It’s a fair question to ask why a self-help book—one written by a punk rocker who’s an admitted former down-and-out substance and alcohol abuser—would be of interest to the readership of a gun rights column.
Michael Dean’s “A User’s Manual for the Human Experience” proves the adage “Don’t judge a book by its cover.” That’s apparent from the beginning, with a foreword by law enforcement trainer and “grassroots activist of color” Pastor Kenn Blanchard, author of “Black Man with a Gun.”
Dean has taken life experiences that include bad choices, failures, and personal tragedy, and emerged a self-taught philosopher and teacher, one with a keen intelligence, and a gift for clear and engaging writing.
‘There are really only two rules in life,” he tells us, “1. Do not initiate, or accept, force,” and “2. Keep your word.”
Through a practice he calls “Practical Emotional Self-Defense (PESD),” Dean discusses how to deal with people from the annoying to the dangerous. Naturally, the right to armed defense factors into the latter.
What resonates with me is the concept that we can’t truly have a comprehensive defense against those who would abuse us if we don’t recognize when it begins in our relationships and dealings, and if we’re not prepared to stop it—and not allow it to recur. This can be as simple as setting boundaries for manipulators in our lives and excluding them if they don’t correct themselves, to being prepared to physically repel aggressors when needed.
Yes, there’s a lot of other good information that can make our lives more productive and facilitate our pursuit of happiness—we’re coached on how we can work smarter, manage our time, make a living doing what we love…
All of which makes this a very worthwhile book to read, to learn from and to apply.
A User’s Manual for the Human Experience, ISBN: 978-0970539236, Trade Paperback, $18.48 at Amazon.com, The Nestlandia Institute Think Tank, www.LifeAmp.org
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Andrew Napolitano on loss of freedoms
From Fox News:
The Founders did not give us a government like the one we have today. The government they gave us was strictly limited in its scope, guaranteed individual liberty, preserved the free market, and on matters that pertain to our private behavior was supposed to leave us alone.
And don't get me started on taxes...
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Judicial anti-gun activism in Ohio
A three judge panel has declared that Ohio R.C 9.68 - which became law in 2007 with passage of HB347 to preempt local gun control and ensure statewide uniformity of gun laws - is unconstitutional.
Click here to read their "opinion." And remember it when these anti-freedom judicial activists are up for re-election.
Comments
Michael's book is really great! I highly recommend it to everyone.
Thank you, Mama!
MWD
Sounds like a great book. It's going on my "list" immediately. I recognize those two rules as MamaLiberty's credo. :)
Yup. I say in the book that that idea has been out there in different forms. Even in the Golden Rule. I added the "or accept", which really seems in there, but was never in writing. Then I extrapolated on that and a lot more.
The book is old ideas that would not normally mix, looked at in a new way.
So. Everyone gets the book, everybody reads it, then we’re all on the same page on the micro level.
Once the concepts are sufficiently instilled into the forefront of waking-state consciousness that;-
all viable working relationships involve individuals endeavoring to become as independent as possible, then seeking to extend that value to other persons to help them achieve increasing measures of personal independence, the natural progression will be to extend this mindset to the macro level.
Truth always to be found in discovery of the obvious--the most oppressive and dehabilitating actor in the lives of every person in America are those occupying various positions in government.
The great enabler being legalized theft of Life and Liberty through confiscatory taxation on wages and property.
Until the 16th Amendment is dumped into the waste bin of American history and a commerce-only tax system reinstalled, the gov't-Borg collective will only continue unabated.
Reiterating on one of my points and extending my remarks as I’m prone to do;-
Americans could, in theory, find and back the most valiant, dedicated and ’America-First’ representatives available and put them in office to replace every current legislator on the federal level.
However, without a massive overhaul of the current tax structure, ridding America of the insatiable moneylending parasites that have bankrupted the entire American economy and bound even the unborn to perpetual debt and servitude--the net effect would be no more than putting good people into a machine now so corrupt that the best that could be hoped for is only slowing down the process. IMHO.
Truth, in its purest sense is to be found in physics.
Thus, on a philosophical quest for the truth of being, knowledge and conduct--everyone that isn’t a physicist is already a philosopher.
So?
Wholly lost on the new-age-liberal, psycobabbling progressive secularists is the self-evident truth that the Founders of the most unique Nation in all of documented human history--embodied as that of a Constitutional Republic--forged through fire the groundwork for very utopia many of these brain-dead, spiritually-vacant zombies inhabiting the halls of academia and positions in government believe they can now socially engineer.
I vote we make Michael Dean’s book required reading at least for all academics and legislators.
They’ve already made enough bad choices, failed themselves and others and it just might help avoid an even more profound National tragedy than we’re currently experiencing.
Subjective Observer: If you "make Michael Dean's book required reading" for ANYONE, you violate Rule One.
>Subjective Observer said, "The great enabler being legalized theft of Life and Liberty through confiscatory taxation on wages and property."
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Yup. This is covered in the book. I show how I do it in my life. I explain methods for preventing codependence in relationships with family and friends. Then in a later section, I apply that to codependence with government.
Subjective Observer: If you "make Michael Dean's book required reading" for ANYONE, you violate Rule One.
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LOL! Yup. And that's a problem with a lot of leftists and even right-leaning statists. They think they're so damn sure what's good for everyone, that they WOULD require everyone to read something.
I heard that recently, Sweden tried to mandate that all young boys be forced to pee sitting down.
MAN - that country used to be VIKINGS. Can you imaging telling a Viking "You're going to have to sit down when you pee"?
It wouldn't end well.
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