Captain's Phlog                                    2020.03.15
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For fifteen minutes at around 21:00 last night, Anarchy 
reigned. I know you're probably thinking chaos. People 
sometimes mistakenly call that anarchy but THIS was Anarchy 
with a capital A. Let me explain.

I live on a third rate road. It used to be the main road 
between two communities about 7 miles apart but that was 
many decades ago. There is a "State" road now which is 
straighter, with wide shoulders. It's better graded and well 
maintained. One would think that everyone going from here to 
there would choose it but for some reason, many still use 
our little tree shaded route. Perhaps it's the atmosphere?

Anyway, so much for the background. Between ice and 
mega-fauna, we have a healthy share of fender benders on this 
road. Speed being a major factor. This winter alone we have 
had four single-vehicle accidents within the stretch we can 
see. There was also a fatality two miles down from us.

Last night we didn't hear the accident. It was a deer. The 
driver didn't break in time and smashed up her front end 
pretty badly. I looked out when I saw someone come quickly 
on their breaks out the window. The road west of us is 
uninhabited for about a mile with a deep gully immediately 
down from us. The accident occurred in the gully and there 
was debris scattered over both lanes.

This is where I show you Anarchy.

Another car had come along from the west. The driver stopped 
checked on the motorist who was shaken but not injured. The 
passenger got out of the stopped car and stayed with the 
victim while the driver of that car backed up the hill and 
set there with his 4-ways on, slowing oncoming cars (about 
one every two minutes that time of night). My wife and I not 
knowing the details from our driveway on the eastern crest 
of the gully did our own thing. She left for the accident 
while I deployed a set of emergency markers in the road 
outside our house and slowed oncoming traffic with a 
flashlight.

Fifteen minutes later a cop car - extraneous to the 
situation - got there and did... nothing (except for some 
paperwork I'm sure). The wrecker arrived a short time later.

This is a classic example of what's called a Temporary 
Autonomous Zone. Humans (with our inherent penchant for 
organization) tackling a problem spontaneously. No orders. 
No rules. Only our conscience and our natural affinities to 
guide us. The way we solved our difficulties through most of 
pre-history (IE before writing).

If this intrigues you, I strongly urge you to give a read to 
David Graeber's essay "Are You An Anarchist?" [1] There is a 
tired trope of the anarchist as one bent on the destruction 
of everything society has built, but the true Anarchist 
realizes the real work starts after that dust settles. 
Building a world where everyone commands true autonomy and 
seizes their individual liberty requires Order. But that 
Order is but the child of Liberty.

[1] https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/david-graeber-
    are-you-an-anarchist-the-answer-may-surprise-you