Captain's Phlog 2020.03.15
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For fifteen minutes at around 21:00 last night, Anarchy
reigned. I know you're probably thinking chaos. People
sometimes mistakenly call that anarchy but THIS was Anarchy
with a capital A. Let me explain.
I live on a third rate road. It used to be the main road
between two communities about 7 miles apart but that was
many decades ago. There is a "State" road now which is
straighter, with wide shoulders. It's better graded and well
maintained. One would think that everyone going from here to
there would choose it but for some reason, many still use
our little tree shaded route. Perhaps it's the atmosphere?
Anyway, so much for the background. Between ice and
mega-fauna, we have a healthy share of fender benders on this
road. Speed being a major factor. This winter alone we have
had four single-vehicle accidents within the stretch we can
see. There was also a fatality two miles down from us.
Last night we didn't hear the accident. It was a deer. The
driver didn't break in time and smashed up her front end
pretty badly. I looked out when I saw someone come quickly
on their breaks out the window. The road west of us is
uninhabited for about a mile with a deep gully immediately
down from us. The accident occurred in the gully and there
was debris scattered over both lanes.
This is where I show you Anarchy.
Another car had come along from the west. The driver stopped
checked on the motorist who was shaken but not injured. The
passenger got out of the stopped car and stayed with the
victim while the driver of that car backed up the hill and
set there with his 4-ways on, slowing oncoming cars (about
one every two minutes that time of night). My wife and I not
knowing the details from our driveway on the eastern crest
of the gully did our own thing. She left for the accident
while I deployed a set of emergency markers in the road
outside our house and slowed oncoming traffic with a
flashlight.
Fifteen minutes later a cop car - extraneous to the
situation - got there and did... nothing (except for some
paperwork I'm sure). The wrecker arrived a short time later.
This is a classic example of what's called a Temporary
Autonomous Zone. Humans (with our inherent penchant for
organization) tackling a problem spontaneously. No orders.
No rules. Only our conscience and our natural affinities to
guide us. The way we solved our difficulties through most of
pre-history (IE before writing).
If this intrigues you, I strongly urge you to give a read to
David Graeber's essay "Are You An Anarchist?" [1] There is a
tired trope of the anarchist as one bent on the destruction
of everything society has built, but the true Anarchist
realizes the real work starts after that dust settles.
Building a world where everyone commands true autonomy and
seizes their individual liberty requires Order. But that
Order is but the child of Liberty.
[1]
https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/david-graeber-
are-you-an-anarchist-the-answer-may-surprise-you
