What gets me riled up is what we, the United States public, invested our wealth in during those heady years when we reigned supreme on the world stage. We built a suburban infrastructure that relied heavily -- even exclusively -- on cheap, stolen oil. We went to Hawaii, we bought expensive cars, we added marble counter tops to our kitchens, we went out to dinner, we bought clothes, we did vast quantities of recreational drugs, and in the process we lost any semblance of self-sufficiency and sustainability that we once had. We lost the family farm, we went into debt, we stopped saving money, we forgot how to put up food, we had lots of children because we were told we were supposed to, we forgot how to garden, how to be thrifty, how to hunt, how to make do with less or little, how to re-use and repair, how to change our own oil, how to knit, how to be happy, how to eat well, how to be healthy, how to get real exercise, how to accept hardship, how to be civil to one another, how to give, how to be kind and thankful. We shitted away a King's ransom. And for what? What do we have to show for it? A nation full of crumbling, world-class freeways and houses. 50 million garages that are stuffed full of forgotten excess. Tens of millions of suburban consumers who have no real value, no real skills, no real savings, no real worth, no real clue, who have jello for brains. We have degenerated to a level where we know how to honk at each other, how to consume, how to sue one another, how to blame others for our own problems, and how to take as much as we can from the state and from the natural environment.
What is my point, you ask? I will get to that in a few moments. But first let me say that my point is critical, it must be acted upon, it is based on many years of studying world history and current affairs and the future. My point is this: Humanity now faces a multitude of looming problems that are global and epic and unprecedented in scale. These imminent crises include rapid climate change and accompanying rising sea levels, the increasing scarcity of resources and fresh water across the globe, widespread environmental degradation and possible systemic collapse, overpopulation, global economic collapse, and pandemics. The way to address this alarming state of affairs is to START INVESTING IN SUSTAINABILITY NOW, while you have an income, while the world economy still functions, while the vast multitudes sleep, while there is still time. This is it, our last chance. Work on the homestead, improve your relationships, get the ranch up-and-running, learn how to grow food, how to get by on less, how to love and live again.
Buy a quality rifle and pistol, and ammunition. This is no time to moralize. Your rifle and pistol may serve you, your children, and their children in a world that is far less civilized and prosperous than ours, a world in which the thin veneer of civilization was, indeed, quickly wiped away.
Buy a solid, functional mountain bike. Buy 2 sets of extra tubes for it, as well as a basket or rack, and learn how to repair and maintain it.
Set aside a minimum of 3 months worth of food, for long-term storage.
Learn the fundamentals of First Aid.
Plant a garden, and learn how to grow food. Better yet, plant a food forest or an orchard.
Learn how to raise animals, how to gather their eggs and milk and fur and poop, even how to slaughter, butcher and cook these critters.
Learn how to grow and use medicinal herbs.
Secure trusted friendships that will survive the coming storms.
Learn how to eat well and stay healthy.
Learn a skill that can serve as a cottage industry -- bicycle repair, ammo reloading, brewing or distilling, gardening, a healing art, soldiering, plumbing, auto repair, etc.
Increase your skill set across the board by learning functional homemaking fundamentals such as general home repair, cheese making, canning, cooking from scratch, baking, knitting, sewing, hide tanning, defensive shooting, etc.
Save money. Pay off your debt. Buy a house or land. Hedge against both deflation and hyperinflation, by investing some of your money in precious metals and/or STRIPS and/or TIPS and/or commodities.
Try to secure a job that can withstand rising oil shortages and social unrest and continued state financial bankruptcy/insolvency.
Consider where you live, and its advantages and disadvantages. Move to a more secure location if you must.
Stay abreast of world affairs, and act accordingly.
To those of you who are already on the bandwagon -- thank goodness! To those of you who are still in the dark -- this is your clarion call, these words are the light bulb that just flickered and got your attention. YOU'VE BEEN ALERTED. NOW YOU MUST MAKE GOOD.
And what of me, what purpose do I serve? If I am here for anything, it is to sound the alarm. People like me MUST exist in this world, people who see and imagine what lies down the road, and shout the warning to those around them. And it is imperative that we alarmists NEVER, EVER come to believe that Industrial society will do anything but fail completely. I don't know why this is true, I only know that it is. So, follow our advice, and hope we are wrong. The best future is the one in which we are wrong. But we can never know what the future will actually bring, so why not improve your life anyway, just in case? Start now. It's win-win, no matter what the outcome.
What is my point, you ask? I will get to that in a few moments. But first let me say that my point is critical, it must be acted upon, it is based on many years of studying world history and current affairs and the future. My point is this: Humanity now faces a multitude of looming problems that are global and epic and unprecedented in scale. These imminent crises include rapid climate change and accompanying rising sea levels, the increasing scarcity of resources and fresh water across the globe, widespread environmental degradation and possible systemic collapse, overpopulation, global economic collapse, and pandemics. The way to address this alarming state of affairs is to START INVESTING IN SUSTAINABILITY NOW, while you have an income, while the world economy still functions, while the vast multitudes sleep, while there is still time. This is it, our last chance. Work on the homestead, improve your relationships, get the ranch up-and-running, learn how to grow food, how to get by on less, how to love and live again.
Buy a quality rifle and pistol, and ammunition. This is no time to moralize. Your rifle and pistol may serve you, your children, and their children in a world that is far less civilized and prosperous than ours, a world in which the thin veneer of civilization was, indeed, quickly wiped away.
Buy a solid, functional mountain bike. Buy 2 sets of extra tubes for it, as well as a basket or rack, and learn how to repair and maintain it.
Set aside a minimum of 3 months worth of food, for long-term storage.
Learn the fundamentals of First Aid.
Plant a garden, and learn how to grow food. Better yet, plant a food forest or an orchard.
Learn how to raise animals, how to gather their eggs and milk and fur and poop, even how to slaughter, butcher and cook these critters.
Learn how to grow and use medicinal herbs.
Secure trusted friendships that will survive the coming storms.
Learn how to eat well and stay healthy.
Learn a skill that can serve as a cottage industry -- bicycle repair, ammo reloading, brewing or distilling, gardening, a healing art, soldiering, plumbing, auto repair, etc.
Increase your skill set across the board by learning functional homemaking fundamentals such as general home repair, cheese making, canning, cooking from scratch, baking, knitting, sewing, hide tanning, defensive shooting, etc.
Save money. Pay off your debt. Buy a house or land. Hedge against both deflation and hyperinflation, by investing some of your money in precious metals and/or STRIPS and/or TIPS and/or commodities.
Try to secure a job that can withstand rising oil shortages and social unrest and continued state financial bankruptcy/insolvency.
Consider where you live, and its advantages and disadvantages. Move to a more secure location if you must.
Stay abreast of world affairs, and act accordingly.
To those of you who are already on the bandwagon -- thank goodness! To those of you who are still in the dark -- this is your clarion call, these words are the light bulb that just flickered and got your attention. YOU'VE BEEN ALERTED. NOW YOU MUST MAKE GOOD.
And what of me, what purpose do I serve? If I am here for anything, it is to sound the alarm. People like me MUST exist in this world, people who see and imagine what lies down the road, and shout the warning to those around them. And it is imperative that we alarmists NEVER, EVER come to believe that Industrial society will do anything but fail completely. I don't know why this is true, I only know that it is. So, follow our advice, and hope we are wrong. The best future is the one in which we are wrong. But we can never know what the future will actually bring, so why not improve your life anyway, just in case? Start now. It's win-win, no matter what the outcome.
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