Connections

I started out life raised in a Christian family. I became a Christian and didn't once question it until around age 18 when I had a long discussion with a friend of mine. That discussion led me to the "seeker" path I'm currently on.

I also was raised Republican. At some point after my questioning of Christianity started, I started questioning politics too. I found my way to Libertarian beliefs through the writings of Harry Browne. As I continued to explore my political beliefs, I have since pushed through to a position of being almost able to consider myself an Anarchist (though I have one or two issues with that position it does typify most of what I believe). I believe strongly in ZAP (zero aggression policy or non-initiation of violence). I also believe that the only crimes that should be prosecuted (and maybe not by the government even so) are crimes where there is a violation of another's rights.

From Libertarian/Anarchist beliefs, I have moved closer to Paganism, especially Wicca. They seem to fit together very comfortably with ZAP and the Wiccan rede being basically the same thing ("an it harms no one, do as you will"). Though I don't yet consider myself Wiccan or Pagan, I do feel a strong draw in that direction, and plan to form my religious rituals with those religions in mind.

Then most recently I added to the mix my concepts of parenting and schooling. I have always planned to homeschool. But I recently stumbled onto the concept of "unschooling". The best explanation of unschooling I've seen is from Wikipedia:

... individualized, child-led learning [which] is more efficient and respectful of a child's time, takes advantage of a child's interests, and allows learning and exploration in depth rather than shallow coverage of a broad range of subjects. It is not what subject matter the child learns that is important, but that the child learns how to learn and learn in depth. Given that, if later, as an adult, he finds there was some subject or nuance that he missed in his education, he will be able to acquire it on his own.

So, unschooling is facilitating the child's interest without trying to direct their path in any particular direction. This form of schooling tends to lead naturally into a form of parenting that is called alternately radical unschooling or attachment parenting. This parenting is based on respect for your children and trust that they are making the best decision they can with the information available to them, doing what they need to do. Practically it consists of doing your best not to say "no" to the child, but to (as needed) direct them to more appropriate avenues, locations, or times for their activities. It is treating the children, from birth, as full blooded people who deserve to make their own decisions about their lives. It is not neglectful parenting, as it requires a parent to be present and intimately involved in the child's life, but it can seem like it to less informed people who don't understand why you don't stop certain activities. I'm sure I'll come back to this topic later as I learn more, but it all makes sense to me.

Anyway, from religion to politics to school to parenting, I have found a path that merges and blends into one coherent world view. It is internally consistent and bears the common theme of respecting the rights of those around you and not trying to limit activities that don't violate those rights. It has taken me a long time to get to this spot, and I won't be surprised if I find more steps to the process in the future, but I wanted to share my exploration with everyone.