The One-man Revolution

"Therefore the only revolution worthwhile was the one-man revolution within the heart. Each one could make this by himself and not need to wait on a majority." — Ammon Hennacy

Ammon Hennacy (1893-1970, Christian, anarchist, social activist) formed his one-man revolution theory during a long spell in solitary confinement following his imprisonment for promoting draft evasion during World War I. The authorities tried to trick him into registering by telling him his fellow arrestees had all registered. He wrote "I felt that if they gave in, someone had to stick, and I was that one." The authorities made the mistake of thinking Hennacy valued his belonging more than his integrity.

I'm no Ammon Hennacy, but I do value my integrity more than my belonging. I find it almost impossible to compromise, to surrender my beliefs or my ideals to some supposed 'greater good'—or as corporate leaders are wont to say (and indeed have said to me in the past) to 'get on board'. This is not about being right; this is about being true. Nine years ago my publisher wrote this about me, "Tobias has never held an opinion lightly. His orientation seems to be: If something is worth believing, it is worth believing passionately and absolutely." [ref] I won't go as far as to say I am my own one-man revolution, but as soon as I read Hennacy's quote I realised that it is what I aspire to.

Over the past twenty years I've been immersed in the corporate world. Immersed in, but not swallowed by—an important distinction! My role has been akin to that of the court jester, to speak truth to power. Well, that's how I see myself. Sadly the rulers and kings of the corporate world actually hire me as a trusted advisor, and by speaking that same truth I commit treason. And they burn me for it. Happily, phoenix-like I rise again for the next challenge, hopeful, resilient and always seeking that one organisation I can actually make a difference in, a lasting imprint.

Well, more accurately that is what I once sought. More recently I've been understanding that desire to make a difference as vanity. What folly it is to think I can change an entire organisation. I don't even really know what an organisation is. As Walter Wink once wisely wrote, no one has ever seen an organisation, or a school, or even a church.¹ How can I change what I cannot perceive? I'm no jester, merely a fool. But I know this. There are people I have touched, people I have helped to wake up. Not many, for sure, but maybe that doesn't matter. Even if it is only one in the past twenty years, that's one human being seeing the world differently, maybe confronting authority, maybe seeking kinder conversation, maybe replacing judgment with observation, maybe having a heavy burden of bullshit lifted from their shoulders, and finally being able to stretch their wings. I take much solace from that image.

Here's Hennacy again.

"We really can't change the world. We really can't change other people. The best we can do is to start a few thinking here and there. The best way to do this, if we are sincere, is to change ourselves."

That last part. I know how hard that is. Sometimes it is all I can do to stay afloat, let alone improve. And if I actually want to be sincere about it, I simply won't have the time to try to change anyone else, let alone that gigantic and ambiguous monster named Corporation.

I discovered Ammon Hennacy as recently as 2018—or more accurately I stumbled upon him while searching for something completely unrelated. Such things happen. I no longer remember what I was looking for, but I know what I found. As I wandered the internet, as a deep sea diver scours the sea bed for the sunken ship after finding a single porthole window, I began to uncover jewels of wisdom, shining with humour and humility, enough to whet my appetite, and have me return to seek further. I'll leave you with one final Hennacy quote, one that touched my own anarchist heart.

"Oh judge! Your damn laws! The good people don't need them, and the bad people don't obey them."

1. Unmasking the Powers: The Invisible Forces That Determine Human Existence, by Walter Wink, Augsburg Fortress Publishing, 1986

—

Note: an earlier, shorter version of his article was originally sent to subscribers of my monthly newsletter, in May 2018, so if it looks familiar, that is why :)