Joe,
I read your essay "Somewhere a Banker Smiles" and I'm with you on this conspiracy of the elite thing, but I don't really know that it's even conscious on their parts. It's just a matter of living on a spiral staircase and having very little perspective or concern for how they ended up there. The American phalanx of this will crash. I doubt it can be prevented. Millions of people with little concern for anything else but acquisition will eventually burn out. It's being supported now by debt. At some point, the folks doing the lending will start wondering about their investments, and when the haves finally suck us so far into debt that we can't support their lives by borrowing against our future income anymore, the American economy will collapse.
The question is what to do about it. Personally, I'd start looking to fill my life with things of real value. As an overly armed libertarian, I think a judicious person owns a firearm and knows how to use it. No sense being loony about it -– better to have one firearm that you're extremely familiar with than 20 that you never use. I also think your personal health and fitness are among your greatest assets because everything is easier if you're in good shape mentally and physically. I keep what I call a skills inventory -- things I know how to do. There are many places in the world where nobody will care how good you are with a computer or how much you know about insurance and the American legal system.
In these places, you'd better know how to take care of people and animals, how to make things grow in the ground, how to prep a good meal with limited resources, how to preserve food when you have plenty for times when you don't, how to catch fish or other critters, what plants are good to eat and where to find them, how to make and mend appropriate clothing, how to repair broken things, how to construct and maintain a decent shelter, how to care for sick people, how to care for the dying and the dead, how to bring a child into this world, how to care for, raise and instruct children in all these very important skills.
I'm 38, and I suspect that these sorts of skills will be critical within my lifetime right here in the good ole US of A.
So I suggest a couple of ideas for those who think they're going to hang around after the flood.
1) Dispose of your debt.
2) Invest in things that will retain barter value.
3) Invest in yourself. Learn something new every year.
4) Invest time in developing networks. Nobody can master all of those skills.
5) Look to your health and the health of your family.
6) Eat simpler foods. Take an interest in cooking.
7) Help others see the truth in this and help them move them towards independence.
There's a lot to treasure here in America. Did you see the bit about soldiers using silly string to locate trip wires? We're a resourceful people – hard-working and generous. We're sick with a love of money and easy living these days, but a lot of us aren't far removed from a life where these things really mattered.
I won't actively promote it, but Jesus, there's a part of me that looks forward to the day. I think the American soul needs this prosperity to fade for us to recover what was once beautiful in our selves, our families and our culture.
Good day, Brother Joe, and keep up the good work,
Jeff
Wisconsin
