To be great

Hello Lains, I intend to write essays and posts to inspire a movement or ideology which will enact substantial, substantive change in accordance to my dreams for this world. I don't know how and I am not sure if I can pursue this path. There are several hurdles I face. Firstly, while I have a general sense of the direction and theme of what to write, I am overwhelmed by the scope of this action. I would have to write on economics, history, philosophy, religion, politics and ethics, none of which I am an expert in. How can I know if what I am saying is worthwhile, valuable or even correct? Secondly, I am but an unlearned young man with empty pockets, lean muscles, and no name. I am meek and feeble and scurry between the feets of giants who run the world. If I speak against the powers that be, I will surely be intimidated and my work will be censored, ignored and drowned out. How can I amplify my voice and project power with minimal resources? How can my writing go viral in this day and age? Thirdly, I am barely technologically literate, a 'dumb user'. What outlets are best for me to publish my works? Should I make my own website? How can I self publish anonymously and globally? Fourthly, what can I do to be taken seriously? Why should anyone listen to the ramblings of an internet weirdo? Should I take direct action in conjunction with such writings, and if so, what actions should I take? Fifthly, is it too late to influence using writing? I want to publish something that will change the world, like Darwin, Marx, Paine, Hobbes and so on. I am somewhat skilled in writing, but video making may have more reach now. I could use the two together, but I would have to divide my time, and I have no talent in the latter. Thank you for taking me seriously.

Just start writing. Revise it until it sounds good. Talk about your ideas with a close friend and maybe get them to give you some pointers for editing. Don't try to make every sentence inspirational or profound -- Thoreau wrote like that, it's how he became required reading in English classes across America. >If I speak against the powers that be, I will surely be intimidated and my work will be censored, ignored and drowned out. The powers that be are mostly too stupid and too slow to actually stop information flow. If your ideas are good enough that people want to share them, it will be basically impossible to suppress. >How can I amplify my voice and project power with minimal resources? How can my writing go viral in this day and age? You can do the unabomber thing, if you think getting your ideas out there is worth killing people. You can also try spamming imageboards and being an annoying piece of soykaf, like the a*******l v******e guy. >How can I self publish anonymously and globally? Post pdf somewhere with tor, then post links on various forums without indicating you wrote it. Make sure your writing style is different. The most important thing is to have good ideas and honesty. If you just want to "create a movement" then it'll stay a fantasy unless you sacrifice correctness and goodness for ruthless self-promotion.

>>9277 >enact substantial, substantive change in accordance to my dreams for this world First recognize that your dreams are not your own. Every thought in your head is a remixing of thoughts others had before you, and is probably currently present in the minds of many other people already without your having to share it with them. For instance my first thought on reading your first sentence was to reference Ender's Game, before I noticed you beat me to the punch with the image. Have you considered that this comic is right, the events of that book are a YA fiction power fantasy trope, and being taken seriously is not actually a pure function of being smart and eloquent or otherwise having a Mary Sue tier Charisma stat? >like Darwin, Marx, Paine, Hobbes and so on What do these writers have in common? They said what people, especially influential people, either were already thinking, wanted to hear, or were ready to hear something like it. Their roles are significant but incidental; they tied things together, put in concrete terms what everyone had previously been thinking in less concrete terms. That isn't insignificant; probably by doing so they were able to exert a lot of influence, and the world would be a bit different if someone else had claimed those conceptual threads instead. But I think it's important to recognize the nature of what is going on as not fundamentally about a person "being great" and unilaterally exercising power. In order to claim those spots, what is needed is to recognize and have an intuition for unformed thoughts before they manifest, and then through some combination of word wizardry and accumulated clout/attention assist people in going the last mile. Focus on the people who have not intellectually castrated themselves (an effective defense against all rhetoric and reason) and who have reach and respect. >Fourthly, what can I do to be taken seriously? Vast topic. Here's a simple trick I didn't come up with but have observed to work really well: when faced with someone who does not agree with you, start by sincerely complimenting them for their opinion of something you both already agree on related to the subject. This will make them much more receptive to whatever you have to say. Obfuscate as needed. To be even more effective, figure out what sorts of thoughts they are proud of having and focus on those.

>>9278 Many thanks. I had a feeling that the advice would be as you said, but I'll make sure to implement it. >>9279 I was gonna say that my ideas are not my 100% own but a mixture of what others had to say, but you beat me to it, funny enough. Of course I recognize that Locke and Demosthenes is just fiction, though one that has stuck in my head for quite some time. It isn't about me being necessarily the smartest or bestest and deserving the Number 1 Headband, it's about the power of the idea that moves me to propagate the memetic virus, and the moral compass in me saying that this is something I should do. It's a cause I feel strongly about. Although being a 'great' and respected thinker would be nice too. But if this is the case, then there is no guarantee that the words I write will have any momentum in the real world. It would rely on others thinking the same thing, agreeing with this thinking and being so possessed by the idea that they take action. If my goal is to do that, then I would just write what other people are thinking and wrap it up neatly in some BS prose. I guess I want to serve the idea and see it blossom, not just be part of a movement. I want to see real, concrete change in the direction I that I see, not just in any direction. I hope this makes sense. Thank you for replying.

>>9279 >Every thought in your head is a remixing of thoughts others had before you Bit reductive. >What do these writers have in common? They said what people, especially influential people, either were already thinking, wanted to hear, or were ready to hear something like it Darwin indeed waited decades to publish because he thought people wouldn't be ready. A lot of those people you listed only became famous posthumously.

>I would have to write on economics, history, philosophy, religion, politics and ethics, none of which I am an expert in. If you are not an expert in these things, what makes you think that you are qualified to lead a political movement? I'm not trying to be flippant--that's a genuine question. There are no shortage of existing political movements which seek, as you put it, substantive change. All (and I mean all) of the greatest political minds in human history started out as students of a different movement, of one kind or another. Nobody, not one of them, just started churning out essays and changed the world. So: what political movements have you joined? What organizing have you done? Who are your comrades? What campaigns have you been a part of? "I don't like anybody's politics" isn't a sufficient answer here--you can disagree, but you don't actually know anything until you try. If you find yourself unable to answer any of the above questions, study diligently and organize with other activists fervently until you consider yourself an expert in at least some of the qualities you described above. Along the way you'll have plenty of opportunities to write, but not until then.

>>9280 >But if this is the case, then there is no guarantee that the words I write will have any momentum in the real world. It would rely on others thinking the same thing, agreeing with this thinking and being so possessed by the idea that they take action. If my goal is to do that, then I would just write what other people are thinking and wrap it up neatly in some BS prose. I guess I want to serve the idea and see it blossom, not just be part of a movement. I want to see real, concrete change in the direction I that I see, not just in any direction. There isn't a guarantee. That's the limitation of words. Arbitrary ideas can't blossom in all minds because most of the soil is not suitable. Hence the appeal of anti-intellectualism for political and religious ideologies; thoughts don't need to fit if you cram them in by force and suppress defenses against that. I'm reminded of the "high water mark" passage from Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas; even a meme which seems promising may exhaust its natural reach and fail to engulf the world. You have a couple options as I see it. You can honestly advocate as best you can for your idea, and contribute to its spread, whatever its natural limits may be. You can choose war and attempt to force acceptance of your idea with manipulation and cult-like tactics to surpass these limits, as many do, at the risk that it will not be genuinely internalized, may mutate into something terrible, and is inherently suppressive to the agency and thought of individuals. You can semi-honestly advocate for distinct ideas that each are suitable for different sorts of people, where you judge these ideas to indirectly be advantageous to your goals. Also I think >>9282 is right, because you and anyone has a limited perspective, so it's unlikely that whatever your current thinking is dominating the rest would be for the best. What is your idea anyway?

>>9284 >>9282 Thanks for replying. I am nervous to share the idea lest I don't do it justice in a few words, or garner mockery, but here it goes: it is an ecological, religious fundamentalist, and ethical philosophy. The shortest description would be Morality as Political Theory for a Sustainable Future. As the end times loom closer, the secular world order is unable to avert the polycrisis. The answer to good living is a return to virtue - virtue permeating not only the individual life but also the sociopolitical realm. A new social contract must be drawn, that puts morality at the base of all considerations. Key features include laws based on moral considerations, an international religious order, and social engineering for moral hygiene. That's the elevator pitch I cobbled together. I am aware that this is rather unpopular today. People are drifting away from organized religion, including the religion I subscribe to, which has suffered from poor PR as of late, and the prescriptions and proscriptions of the idea are admittedly very authoritarian. Some ideas may seem to be at odds with cherished values such as freedom and equality, others are downright antiqued such as the importance of public rituals and corporal punishment. And Lainchan is the last place my idea would gain traction. At the same time I know we are living through a time of changing and choosing, and if I strike now, I could exploit the paradigm shift and ride the wave to ascendancy. I am seeing the patterns and there is a great awakening I must seize hold of. Unfortunately I am rather isolated, so there are few people to bounce my ideas off of, but I am always open to changing my mind. As for political involvement, I have none. But I hope to gather some like-minded people who are experts, with whom we can build a ring or circle, and grow from there. What are some tips for getting involved in alternate political movements? How do you even find these people while ducking three letter agencies?

Just start. Stop thinking about whats standing between you and what you want to do with your life. Take action and start small. Also, read the war of art by pressfield. Short and kinda corny but it illustrates the exact problem you seem to be wrestling with.

>>9294 Thanks, I've never heard of that book before. Will give it a go.