Where Do We Go From Here?
2021 is off to an interesting start. I decided on the word interesting because it best captures the reality in what we are living in…
“may you live in interesting times”
- Chinese Proverb (some dispute its origin)
Heather and I have had many conversations about what 2021 will bring. I believe we are pretty smart cookies, but we did not predict what happened in Washington D.C. on 6 January. However, we have taken measures to prepare for the kind of domestic unrest that we all witnessed on 6 January, and throughout 2020 for that matter.
I want you to play close attention to something within this article, I will not be demeaning any politician or political party.
America, as a nation, lost because of the events of 6 January. The violence on that day, as did the violence throughout the summer of 2020, highlighted that America is a divided nation… more so than many believed.
I will make something clear right now. Violence is not the answer. It was not the answer on 6 January. It was not the answer in the numerous cities, to include D.C., throughout 2020.
Pause for one minute. If you believe what people did in D.C. on 6 January was wrong, but what people did in cities across America this past summer was okay, this article is not for you. Conversely, if what happened in cities across America this past summer was wrong, but what happened in D.C. on 6 January was okay, this article is not for you either.
Our audience is objective people.
Wrong is wrong.
Violence is violence.
What comes next in America will almost certainly test relationships. Depending on what media outlets you listen to, talking heads are telling you that those with opposing political views are subhuman, evil, un-American, NAZIs, etc.
I ask you a few simple questions. Think of your close friend or family member that has different political views than you.
Do you really believe they are those awful terms the media tells you they are?
Is your best friend, or former best friend, really a racist because they have differing policy views as you?
Are your coworkers really NAZIs that hate America?
Your mother in law, that has held your sleeping baby, is she really evil?
They correct answer is, No.
This lady loving her grand daughter is a NAZI? Really?
We have to stop. Turn off your T.V. and talk to your friends and family members. Note that I did not say yell at them, accuse them, brand them, etc. Ask them how they view things and why. Remove the emotion from it and do this thing we used to do back in the day… talk.
“Freedom of thought and freedom of speech in our great institutions are absolutely necessary for the preservation of our country. The moment either are restricted, liberty beings to wither and die.”
- John Peter Altgeld
Are there winners in America right now? I’ll leave you to answer that question but I would ask you to ponder a few things before answering.
Do you believe those who have differing political views than you should be able to express their opinion?
Is violence, regardless of the political or ideological cause, wrong?
Should someone who supported a President that you did not, lose their job? Should they be banned from social media?
Are people that have a political view different than yours evil?
Should everyone in the United States of America be forced to have the same political views as you?
Should people that have differing views as you be punished? Should they be silenced? Should they be allowed to travel?
Regardless of how you answered these questions, you are entitled to your opinion… for the time being, this is still America. However, I ask you this. If you believe those who have opposing political views are the enemy and should be treated like an enemy of the State, are the ideals you hold American? Do you believe in freedom and liberty?
Let’s ask another question, if you were King, Queen, or President for a day would you dictate or order that your political opponents be treated as less than within our society? Would you banish those who do not espouse the views you dictate are acceptable?
If this is what you want, the U.S. Constitution no longer matters…
Some may be reading this as somehow ridiculous. This would never happen in America. This could never happen in America.
Oh really?...
On 9 January, two women were reportedly kicked off of a DELTA Airlines flight after being overheard having a private conversation discussing their support for the President, according the the Citizen Free Press.
After the incidents on 6 January, Congressman Thompson proposed that protestors that attended the pro-Trump rally at the Capital Building be placed on the no-fly list, according to American Military News.
On 8 January, ABC News reported that people photographed at the pro-Trump protest (not the rioters that stormed the Capital Building) have been fired from their jobs.
As you know, we are homesteaders. We are homesteaders because we love the idea of independence, self-reliance, and self-resilience. I, as a U.S. Army Combat Veteran, would consider myself a Libertarian, meaning that I subscribe to the least feasible amount of government control over our lives. Now, there are of course nuances to that conversation, but at the basic level I love the idea of minimal government authority and maximum individual liberty.
On our land, we raise and grow our own food. We collect rainwater. We have invested in deep food storage. We have the means, ability, training, and skills to defend our homestead (I’ll stop there).
Your personal beliefs about politics or religion are your own.
It doesn’t matter to me until you attempt to dictate that others believe as you do, think as you think, or do as you do.
For those fans of history, you know of instances when the majority demands the minority fall in line. It never ends well.
Do you really want everyone to think like you? Are the people that view things differently than you really evil? Really?
Can you imagine if your next door neighbor was able to dictate what you believed, espoused, or did in your own home?
Well depending on how you answered the questions from earlier in this article, you either find the idea exciting or terrifying.
I offer a few brief words of advice.
Be careful what you celebrate.
If you find yourself cheering as those with differing political views as you are banned from social media, have their ability to bank removed, have a business or work taken from them, ask yourself if you would be as gleeful if these same measures were turned against you. Those who know history of nations that went down this path in the past understand the biggest cheerleaders of government/corporate power are the first ones… dealt with - by the power they cheered targeting other people… when they discover that power would be used to punish them as well.
Lest We Forget History…
In the midst of the Cold War, there were many Soviet defectors that fled to America as the Soviet Empire was beginning to collapse. There was one defector, Yuri Bezmenov, who was a KGB Propagandist who was operational in India, that was able to find safe haven in Canada. His job, in essence, was to target democratic nations for destabilization.
After arriving in Canada, Bezmenov gave a series of lectures and presentations concerning how the Soviet system of Communism is used to undermine and destabilize free societies, namely those in the West. During his time on the lecture circuit, in the mid-1980s, he warned the West to deny the tenants of Communism and its long term efforts, using academia, media, entertainment, progressive movements, corporations, ideologs, and corrupted government officials, to destroy civil cohesion within a nation.
He noted that what made America and the West unique was that the citizenry boasted real opportunity of success, civil liberties, and rights enshrined in founding documents, and the promotion of free thought and free expression. However, he warned these freedoms were at risk of slipping away if the body politic were not vigilant in their defense. The result of losing them, was the transition from a free nation to one that looked and operated eerily similar to the Soviet Union or the Chinese Communist Party.
We are completely aware that America has not hit the political/ideological bottom.
This will get worse. And we anticipate that events will happen that make 6 January or the violence that happened during the summer of 2020 look like child’s play.
We pray not. But we are realists.
So… we return to our homestead. We will prepare our gardens in the spring, plan for breeding more rabbits to stock up our freezer, and expand our chicken footprint.
As we stated in our article ‘Are You Really Ready For A Crisis?’, you should improve your fighting position.
As an example, if you get into a car accident it sucks. However, knowing that you have auto insurance reduces some of the stress about the aftermath.
Let’s say you were watching the news and the weatherman reported that analysis of a front moving in suggested that bad weather will hit in the next 24 hours. You decide to investigate a bit further and find out that the weather system is currently hitting a city a hundred miles north of you.
What do you do? You have 24 hours.
Do you sit and gamble that the storm will pass? Do you take a look at your pantry and check to see if you have enough provisions to get you through in case this storm is a doozy? Do you rush off to the store and purchase enough milk and bread to feed an Army?
We would argue that you should take measured but calm action to make sure you are okay when the storm hits and in the aftermath.
Regardless of your decision, would you rebuke others for preparing for the storm? Would you accept being lambasted for preparing for the storm? No… of course not.
My point. Prepare.
I won’t pretend to know what comes next in America. However, it doesn’t take a weatherman to see the storm clouds in the distance.
Lastly, I end with these words.
Your fellow American is not your enemy.
I remember years ago, a mentor of mine spoke to me about American unity. He argued the point of the ‘9/12 bump.’ As you all remember, the United States of America suffered a horrific attack on 9/11. The nation was shocked. The nation was hurt. The nation was angry.
On 9/12, America came together as on nation. We rallied around our flag and each other. This is not to say that there was not political divide, there was for sure… but Americans were able to set our differences aside and remember that we were all Americans. I recall, as a Sophomore in High School at the time, watching everyone at ground zero being one color… grey from the ash and dust from towers 1, 2, and 7 that had collapsed that day. Our race, political affiliation, religious ideology, academic achievements, or economic status mattered not.
I understand that what occurred throughout 2020 and 6 January are different. America’s nerves are exposed and everything is a crisis.
Regardless, we are Americans. A family. This is not to say that family doesn’t fight. But after we argue, say our hurtful words, or dust ourselves off from the scuffle, we are supposed to put the issue aside and come back together.
Here is to hoping that America is guided by our Constitution past this dark hour.
Lest we prove Mr. Bezmenov correct…
