Post
by C-Mag » Thu Mar 09, 2017 4:30 pm
The Case for Self-Reliance
Original thoughts by Carlus Magnus
Self-Reliance far too often is missing from our society. We have become a group that relies on 'them' and blames 'them' if we are not happy with outcomes. Self-Reliance means operating on ones own power(s), initiative or resources. Being Self-Reliant is good for Society, it is good for the Environment and it is good for the individual. More than that, I firmly believe it is immoral for people with the means not to be prepared to help themselves and others in times of Emergency.
We currently are facing a decrepit infrastructure that needs Billions of dollars to rebuild. We have Centralized our resource production and the control of that production. Whenever there is a Natural Disaster in an area there is panicked buying and store shelves are picked bare in a matter of hours. It also stresses the rest of our infrastructure from transportation to energy production to Emergency Services. There just is not enough money for State, Local and Government agencies to help in times of a natural disaster. There are many examples of this. During Katrina it was the Cajun Navy that rescued many stranded people and took them to safety. This small group of self reliant Bayou hillbillies were not greatly impacted by the storms due to their preparedness and they, in turn, were able to come to the aid of their fellow citizens. This plays out time and time again. During Hurricane Sandy, a few people with generators provided local power to people so they could charge their phones, communicate with loved ones, boil some water or cook some food. Private citizens, privately armed, stepped up and guarded communities against looters. You see this type of thing play out time after time. Just recently during the flooding and threat to the Oroville Spillway and Dam we saw people with no real connections to those affected giving shelter to man and beast alike. Sihks opened their temples, horse farms took in others animals. Without the aid of these good samaratins who are self reliant, able and willing to help the impact on society and the government would be much greater.
We've centralized our food production, irradiated it, packaged it in petro-chemical wrappers and keep putting it on trucks burning fossil fuels. We ship water to central growing locations and concentrate labor in those locations. Then we cover the fields in plastic to retain the valuable water. We have created a situation where one picker crapping in a field can cause a nation wide eColi outbreak. A system that relies solely on the ability of trucks to feed the country. A system where all the environmental impacts and chemical uses are concentrated. The solution to pollution is dilution. We have technology in growing food we could only dream of 50 - 100 years ago. We need to leverage it. On a small footprint an average family can grow a great deal of their own food and eat better, more nutritious food than they would get from the massive Agriculture conglomerates. It's not just food either, it's all the products we buy. Someone who can do something as simple as replacing a zipper in a coat or pair of pants is not buying another thing, and using more resources from our little blue marble here. Anything we do ourselves that saves having to buy something else preserves finite resources. We currently have 7.125 Billion people in our little terrarium in space. At current growth rates and without a major die off, in 20 short years the worlds population will more than double to total of around 16 Billion. Where will all those resources come from ? Do we have enough fuel, food and power to serve 16 Billion people? Our modern society, is still shaking off the Roaring 90's when fuel was cheap, McMansions were on the rise and there was a seeming abundance of everything. By the mid-21st Century preserving resources is going to be real for all of us on the planet.
Self-Reliance is a great journey to human growth. It's a great thing to pass on to future generations. If you stop and think about what we as a modern society are not able to do, that is necessary in our society, and was common place just a generation ago it's stunning. Who could patch and repair a flat tire today if there wasn't a service station available ? Who could provide power, water or heat if it was disrupted ? Hell, who can even navigate from one point to another without an I-Phone ? Our modern society relies on our infrastructure and technology to remain in tact for the vast majority of our civilization. We have created a system with great services, so good that few people have to learn to do much of anything for themselves. The unintended consequences of that are that no one knows how to anything, people live paycheck to paycheck happily and don't think about the future beyond the next weekend. I recently read an article where the majority of Americans could not write a $500 check if they had to. We've so blinded ourselves with technology and ease that we don't realize how fragile it all can be. Take a person that can't write that $500 check. What if someone in that family loses a job or gets laid off due to market forces? If they grow a portion of their own food, preserve their food and do most of their own repairs it's a much, much smaller impact to the family and society in general. If that family has not thought ahead and planned for harder times they will become another family needing government assistance and add another straw to the already burdened camels back.
Don't be shy about building a more Self-Reliant lifestyle. It's not about becoming one of the shameful idiots on Doomsday Preppers. It's about doing what's right for our nation, society, the environment and your family. If you have the means, not be a fool. Learn how to do something, put away a little something for hard times. Don't thing SHTF, TEOWAWKI, think about the shit that happens everyday. Natural disasters, employment interruptions and power interruptions. The average person can grow enough lettuce and herbs to take care of their family just in window sills. Most of us grow decorative plants. Try edible plants instead. Show your family or use it as a family activity to teach and learn about cycles of nature and plant growth. These are great opportunities that we shouldn't pass up. Try different things and when you find something you enjoy, have fun with it and get better. Become the person that can help out a neighbor in time of need. It's a great growth experience for humans.
End of Rant
PLATA O PLOMO
Don't fear authority, Fear Obedience
Life got waaay to busy and I ended up shutting it down. I miss doing the show.
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