While in my twenties I organized a variety of long distance backpacking expeditions. Only one other person has organized more (Warren Doyle) and between the two of us we can lay claim to nearly all of them. The conventional wisdom among backpackers was that spending a long time in the wilderness was something individuals do, or couples at most. Back in my expedition days I found myself being somewhat apologetic for breaking this norm by organizing groups of backpackers. More than twenty years later I have a different view of the matter.
My Master’s thesis explored the experiential learning that occurred on the 1985 Connecticut Continental Divide Expedition. I used a variety of methods: concept maps, interviews, essays and the Tennessee Self-Concept Scale. Most of the really useful information came from the first three methods, but the survey produced one significant finding.
The survey measured five different types of self-esteem: emotional, family, physical, social and spiritual. After spending seven-months physically carrying heavy packs over rugged terrain; after emotionally relying on ourselves to meet all the challenges wilderness presents; after being filled with spiritual awe for the beauty of Creation; the two self-esteems that increased the most for the thirteen people in the expedition were family and social.
By traveling together as a social band in the wilderness we had much in common with early foragers. In doing so we were filled with experiences that have become altogether too elusive in modern culture. We developed and nurtured a strong sense of belonging to each other.
The Continental Divide is a National Scenic Trail that is not finished. Our group would explore up to four different routes over the same sections and subsequently provide a report to the Continental Divide Trail Society. Within our group of thirteen we split up into subgroups that constantly changed. In this respect also we were like early foragers, who would shift from one social band to another depending on interpersonal experiences. Essential to developing a strong sense of belonging is the free will to choose the targets of our belonging.
The free will to belong is the most fundamental of our natural rights. Free will is natural because it exists independently of cultural beliefs and behaviors. Free will is fundamental because our choices for belonging constrains our subsequent choices. For example, if you choose foremost to belong to a community you cannot devote your utmost allegiance to the beliefs of any special interest group. Similarly, if you choose foremost to belong to a particular interest group you will at times be at odds with the experiences of your community.
Modern culture has come to be driven primarily by interest groups at the expense of community. This was not true for early foragers; this is not true for wilderness backpacking expeditions. There are a lot of avenues in modern culture for enhancing our physical, emotional and even spiritual esteems. Sadly enough, if we want to enhance our family and social esteems then our best option appears to be to remove ourselves from modern culture.
As the most fundamental of our natural rights, our free will affects all our other freedoms. If you choose interest groups or ideologies over people or places you choose to constrain your freedom of thought. You abide by the fixed beliefs of the interest group or ideology you choose regardless of what new things you learn from experience. For a community to thrive the opposite must be true; the members of that community must be able to learn and change their beliefs based on community experiences. They must have the freedom to change their minds and to compromise as events unfold.
This week The Middle Class Forum will explore our other two important natural rights, the freedom of thought and self-determination through our labors. Like free will, they exist independently of cultural beliefs and behaviors. The same cannot be said for a few cultural entitlements that have been mistaken for natural rights. These include property, privacy and security. The reasons these are not natural rights will be explored this week as well.
Tags: Natural Rights
