Amen, and amen! This very-well-written article by Brandon Smith at AltMarket.com cuts right to the bone. This is worth copy/pasting into a Word document and saving for distribution to your newly-awakening friends and family as they slowly come out of their slumber. Or, it might be a great tool to wake them up in the first place. The article isn’t ‘preaching to the choir.’ It is a proper perspective on the current state of affairs in modern (and near future) America. It is also a firm reminder of actions that we should all be taking and encouraging those around us to take. Well done, Brandon!
-John Jacob Schmidt
‘It has never been enough to simply back a Libertarian candidate, march around with signs and slogans, or even march around open carrying one’s firearm. These are not solutions to the problem. They are not true acts of defiance, because they are all tactics that function only within the parameters of the game. To defy the game, one must stop playing the game. The activist methods currently in play today serve only to make ourselves feel better about the darker truth of our situation.’
– Brandon Smith
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Every Fourth of July, the temptation for many writers within the liberty movement is to reflect on the despair of freedoms lost, the philosophical ideals of generations gone by and the rage we all feel at the tyrannical mechanizations of the power elite operating with impunity today. It is easy for us to get caught up in the analysis of the thing. It is easy for us to live within the theoretical and intellectual boundaries of our own heads, to debate the merits of that which has already come to pass and hypothesize over crises yet to come. As disturbing as the ongoing collapse of America truly is, for many people, experiencing it academically feels much safer and easier than placing our feet on the Earth and dealing with it in a concrete manner.
This Fourth of July, I grow weary of the intellectual mind games and political postulations of ideological purists and sunshine patriots. It has never been enough to simply fantasize about reduced government, free markets, third-party candidates, protected civil liberties, etc. It has never been enough to simply back a Libertarian candidate, march around with signs and slogans, or even march around open carrying one’s firearm. These are not solutions to the problem. They are not true acts of defiance, because they are all tactics that function only within the parameters of the game. To defy the game, one must stop playing the game. The activist methods currently in play today serve only to make ourselves feel better about the darker truth of our situation. They give us false hope, not real hope.
This Fourth of July, I’m not going to talk about what we have lost. At this point, anyone worth a damn already knows what we have lost. Those who remain oblivious, in light of the recent avalanche of government scandals being exposed and the brash and unapologetic admissions of the political elite, are oblivious because they wish to be so. They are a waste of time and oxygen. If they really wanted to know the fate of this country, then they would be reading this article now and working to change things for the better.
There is no excuse for ignorance today. The unadulterated facts are right at their fingertips, right out in the open air. The stench of criminality and corruption is curling the hairs in their noses and triggering their gag reflex. They know it is there instinctively. The churning in their stomachs tells them it is there. If they do nothing, they do so because it suits them. They do so because to do something tangible, to do something real, is either too frightening for their tiny spirits to handle or too exhausting for their weak bodies to pursue.
I want to talk about what you can do, right now, to change the course of the future. I want to challenge you to remove yourself from the game. I want to challenge you to stop waiting around for some white knight on a horse to come and save you from the shadows. I want to challenge you to stop waiting around for other people to give you a plan. I want to challenge you to create your own plan, build your own solutions and act as a legitimate individual for the sake of liberty. I want to ensure that you have at least the bare minimum tools you will need to set your own course and determine your own destiny.
I hear far too much talk lately within the movement of grand schemes, legal schemes, political schemes and activism schemes with no finite goals. These schemes rely on top-down strategies and centralize the energy and efforts of the movement into the hands of a few who in the end may or may not be trustworthy. It is this kind of apathy that put us in the terrible position we now wallow in.
We must stop waiting for other people, no matter how well-spoken or prominent, to fight our battles for us. With oligarchy and big-government despotism accelerating out of control, it is time for proponents of freedom to make themselves ready or shut-up. Anyone who has not, at the very least, taken these basic steps toward his own survival independence is in no position to complain about the state of the world, for he has done absolutely nothing to make himself ready to do anything about it.
These are the absolute minimum preparations you will need to fight back against the collapse of our nation and our culture.
Store A Six-Month Supply Of Food
There are far too many people, even within the liberty movement, who talk a big game when it comes to defeating tyranny, yet have little to no means of providing their own sustenance. I don’t care what your financial situation is. The world hasn’t fallen apart yet, and anyone can find a way to set aside enough money for a primary food source that will last half a year.
Six months of stored food is not much, but it will give you time to arrange for alternative sources as well as last you until growing season.
Those who focus only on ammo and firearms and forsake food storage believing that they will be able to “take what they need” or “hunt what they need” are already dead. They will do nothing to advance the cause of freedom and are, frankly, too stupid to survive. Sorry, but there it is.
Beginners should focus on the Mormon Four: hard red winter wheat, powdered milk, sugar or honey, and salt (not sea salt, look for iodized salt). It wouldn’t be fun, but a human being can indeed subsist on these four simple foodstuffs. Add in a few wild edibles or garden vegetables, and you will have all the nutrients and calories you need to live — and to make a difference. All of these items, or similar items, can be bought cheaply in bulk. There is no excuse not to have a six-month supply stored away. To read the full text covering each of the following topics, read the full article at AltMarket.com.
Find A Water Source
Buy A Rifle
Buy 1,000 Rounds Of Ammo
Buy Proper Clothing
Sanitation
Grow A Garden
Find Two Neighbors Who Are On Board
Find One Barter Partner
Find One Retreat Location
Bury One Survival Cache
You Should Be No More Than 20 Pounds Beyond Your Ideal Weight
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