longer will I be permitted to live without a smartphone, a credit card and a vaccine pass? I don't know. I think a time may come when we have to make a choice. Until then, as Hermit says, taking some kind of Benedict Option will not happen for many, because we are comfortable enough. When enough of us are driven to it, I think then things will begin to change. For some that is already happening.