Susan Callaway

Sunni: No, that makes a lot of sense to me. How would you respond to those who say that there’s too much chatter about freedom on the web already, and thus more commentary sites aren’t needed?

Susan: What a silly idea. That’s like saying I have “too much” ammunition or “too much” fresh air. Not possible. The more people who join into this communication, the better for all of us.

Sunni: [laughing] I never thought of it like that, but you’re absolutely right. Is information overload a challenge for you? There really is so much commentary out there—sites like TPoL and Strike the Root, blogs everywhere, and of course forums for those who like a more informal, give-and-take environment ... how do you sift through all that’s available?

Susan: Anyone who’s even looked at the internet—or a good sized library—for ten minutes knows that the available material exceeds the capacity of any one person by an exponent almost impossible for the mind to grasp. I spent the first few months I was connected learning just how futile it was to see even a tiny fraction of what I thought I would like, and how difficult it was to find the good stuff in the crashing waves of nonsense in that vast sea of the available. Learning how to use a search engine helped a lot, and building a solid list of known/trusted sites helped even more. Setting careful priorities for my time on the ’net and frequent reevaluation of those criteria has allowed me to be both creative and productive with the time I spend online.

The last year I’ve become involved with three different freedom-type forums and just recently I’ve started two separate blogs. These efforts—in addition to PoL and work as webmaster for two other sites—have narrowed down my wider web “surfing” opportunities considerably. But I receive so many new and interesting links in email from readers and friends that I never cease to explore new sites and people, even if it is strictly limited to an hour or so a week now.

Sunni: What criteria do you have for publishing essays at TPoL?

Susan: Again, the mission statement spells it out pretty well, and the writer’s guidelines provide specifics. I want to find and publish the truth, explore the news in the context of liberty and our struggle to overcome intrusive government, and help people understand the bedrock necessity for integrity and personal responsibility. I have the help and support of many wonderful people in doing that, especially Nathan Barton who has supplied us with the Libertarian Commentary on the News since almost the first issue. Mike Gaddy and ZooT were the other two who came with me from ST.

Sunni: Ah yes, Nathan. I greatly enjoyed his commentary on various news items I’d run in Freedom News Daily; and he and his family are just great people. Are you near enough to visit them often?

Susan: Near enough? Sometimes, but both he and his wife are terribly busy. So, I don’t see Nathan often, and have only met his wife once. We “talk” in email a lot, and I would love to see them all more often, but it just isn’t apt to happen soon.

Sunni: You mentioned that you were a nurse; as I recall, you worked in a variety of environments, including hospice and home care. I bet it was hard for you to witness the decline in health care quality as the federal government has increasingly interfered. This is probably a hard question to answer, but are there one or two things that seemed to you to be particularly destructive?

Susan: Bureaucracy—government mandates and regulations—and paperwork reduce or eliminate the time nurses have traditionally spent actually doing hands-on care for patients and families, as well as damage the integrity and motives of those involved, both nurses and managers. All of the things wrong with our society are mirrored in our health care today.

Sunni: It seems to me that health care is just one of many possible microcosms that show how relying on large systems can erode personal responsibility. Instead of a person evaluating a new medicine’s claims for oneself, the FDA and doctors say they can and should do that for us; instead of relying on their own bodies’ messages, people trust RDAs and food pyramids, the vitamin fad of the month, or the latest scare-mongering by the media; instead of exercising self-control and preventing a lot of ill health, too many of us overindulge, under-exercise, and then expect a pill or surgery to fix us; and of course, instead of paying directly for the care we seek, most of us depend on health insurance and/or the state’s dubious largesse to pay the bills. But as I said a few minutes ago in a different context, there’s so much information out there that it’s hard to just try to stay reasonably informed. Do you have any thoughts on how a person can try to accomplish that?

Susan: This is similar to the internet question we discussed earlier. Even as a nurse involved with both allopathic and alternative medicine, the sheer volume of the available material is totally overwhelming. It is impossible for anyone, health care professional or otherwise, to find and absorb even a small part of the information needed to evaluate even just the medications and chemicals that come into their own lives, much less everything available.

First, and most vital, we must learn to understand ourselves, our bodies, and our basic needs. We must build health and wellness, which is far more than the absence of specific disease. We must trust ourselves and listen to our bodies, building a strong immune system. Just remember that this is a process—a journey—and not a destination. People who pursue this path will eliminate 90% or better of “medicine” of any kind. There would be no need to learn about all of the latest pills and potions put out, or much of the rest of it if people actually looked for health and wellness instead of a cure for disease.

Second, we must form trusting networks. The division of labor works in this area as much as any other. Unless we are content with the most primitive lifestyle, we cannot produce everything we need and must trade with one another. The doctor or nurse has their place in this process, of course. They cannot be expected to overcome the problems caused by those who refuse to take primary responsibility for their own health, however, which of course is one of the greatest challenges they face today. We must choose our priorities carefully and learn what we truly need to know, rather than attempt to absorb all of the conflicting information in the world about anything.