R.I.P.
I am an anarchist. I have no qualms about it and I make no apologies for it. In my heart and soul, I know that the best thing for society is for us to work towards a life with no government interference. I frequent a few local anarchist websites and was completely taken aback to come upon this news story from my own stomping grounds.
To give up one's own life for the cause is the ultimate gesture of commitment. Regardless of how this blog began, however, my intention is not political in nature.
How many things in your life would you die for? Not in theory, but in practice. Would you set yourself on fire to protest something that you believe is unjust and wrong? We all have people that we would take a bullet for, but an idea? How many people can honestly say that they'd die for an idea?
The unfortunate truth is that there are very few true American martyrs. There are, in fact, very few true martyrs at all. Real martyrs refuse to sacrifice other people for their own beliefs; they choose death to emphasize their cause. They believe something so strongly that they simply can't stand by and watch idly. They're active participants in their own life, oddly enough, by choosing to make their own death count towards something larger than themselves.
So, I ask again, how many of you are strong enough to die for your beliefs?
You may not believe in what Malachi Ritchsher believed so strongly that he would kill himself for, but you have to give him credit for doing what so many people can't... feeling something so totally that it consumes you. Rest in peace, Malachi.
*In case you missed the link in the article, this is all that was run in the Sun Times. Sick how many gratuitous stories we can read about murder, rape, child molestation and the like but how one man's suicide to speak out against something the government is doing gets relegated to a small story about a crazy man and nothing about the politics behind it.
To give up one's own life for the cause is the ultimate gesture of commitment. Regardless of how this blog began, however, my intention is not political in nature.
How many things in your life would you die for? Not in theory, but in practice. Would you set yourself on fire to protest something that you believe is unjust and wrong? We all have people that we would take a bullet for, but an idea? How many people can honestly say that they'd die for an idea?
The unfortunate truth is that there are very few true American martyrs. There are, in fact, very few true martyrs at all. Real martyrs refuse to sacrifice other people for their own beliefs; they choose death to emphasize their cause. They believe something so strongly that they simply can't stand by and watch idly. They're active participants in their own life, oddly enough, by choosing to make their own death count towards something larger than themselves.
So, I ask again, how many of you are strong enough to die for your beliefs?
You may not believe in what Malachi Ritchsher believed so strongly that he would kill himself for, but you have to give him credit for doing what so many people can't... feeling something so totally that it consumes you. Rest in peace, Malachi.
*In case you missed the link in the article, this is all that was run in the Sun Times. Sick how many gratuitous stories we can read about murder, rape, child molestation and the like but how one man's suicide to speak out against something the government is doing gets relegated to a small story about a crazy man and nothing about the politics behind it.
This entry was posted by Mellie, on
Tuesday, November 14, 2006.
