And so we begin...
“If there is no struggle, there is no progress. Those who profess to favor freedom, and yet depreciate agitation, are men who want crops without plowing up the ground. They want rain without thunder and lightning. They want the ocean without the awful roar of its many waters. This struggle may be a moral one; or it may be a physical one; or it may be both moral and physical; but it must be a struggle. Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will.”
Find out just what any people will quietly submit to and you have found out the exact measure of injustice and wrong which will be imposed upon them, and these will continue till they are resisted with either words or blows, or with both. The limits of tyrants are prescribed by the endurance of those whom they oppress.”
- Frederick Douglass
I know I’m not alone in reflecting on the precarious state of our world today.
And I know I’m not alone in wondering if there’s another way…
People everywhere know the current system is not working.
We all see and experience the pressure cooker of inflation.
We agonize for those impacted by war, and worry about war’s expansion.
And we shake our heads at blatant corruption in business, finance, and government, not knowing what the alternatives are…
Our political environment has many of us feeling divided and isolated like never before, and we all wonder…
Will it get better?
Can it get better?
Simultaneously, many of us see the potential for an evolved humanity taking root.
A desire everywhere for a return to community, to shared purpose.
Incredible technologies for building, for healing, for connection, for creating unparalleled prosperity.
But which road will our world take?
Will it be the path of great turmoil?
Or the path of great promise?
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Perhaps the conflict has always been so – that great competition pitting the forces of destruction and decay against growth and evolution.
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We recognize that humanity has advanced enormously in recent centuries.
We’ve left the horrors of the dark ages behind in many ways.
We’ve abolished slavery and expanded human rights for minorities and women.
Per capita wealth has advanced globally, and lifespans have increased enormously.
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But some parts of the world have not advanced, and everywhere we look, there is more to be done.
We worry that we are sliding backwards into historical patterns of tyranny and authoritarianism.
Many wonder: “Do today’s leaders intend to serve us… or to rule us?”
To answer that question, we must ask ourselves: are our leaders driving human regression, or human progress?
It doesn’t take more than a moment to realize that few leaders today are credibly pursuing greater freedom, prosperity, or peace.
Instead, most are perpetuating historical patterns of division, economic feudalism, authoritarianism, and endless war.
If our leaders won’t do it, who is going to drive us toward progress?
Here at Invictus Legion, we believe that the time is ripe for humanity to launch the next great evolution in global peace and human freedom.
And we believe that the fuel for that evolution must come from the empowerment of the individual, the common man and woman everywhere.
It starts with you and me, my friend – or it doesn’t start at all.
And it starts with finding our personal answers to that fundamental question of life:
“Will we act, or be acted upon?”
Will you exercise your power, or allow someone else to exercise it for you?
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Intentionally or unintentionally, our modern world has relegated us to the seats of the Digital Coliseum, where the powerless sit.
In our role as passive spectator, we watch the clashes and dramas of the great powers and talking heads as they wrestle to determine our collective futures.
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We watch as forces and events happen to us.
We listen as our politicians and parties share their plans to save us.
We pray that our institutions will solve the problems that plague us.
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But no one is asking you or I to get involved.
No one is asking us to act.
We are the simple people, the common people, who don’t know any better.
Our duties are:
1) Absorb the narratives that are fed to us.
2) Trust the experts that know best.
3) Fight each other to the death in political gang warfare.
4) Or simply, don’t fight at all.
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Our system does not value our involvement, or even our existence.
Our system has convinced most of us that our actions and our voice are not important.
And our system has convinced most of us that we are powerless.
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But history has repeatedly shown that there’s a problem with that narrative.
You see, in truth, all power ultimately originates with the individual.
We’ve just been taught to delegate that power to others in various ways.
What we haven't been taught is how to find our power – how to use it – how to make a difference in our world.
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The truth is that you don’t need to be in a position of power to make a difference in your world.
To be human – to be alive – is to have power.
But you have to wield it.
You have to speak it.
You have to exercise it.
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Modern political theory strongly supports this idea via the widely accepted concept of “legitimacy” – or what the American founders called “the consent of the governed.”
Discussion of this principle rarely leaves the halls of academia, but at its core, legitimacy simply means that governments derive all authority from the power given to them by the people.
Read that again.
By. The. People.
Governments have no authority, other than that given to them by the people. (the polar opposite of the idea that people get their rights from government)
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The logic is not hard to grasp.
If many people are unhappy and refuse to comply, enforcing laws and keeping power become extremely difficult.
In fact, popular discontent and political opposition are usually key ingredients for transitions of power.
So, we’ve got some choices to make.
We can continue to watch the show.
Or we can get out of our seats in the Digital Coliseum, and start exercising power in our worlds.
If you have any belief in the importance of the vote you cast every few years, then you should have 100x the belief in the impact your voice and your actions can have every day of your life.
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Here at Invictus Legion, we intend to explore the greatest minds and ideas of past and present, and dive deep into the nature of our power.
Our overarching goal will be to continually uncover lessons we can apply daily to become fearless, not fearful.
Hopeful. Not hopeless.
Connected. Not isolated.
United. Not divided.
Powerful. Not powerless.
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Welcome to Invictus Legion, my friend.
We’re glad you’re along for the ride.