Whenever I talk to friends and family about anarchy, they always act like I am from another planet. Even just the word causes them to shut down. The concept of having no government is so far removed from their minds that they cannot even think about the possibilities of having complete freedom. There are a few reasons I think that is.
One of the biggest reasons is that the school system gives a skewed perception of anarchy. I distinctly remember being taught about the forms of government when I was in middle school and anarchy was described as total chaos. I mean, given the opportunity, why wouldn't everyone just run around killing each other and stealing everything. This was so ingrained in my mind at the time that even when I read someone's positive views on anarchy I immediately thought that they were stupid. They obviously just want to do bad stuff right? This is a "funny" article that a teacher friend posted on facebook that just proves my point.
(Image credit: Sarasota Herald: Ask Ann)
This is an image from a newspaper where someone wrote Ann Landers in search of an easy description of government. She writes "Anarchism: You have two cows. Keep both the cows, shoot the government agent, and steal another cow." This is a completely incorrect version of anarchy. The only correct part is "keep both the cows". There would be no government agent and I am not going to go around stealing other people's belongings. I would also like to point out that she is writing this to a teacher who will be telling her students for years to come. It was also shared by one of my facebook friends who is also a teacher and will be telling her students. It's a huge mess that just keeps brainwashing generation after generation.
(pic from reallibertymedia.com)
Another part of the problem is hollywood. Movies like the Purge (which is a freaking stupid movie) or Mad Max (which is a freaking awesome movie) just perpetrate a bad image of anarchy. It doesn't matter whether or not I like these movies, the fact is that when people see these movies, they think it accurately portrays anarchy.
(this one is even named anarchy... why?)
Yes, everyone who has the chance will become raging psychopaths and murders... Come on be a little creative. There is really nothing to say about the purge. It advertises itself as anarchy and unfortunately the public believes them. Seriously, did the government pay for this movie or something. It seems a bit over the top but people really think that's what it's like. I was talking to my sister the other day and she said that without government, murders would be happening all the time.
(EPIC SHOT)
Yes, Mad Max was an awesome movie with epic cars and even a guy playing the electric guitar.
(ALSO EPIC)
However, despite the fact that this movie is epic, people still view it as an accurate description of anarchy. My husband (who frequently debates people on this matter because he is a masochist or something. I'm not sure) has had people reference this movie as a counter argument for anarchy.
Husband: "yeah anarchy is cool"
Statist: "b-but there will be roaming raiders and s-spikey cars"
Finally the media, as in Fox News (for conservatives) and CNN (for liberals), basically brainwash their viewers over and over again. They each tell their viewers that they are the correct ones and basically keep the left and right at odds with each other. Now the two parties just argue and blame each other instead of realizing the real problem. THE GOVERNMENT
(these news stations are there for the sole purpose of distracting people from the real problem)
So finally to conclude a long rant (I didn't even know I had this much to say... I really shouldn't bottle all this up inside) people are brainwashed. They are brainwashed by people who are brainwashed themselves. They are brainwashed and then grow up to become teachers, movie makers, or newscasters who brainwash other people. It's a mess.
I know this article is super depressing, however... I have hope. Since I joined steemit I have seen so many anarchist posts (more than I have seen in my entire life). I hope that the steemit community keeps growing so that they get recognition from statists as well. Most statists aren't stupid, they just haven't thought about or researched the possiblity of anarchy because it seems so far fetched. They also might be scared to think about what will happen if something changed that drastically. Maybe we can impact the world by just bringing the correct view of anarchy into light and curbing the fear of the unknown (which I have even felt myself, especially when first considering the possibility of anarchy). We aren't just a bunch of murdering assholes who just want to watch the world burn. Instead, we are regular people who want to help make the world a better place. I have already seen tons of posts on here showing how great anarchy could be. Keep up the good work! I hope you enjoyed this article. I tried to end it on a high note :P