Personally I am extremely committed to engage, not in politics, but in tech. After spending a lifetime accumulating ideas and concepts for products, I chose tech. Freedom at last. Sadly my choice was followed by a range of attempts to try and undo a deliberate choice from the heart.

These attempts to prevent me from executing my freedom to choose forced a second choice on me. The choice to engage in the murky debate on Human Rights. I started out with an obvious choice. In 2006 I became a member of Amnesty International. Keen to engage I instantly joined the internet group as a volunteer. After having followed the Human Rights debate for years. Inspired by the founder of the organization and the simplicity of the concept. As any debate starts with acquiring information I started out by raising questions. Again I choose to engage. Again I choose to engage through tech. I spend quite some time in trying to develop a software program, or at least the requirements for an application to improve working on this particular challenge.

That was my introduction to open source software. Organisations run mainly by volunteers usually simply don’t have the budgets to purchase enterprise software. My challenge was to develop software which could do what was required, be easy to use and be able to be developed further by any person. The solution appeared obvious.

Unhappy with the political course of the organisation I did dot renew my membership in 2008. Early 2008 I subscribed to IDEE the magazine of D66 and later that year I became a member of that political party. Again I choose to engage. On the digital platform Plein66 I started out by raising questions. And by sharing my views on topics. Expressing my libertarian views on immigration resulted in several attacks with computer viruses. Both on the spot, I was literally thrown of the website, as well as afterwards, a string of attacks targeting my ip-address followed.

What view did I express? I mentioned that a small government which does NOT provide extensive subsidies or welfare would end the populist debate on the ‘so called welfare migrant’. Having nothing to fight over as a consequence of low tax and limited government would wipe that main argument feeding the resistance to open borders of the political map. Simply a summing-up of the classical libertarian view.

Consequently I continued to engage. I visited an introductory congress. The following year 2009 I also took out a subscription to that other libertarian magazine Liberaal Reveil. Reading the means, having my questions answered the goal. Private engagement. Another form of engagement is speaking up. Speaking up when confronted with injustices.

I spoke up when I saw clergy write reports not only heavily biased but full of inaccuracies. I supported the victim and wrote a letter. I even called the management of that organization. Sadly to no answer. I supported the victim in consulting a lawyer and went along to the appointment and I respected her choice not to continue down that hard and long road. Later. When confronted with mobbing at work. Again I did not hesitate to speak up. Which was appreciated at work. Not so by the abuser and I am currently in the process of taking legal steps against the aggressor. Engagement has a price. So does speaking up where abuses are commonplace.

In November 2009 I founded my own company. Keen to engage. The goal was to create new products based on my own technologies. I started out with something simple. Art and marketing technologies. I choose to engage in tech. Joined Facebook as Laurganic Lq, my company, and was attacked. Throughout 2010 computer viruses broke through even the best tested security software (McAfee, Kaspersky, AVG). The trial versions did not achieve sufficient results. So again I choose to engage. I switched to Linux and consulted Norton Security documents to find out how to set up my own digital security. Digital security properly understood.

As usual I was attacked. Over and over again. As this blog shows I continue to speak up. And I continue to engage. My libertarian views were attacked by theft. Hoping that a lack of resources would change my views. Nothing changed. My commitment to speak up in the face of injustice is being attacked by intimidation and threads with violence. Without any result. My willingness to engage is being attacked by a libel campaign against me and my company. Hoping that creating a dislike-able fictive identity concerning my person will prevent me from achieving results. And so increase the chances of disengagement. I have not even considered that direction. Currently I am being withheld free access to information. Both on-line and off-line. I am deliberately isolated from people with an academic background and I am being denied the opportunity to join clubs with people of my own background, namely upper middle class. It has not done anything but make me intensely private. I visit the same places, but when I do I travel alone.

Yesterday I spent 3 hours rereading physics, in preparation of a return to tech. The day before that I posted letters addressing injustices. I continue to engage. Not a fraction of a nano-meter less libertarian. This morning I prepared a post on Scrap ‘n Canvas. A new product in the adArt product-line of my company. Still believing that freedom will win.