A Declaration of Independence
"Life for us will get simpler, but it doesn’t have to be a trip back to the eleventh century. Mere months remain before the Party of Chaos has its near-death experience at the polls, and we can begin to contemplate a change of course that allows us to remain a civilized nation of law and liberty, despite all the damage done. I’m celebrating this Fourth of July by mindfully declaring the independence of the country I love from the regime of grifters, tyrants, and sadists temporarily occupying the power centers of Washington, DC. I hope you will join me and do likewise.” — James Howard Kunstler
As the founding fathers did 246 years ago today, and Mr. Kunstler has done in his article “Independence Day,”—we are declaring mental independence for ourselves, our community, and the nation we love. For too long, we have suffered under an oppressive regime of psychopaths to which we were forced to show absolute loyalty or be cast adrift.
We, as a society, find ourselves at a crossroads. On one path, we will stumble through the next decade of economic depression, increases in all causes of mortality, mandatory vaccinations, unjust wars, endless propaganda, zero purchasing power, and forced starvation. On the other path, we have the opportunity to build our skills and knowledge to give ourselves a fighting chance for whatever calamity that blows into town. We are choosing the latter.
To continue, we must have an honest discussion regarding what constitutes patriotism. We believe the term “patriot” has been bastardized and abducted by a rogue band of juiced-up frat bros and backwoods inbred hillbillies. They are not patriots—they are acting out a role on a stage.
“Dissent is the highest form of patriotism.” — Howard Zinn
What is a patriot, you ask? Patriotism, true patriotism, has nothing to do with guns, bacon, barbecues, tits, beer, or a fucking flag. Instead, patriotism is nurturing the soil, eliminating personal debt, helping your neighbor dig a well, caring for older community members, and growing most of your own food.
Patriotism is about reducing your energy consumption and external inputs so that future generations will have something to work with. A patriot keeps their word, defends the rule of law, and values all living things, including liberty for all people, animals, and the earth. Their actions match their words, beliefs, and convictions. The courage in their heart propels them to stand alone, fighting for what they believe in. Patriotism is recognizing the failures of the past, course-correcting in the present, and giving our future selves the best shot at success.
“Cultivators of the earth are the most valuable citizens. They are the most vigorous, the most independent, the most virtuous, and they are tied to their country and wedded to its liberty and interests by the most lasting bands.” — Thomas Jefferson
According to this CNBC article from Independence Day 2021, Americans spent an estimated $7.5 billion on Fourth of July food, $1.4 billion on alcohol, and $1.5 billion on consumer fireworks. Then you have the millions spent by municipalities on fireworks as well. Seriously folks? When the acting "president" admits that food shortages are "gonna be real" in the coming months, what makes you think it's a good idea to blow your money and time on these entitlements?
Hear us out, what if, and it's a big IF, Americans took responsibility for their lives and started growing their own food via Freedom Gardens? What if the 40-50 million acres of useless lawns in the United States were converted to food production? Homeowners would no longer need to dump 59+ million pounds of toxic pesticides on their yards, waste 3 trillion gallons of water irrigating them, or spend $105 billion in yard care just to make lawns look nice. It's excesses like these that we can no longer afford.
We are in serious trouble right now. There is no time left to stop the house fire the government and our entitlements have created. No amount of voting, protesting, or social media awareness will keep the party going for someone else to deal with it. There is, however, time to locally take action to lessen the hurt to individuals and communities. Keep in mind that government policy appears to facilitate food shortages—over 90 food processing plants have been destroyed in 2022 alone, most under mysterious circumstances. When concerned citizens question this, they are gaslit and canceled. When Reuter's Ministry of Propaganda "fact-checkers" post an article telling you how to think about the subject, you can be certain something nefarious is underway. Put plainly, me thinks the lady doth protest too much. No one in authority is seriously talking about this, and it's reasonable to assume this is deliberate—so plan accordingly.
"Guard against the impostures of pretended patriotism." — George Washington
So, what now? What steps will you take to become independent on this Independence Day? We do not need nor advocate the use of force against anyone. We believe a declaration of independence starts with your mind. Walking away and peacefully denouncing the lies, manipulation, and destruction from those in positions of "authority" is a significant first step. This can easily be accomplished by admitting the government is not your friend nor is it doing its job to protect you. So, you need to be your biggest ally and take responsibility for yourself. Pay off debt, downsize your home, and reduce unnecessary expenditures to simplify your life.
Start producing food of some kind with the time, money, space, and resources available. Tear up that lawn and ornamental landscaping and start planting vegetables, fruit trees, nut trees, berries, and anything else that will nourish your body. Simply put, if there's a will, there's a way. When you start producing your own food, you reduce your dependence on a broken system. This is true independence the Founding Fathers would be proud of.
My partner and I are in the trenches of liberty with you. We too are growing our own Freedom Garden with as many edible plants as resources allow. We eliminated debt by reducing frivolous wants and living within our means. We installed a modest solar panel system to provide all our necessary electricity. Even our water comes from a small hand pump well and rain-water catchment system. Being stewards of our little piece of America means we work with the land and build soil instead of dumping chemicals on it or eroding it away to nothing. We take the challenges our nation faces seriously and are doing what we can to reduce our dependence on outside inputs. This is what being a patriot means to us, and we hope to encourage you to do the same while there is still time. You are not alone in this fight—we are working right alongside you every step of the way.
Our words are harsh because we care so damn much about this land and this country—enough to risk reputational harm by coming out and telling everyone how shit really is. We have wasted the most prosperous time in human history by developing new and more expensive ways to make us stupid and lazy. Our current trajectory is not sustainable, so something must be done to give us the best possible chance of a future worth living. Simplify now to build your resilience.
Note: If you were offended by the words we wrote, we have a final thought for you. Good luck with this next chapter—we don't see you making it very far.
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