Thanks for sharing this excerpt, good read!
I've wondered how we could truly ever be free if most are not ready to be liberated. I enjoy reading psychology books and articles from time to time, and here is a sort of parallel I have observed between family and government structures. Implementation of liberation would obviously not be the same, but I think it is an interesting reference, particularly when entertaining the thought of gradual abolition:
When a child is raised by a parent with toxic/childish tendencies (usually referring to narcissism though I think these tendencies are far more widespread and I don't like these fatalistic titles), a few common reactions can occur:
......1) The Golden Child: They self-sacrifice their boundaries/individuality and feed the ego of that parent, and subsequently are put on a pedestal, receiving endless (sometimes even unwarranted) praise, and given opportunities their siblings are not usually offered. They are pitted against their "lower-rank" siblings, and rewarded as long as they keep up the façade of a healthy, happy family structure. This has profound effects on their development, and as an adult they might:
......1a) Validate and support their experiences growing up at the loss of their individuality. For as long as they reject the realization of their conditioning, they may continue these behaviors and even mimic the way they were parented: treating their own children similarly, or looking for other authority figures to cater to and please. They can become perfectionists and workaholics. The over-involvement of a parent in their life paired with the self-sacrificing tendencies can make them childlike in ways, and their perception on freedom might be control-oriented and distorted as a result. These might be the most likely not to care about government invasion of privacy or government overstepping boundaries, because they adapted to this treatment early in life. The exception would be if they have become aware of their own boundaries by going through a healing process instead of repressing and idealizing their upbringing. It is important to note that "Golden Children" are often the least likely to see any wrongdoings by their parents because they were the most adaptive to their parent's/authority figure's needs, therefore their suffering was less overt, more covert thus unrecognized.
......1b) Because of the covert suffering and a loss of connection to their true self, sometimes a sense of unassigned guilt can arise unconsciously. If they cannot understand the origins, they may try to rationalize it externally instead of looking within and finding the root cause of this discomfort.
......1c) In society I suspect this type of experience has much to do with the shaming, "check-your-privilege" guilt many seem to have in this current time. And the workaholics… the one-uppers… the "hipster" mentalities… all the ways one struggles to achieve that addictive feeling of being "special" that they once felt as a child, while also unconsciously feeling undeserving. I think this is why for some, "social justice" and other aggressive "do-gooding" is the easiest route to "feeling special" under the guise of propping others up, in an attempt to also avoid the repressed guilt.
......2) The Scapegoat: The child who says what the parent doesn't want to hear (or doesn't want others to hear) and behaves in ways the parent disapproves. Scapegoats can become more independent, reality-oriented and self-sufficient, yet are still sacrificed by being ostracized and punished for not "playing by the rules." They could instead be self-destructive and more prone to outbursts of rage and misbehaving, likely perpetuating an endless cycle of being punished for their individuality. Where the Golden Child does no wrong in the eyes of the parent, the Scapegoat does not receive authentic praise from the parent because they can "do no right." It might be difficult to discern what is truly "wrong" from what they were unjustly punished for, when punishments have been subjective to the ego of the parent.
......2a) In society this reminds me of whistle blowers when positively expressed, and criminals when negatively expressed.
......3) The Invisible Child: The parent shows no interest in them as they do not satiate the parent's ego, but they also refrain from behaving in ways that would displease the parent's ego. They may have the passivity of the Golden Child, but are more of a loner than a people-pleaser. However, they have a higher chance of becoming a self-sufficient individual later in life, like the Scapegoat. This "invisible" upbringing can be at the cost of necessary social skills, and intimacy may be overwhelming to these individuals. As a result of "numbing" themselves as a learned survival skill early in life, they may seek other ways to numb themselves as an adult (addictions, etc).
......3a) In society I suspect the negative expression of this upbringing would be those who cry for government to fix every problem that arises. I think the absence of a positive parental figure early in life can lead one to search for a parent figure later in life. Government might seem like the perfect surrogate.
I'm still kind of working on these connections, but this is what I see so far. Anyway, to get back to how this ties into the implementation of true liberty, many psychologists will advise those born to toxic parental figures to limit contact as much as possible, going no-contact if they can. The thing is, this discussion is only had with people who are aware (or beginning to become aware) of their repressed feelings and the toxicity of the environment they were raised in. The low to no-contact is only recommended if the parent refuses to respect their ADULT children as individuals, as interactions with such parents can delay or inhibit the healing/self-validation process.
The truth is, many idealize their parents and refuse to admit they have any flaws. Sadly, this does no justice to the individual, because they prolong a necessary path to healing. Even the kindest, most well-intentioned parents can make mistakes, and blind loyalty and idealization robs the adult-child of true autonomy and self-realization. I think our capacity to objectively look at our upbringing is directly related to our capacity to objectively view our government. I don't claim to know the solution on how to liberate the unprepared, but I think retaining our freedom of speech and freedom of expression is essential in this process. The truth must be told, the truth must be heard. It does seem like we are having a mental health crisis, and I think one of the largest flaws in our education system is not preparing children to be autonomous beings. My best guesses at this point are: practical education, revealing/exposing truths and strengthening our mental health as a whole by helping those who suffer would get us closer to the end goal of true liberty.
(edit: fixed some bold lettering that didn't go through)