Self Sovereignty

Why do people refuse to figure anything out for themselves? You'd think it'd be only children who don't have the experience or logic to go about their every day life, but the vast majority of people I interact with seem to have no concept of piecing information together; cause-and-effect reasoning just doesn't exist in their world?

Almost anything I do is based upon fact, so that my actions always have a reasonable outcome.

Self sovereignty is the name I've given to the ideology I've seemed to developed from the experiences during my post-formative years. Though based on a web search, it seems that this phrase already does refer to a real, documented concept.

The concept refers to the realisation and embrace of only allowing the self to control and advocate one's life and actions, swiftly and harshly rejecting anything that interferes with this goal. More succinctly, to safeguard and uphold your own principles, without shifting them based on the opinions or shoddy sense of authority imposed by others - including employers and government. Looking back, my diagnoses of oppositional defiance disorder especially calls to this, as "self-sovereignty" may imply a lack of respect to authority.

As mentioned on my User page, it's generally going to be hard to change my mind about anything unless you are able to provide a clear, unbiased, logical reason that conflicts with my own personal conclusion. That usually translates into my refusal to comply with the instructions of others and seek my own path, for better or worse.

During childhood, people won't have many experiences to logically base their actions off of. This is why parents, teachers, and adult authorities are in charge of guiding children through their formative years. Unfortunately, a common error in this guidance is the exclusion of it entirely; instead becoming commandments. When actions are taken for the express purpose of satisfying an external authority, what you learn from these experiences is limited to simply obeying that authority -- which isn't learning anything.

I am proud of who I am mostly because I feel like I am my own entity who was molded by the circumstances I forced upon myself, rather than the commandments I was expected to perform.

Elsewhere, your sense of identity derives from the policies you stand for; the people you agree with; the hobbies you have; the actions you take. Allowing yourself to lose control of your self inherently means you are being controlled by someone else. Being controlled by someone else can spiral into an unsatisfactory life, being a "gear in the system", a forgettable robot with no other purpose but to take orders. This is where most people in first world countries are stuck within capitalism. Quality of life is influenced by your employer's, or more broadly, society's, determination of your value. Being controlled like a guinea pig running towards crumbs of a dollar sign is an insulting proposition. Anywhere I am employed, I am working under my own terms.

The fact that everyone seems to think they are any kind of authority is another reason I just hate humanity. There's no reason everything has to be hierarchal when people can communicate to one another purely to exchange information.