People have a tendency to form cliques. Why this is could perhaps be answered biologically, because there is a natural instinct towards ‘safety in numbers’. Yet this safety only holds when confronting directly opposed physical forces, engaged in a situation of bloody warfare. This sort of situation is bound to occur at various points in the process of life, yet it is also important to take action to improve the human situation in other ways. People working in this way are those who form “The System”, which really nobody likes and besides that is extremely weak and clumsy. This system always winds up with a bunch of people at the top, as in the case of Stalinism, or a bunch of people who though claiming to be the best of friends are in fact worst enemies. Philosophies are rarely practically lived, hence why people say “books do my head in”. Some books are indeed nothing but complete intellectual drivel, whereas some are genuinely useful and illuminating. People do not live in illuminated ways, this is a key problem.

For many years I worked on and off in intentional communities, and between times travelled around as a solitary musician. Now, the role of the musician in society is generally similar to that of the landless or landed peasant. The former are those who drink, the latter those who are sober. Furthermore, despite their poverty the busker wields a great deal of influence. Whereas attention seeking stunts like crying “Everything Is Ok!” shoot to Youtube fame and are discussed by everyone, music or poetry or street art can bring about the same positive changes without the need for worldwide media. Everybody, whether they are listening or not – and how rarely are we listening – cannot fail to hear.

The message can be direct or subtle, the point is no-one cares. After some time working on the street we develop the self-confidence not to become enwrapped in what everybody thinks of us, so long as we are striving to spread a message not merely trying to please the people. This sort of thing can go a long way, for the person walking past may be inspired to begin making changes, and by this small inspiration the world can change. People do not necessarily flock to give up their jobs and take up a life in hippy communities but they might well decide, perhaps if they are a parking inspector, not to give somebody a fine because they just heard a message about how money rules too many things. Furthermore, we have the time in this kind of thing to develop our art, not to follow the old pre-established ways.

The trouble is see, we are all covers bands.

Yet art is not the only form of solitary activism which can bring about changes. It is possible to engage in a variety of activities for the cause of liberation. Often in books we discover philosophical principles which seem to call us to some kind of action. The American writer Derrick Jensen is very famous at the moment for talking about Eco-Defence, he’s often going about vandalizing corporate salmon farms etc. Now, if we go and suggest to our friends to get involved in a bit of Monkeywrenching, then we might find that people are generally a little bit afraid of the idea which they express generally by mocking laughter and trying to make us change the subject. Yet we may be more serious people.

Then it is necessary to assess what still remains possible to us. One person can accomplish very much. For example, if you have a vehicle, then you can go to wherever you please and at night enter, and do something. Then you simply have to be sure that you are quiet and don’t get caught. It would be easy in this way to liberate animals from slaughterhouses etc. So you don’t have the materials? Well, you can make them. Check out the guides on how to at blogs like therevolutionscript.

All that is needed in life is a little imagination. By one person’s actions, changes can come about. Yet it is not only in this that the advantages of solitary activism lie. At protest sites it is often not possible to even discuss certain topics, for one there are certain subjects that the politically correct police don’t let people take an interest in, for two there are subjects which the morbidly sensualistic drunk police don’t let people take an interest in, for three there are subjects which are genuinely too dangerous to discuss for example you can’t say DEATH TO AMERICA without some Yankee intelligence agent getting offended, despite the fact that their soldiers march into villages crying “Death To Your Children!” without anybody batting an eyelid. Though these soldiers probably do not think, “Death To The Children”, and at the Mai Lai massacre we must question what motivated these people. Were they merely agents of a vast machine, or free men? I believe that the latter, surely as much as the former, is important, for we do not always understand the souls of others. Yet are such atrocities, committed it is true by a country which engages in many kinds of deceit, merely ruses by which the real villains will hide from the fire when confrontations come?

Anyhow, what I mean is – nobody questions you. Nobody is interested in the solitary individual person. This is a great boon, a great gift if we can learn to love our solitude. Rather than fleeing to comfortable surroundings, let us learn to improvise, subject ourselves to harsh conditions. I once tried to put my girlfriend through a week’s serious training in guerrilla countryside reconnaissance, survival and orienteering such as I used to engage myself in on a regular basis. Hence probably why she wasn’t really my girlfriend… “Hahaha” says the crowd - but really people, are we lacking a bit in seriousness? Anyhow, we should worship woman as one Tibetan Tantra advises. So, in my whole career, which ended with me producing the most controversial folk EP in history and having been regularly in the habit of rapping Immortal Technique songs on street corners, I was interrogated once. By the secret police? No, by an old lady.

Then I wound up doing a few other things which probably will get me questioned by the secret police. But the point is, I could’ve got away with it. Solitude teaches us many lessons, and what I learned greatly informed my work in intentional communities.

Is there something we are striving for, are we actually trying to win a battle? Or are we merely going about “being activists”, whatever that means?