The Way of Free Men: Introduction
“Let those flatter, who fear. It is not an American art.”
- Thomas Jefferson
The American
What does it mean to be an American? Is it a race or ethnicity? Is it religious or rational? Must one be native-born? Is it nothing more than the mere possession of particular legal documents? I once subscribed to the idea that borders were simply political and arbitrarily enforced; that “nationalist” was a dirty word, only embraced by simpletons. I believed that all forms of government were more or less the same and equally despicable. I imagined that the ideas espoused in American culture – things like individual liberty, free speech, private property, etc. – could exist and flourish with or without a formal nation founded upon them. I have come to understand that I couldn’t be more wrong. I have come to understand that these ideas are not only kept alive by the strength of our nation, but they are what makes a man uniquely American.
In the United States, our Founders constructed an order of social organization that hadn’t ever been attempted; based on a radical ideal that dates back to the origins of Western civilization itself. We declared that to be a citizen of this nation meant that you had certain rights; sacred rights that were untouchable.[1] Though we take this for granted in the modern age, this was not the norm for most of human history. Serfdom was the default mode of those outside the ruling class. After the Founders made this declaration, they went to war against the most powerful nation the world had ever known to defend it.
The Founders won our right to this declaration. Through blood and courage, they made this land a nation of free men. Freedom of expression, protection of private property, limited governmental power, a right to bear arms – all of these concepts were based on the deepest parts of the American’s beliefs, values, virtues, and way of life, and our ancestors built a system of government directly founded on these principles. Somewhat paradoxically, it was this collective respect for the individual that brought unity and assimilation to the great variety of peoples within this new nation. The drafting of the Constitution was far more than mere words on paper; it was the values and character of the American forged into the supreme law of the land.
Our Constitutional Republic wasn’t constructed through elitist social engineering or some sort of utopian political theory. It was raised from the ground up; formed from the very natures of the people whom made it possible. This is worthy of remembrance. This is history to be proud of. This is an identity to embrace. This is an ideal to defend.
American Idealism
But where did these ideals come from?
And what makes them uniquely American?
Imagine standing on the shores of a land completely unknown to the modern world. This land is rich and ripe with opportunity but also hostile and unforgiving. There’s no established order, no paved roads, and nobody to account to other than yourself. There are no contractors to build your home, no police to call when you’ve been robbed, and no ambulance to rush to your aid when you fall ill. Prospect and prosperity lies before you, but you must first venture into this wild land and fight tooth-and-nail for every achievement and with no guarantees of success. One false step can lead to disaster. One failed harvest can lead to starvation. Around every bend in the river awaits another hostile tribe.
In this land, you reap only what you can sow, and you eat only what you can kill. You live or die by your competence, your perseverance, your courage, and no small amount of luck. What sort of man spends his life-savings, leaves his loved-ones, departs from his homeland, and sails across treacherous seas just for the mere chance of success and glory in this untamed frontier?
A frontier that exposes itself to the modern world acts as a sort of eugenic filter; a Darwinian social experiment. It begins by attracting those with dreams, ambitions, and boldness; men of grand ideas and extravagant vision. Then, from these motivated adventurers, it selects only the strong, the competent, and the tenacious; crushing all the dreamers that lacked the skills, fortitude, and mettle necessary to see their desires manifest. And what you’re left with is a people of hardy-stock, with high aspirations, unshakable values, and battle-tested virtues. These were the men that built America.
It was precisely these sorts of men who fled Europe to America, taking with them the foundations of Western civilization but leaving behind the frustrations of aristocracy. It wasn’t the well-situated European elites who traveled westward, it was the men who so desired liberation and opportunity that the prospect of a new land, despite its dangers, compelled them forward. Men of strong will, independent, courageous, and hard-working. For these were the only types of men that could ever survive in this harsh frontier. These were the only types that would risk the journey; the only men that were brave enough and strong enough to succeed. Within this new world, inhabited by men possessed by the notion of liberty, the United States of America was born and therein the formula to the American’s ideals.
Thus, when we speak of American Idealism, we speak with reverence to the values and virtues that this nation was founded upon. We remember the hell from which this paradise was raised. We honor our forefathers for their bravery and sacrifice. We hold true to the principles of their established order. We recognize and respect the distinct identity and character of the American.
The Problem
Today, however, our world has all been discovered and tamed. All lands have been settled and our maps completed. For most of our young men in the modern age, concepts like adventure and frontier are purely abstract or reserved for video games. Perhaps this is a win for mankind; we’ve conquered the world and now we can enjoy the spoils. But though we’ve gained immensely from this victory, it appears that we’ve also lost the very foundation from whence we sprang; a world determined by a man’s own choices and capability.
The great providers and protectors of our people cultivated a nation of wealth and stability. But within the walled-paradise of freedom and luxury, the weak and worthless were allowed to thrive. The creation of a secure empire and the abundance available to the masses were the result of the will of great men against unimaginable struggle. The division of labor that unfolded from this prosperity allowed men to choose occupations and lifestyles that weren’t previously available to them. They were, all of the sudden, permitted to choose an easier, less contentious way of living. Men no longer needed to guard the perimeter. Men no longer needed to ensure their tribe’s survival. Men no longer needed the respect of their peers. Men no longer needed to be men. For the first time in our history, strength lost its advantage, bravery was inconsequential, and liberty became a hinderance.
Though many progressives might view an expansion of lifestyle opportunities as a social achievement, in reality, it opens the door to social decline. Men are biologically designed for tribulation and heavy burdens; not just physically, but also psychologically. That is why the greatest struggle often produces the most profound sense of meaning for us. The problem with allowing men to indulge in hedonistic dreamlands – where their lifestyle has no significant impact, where their behavior is irrelevant, and responsibility is optional – is that the qualities that makes a man, a man, begin to atrophy. What we’re left with is a society of men that no longer know how to be men, or what it even means to be a man. They surrender to and even promote comfort, mediocrity, cowardice, and serfdom.
When this social paradigm shift occurs, the nation becomes a breeding-ground for the superfluous. The feeble can rise. The incompetent can survive. The cowards can hide. It allows otherwise pathetic men the chance to not only live, but procreate.
Those that would never measure up to the character inherent within the American are now reproducing at exponential rates; delivering offspring unrecognizable to our ancestors. And what does this newly evolved race of men look like?
These men – if you can even call them men – are weak in body, mind, and spirit. And who can blame them? They were born into a life of luxury, stability, and safety. They’ve never had to struggle for anything; they’ve never had to be anything other than content and obedient. As a result, they’ve separated from our evolutionary branch and have descended into a lesser-species.
This inferior race of men, however, still suffer from the pangs of existential dread. There is still an impulse within them to chase after something of value. Values determine one’s ethics, and the ethics of these lesser-men have become a cancer within our culture.
You see, the modern man, being weak and unable (or unwilling) to fend for himself, projects this shortcoming onto all others; because if he didn’t project it upon all others, he would have to accept the conclusion that the problem lies with his own deficiency and that he must become better. Projection of his inadequacies is a form of self-acceptance; it’s the path of least resistance. It is not him that should change, rather the world should change for him.
This contemporary man assumes then, that there must be a universal ethic that involves restructuring reality to mitigate his weaknesses and sacrificing the fruits of the well-off and capable to the helpless and hopeless; that any advantage enjoyed by other men is not a matter of right, but of unjust privilege or immoral ambition. It is on these grounds that successful and influential men should be diminished and lowered to their proper place among his miserable peers. This contaminated sense of morality turns systemic the more affluent a society becomes.
“Our weak, unmanly, social concepts of good and evil and their tremendous ascendancy over body and soul have finally weakened all bodies and souls and snapped the self-reliant, independent, unprejudiced men, the pillars of a strong civilization: where one still encounters bad morality one beholds the last ruins of these pillars.”
- Friedrich Nietzsche
By what other means could the modern man survive? Most men today are incapable of self-reliance, courage, and the cultivation of a life worth living. They must siphon the nectar of life from the industrious and noble, and they believe it righteous to do so. It is with this moral compass that the modern man pursues his values, and the magnet of his compass is attracted to the poles of servitude and conformity. The azimuth they walk is destined for tyranny.
One can begin to see how this code of ethics undermines the ideals of the American. This new morality has even expanded past the scope of our interior, and now looks beyond our shores, as well. It’s believed that our great nation, is not so great at all, and should bow to the demands and desires of lesser nations; it should be held accountable to the moral judgements of the worldwide mob. Humanism and globalism are merely an expanded version of this modern-age moral degeneracy. The priests of this doctrine will persist in their crusade until all are equally as wretched and worthless as they themselves are.
And do not think that the problem only lies with the parasites. No – even the capable men of this nation, men that possess the ability to change the tide, have been persuaded to believe that the only mechanism of defense against these ravenous world-eaters is through the salvation and good graces of their omnipotent political overlords. The greatest act of resistance a “freedom fighter” can take is to check a box on a ballot, so they believe.
What shameful thoughts our ancestors must have when they gaze down upon our cowardice and ineptitude. Gone are the days where parents teach their children to stand up and square-up to bullies. In our age, the authority must be summoned and pleaded with to save us from injustice. Rather than fortifying ourselves to withstand and overcome adversity, we pray and tithe and grovel at the feet of our political demigods to reshape our reality to compensate for our weakness and inadequacies. Such a terrible conclusion to the story of our American experiment.
The Solution
This problem, as I have described it to you, is not the first of its kind; it is not uniquely American. The cycle of civilization – from desperation, to ascension, to degeneration, and finally, devastation – is as old as Rome itself. It is the logical progression of fallible beings. The first part of the solution is to recognize this pattern as an unavoidable fact of reality. It’s futile to fight against human nature and foolish to believe that “this time will be different,” when thousands of years of history say otherwise.
The second part of the solution is to determine a proper course of action, given the acceptance of this truth. You cannot alter the fabric of reality; you must contend with it. As society fades into the dystopian and totalitarian “utopia,” the American, honor-bound to his heritage and convictions, must find a means to persevere, or all will be lost.
But how does one persevere in these trying times?
And why should they?
Allow me to answer the latter question, first. If you’re reading this manual, it’s likely that you already subscribe to the values and virtues of the American. As such, what other cause do you require to motivate yourself to action? Your fundamental beliefs and character are under attack – nothing further must be said on the matter. You either stand in defense of your honor or cease to exist altogether.
For those reading this manual that haven’t yet been baptized into the American identity, you must, at a minimum, understand that the values and virtues espoused within our great culture produce the character of a formidable man. And if you would embrace this American identity, while the society crumbles around you, you would at least remain on solid foundation. For what man, or society for that matter, would regret standing on the principles of liberty or the virtues of independence and courage? These attributes will serve you well, both in the golden age and its inevitable decline.
As to how one perseveres – that is the subject matter of this manual. I choose the word “persevere” carefully. For the true task of the American is not to win some distant, final battle for liberty and glory, rather, to persist in times of hardship and resist the degeneracy that surrounds him. We cannot reverse human nature. It is our tragic destiny to build something great only to watch its beneficiaries tear it down. But if one has any ambition to keep the spirit of the American alive, we must find a means to persevere, even when all others forsake our ideals, culture, and tradition. And when the world is finally brought to her knees, we will remain on our feet and begin to build again.
It is my intention, within this manual, to provide a blueprint that enables the American to resist the iron fist of tyranny and withstand the tides of social psychosis; to give the American man the basic knowledge and tools to pursue this noble endeavor. In every manifestation of totalitarian government – no matter what the founders of that government constructed as bulwarks against tyranny – in the end, the resistance efforts of the people have always been the final and most effective checks and balance.
Tyrants will always exist; consequently, so too will slaves. Such is the nature of our human condition. To live as a free man is a conscious and deliberate way of life. We choose not to be the tyrant or the slave. We actively resist the chains being cast upon us by both polarities. The way of free men is to live within this space, between tyrants and slaves. Our ancestors took up arms against the most powerful empire the world had ever known. Upon the blood of patriots and tyrants, they built a nation that supersedes all predecessors; both in power and principle. Do not be the ebb of this great tide.
This is America.
We don’t quit.
We don’t surrender.
We don’t apologize.
We stand.
We resist.
We fight.
This is The Way of Free Men.
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[1] Roman society was the first to establish citizen-rights, and they had a deep respect for them. Reference the Biblical passage of Acts 22:25-29: “As they stretched him out to flog him, Paul said to the centurion standing there, “Is it legal for you to flog a Roman citizen who hasn’t even been found guilty?” When the centurion heard this, he went to the commander and reported it. “What are you going to do?” he asked. “This man is a Roman citizen.” The commander went to Paul and asked, “Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?” “Yes, I am,” he answered. Then the commander said, “I had to pay a lot of money for my citizenship.” “But I was born a citizen,” Paul replied. Those who were about to interrogate him withdrew immediately. The commander himself was alarmed when he realized that he had put Paul, a Roman citizen, in chains.”
