As we live our lives, circumstances and decisions we take effectively further narrow our choices. While I may have the innate potential to be a world class violinist, at 43 and having never touched a violin, with a need for a steady income, devoting the energy and time to becoming a power in the world of violins is a non-starter. My wife has become accustomed to eating every day, so such a career change is simply not feasible.
So it is as we look at our republic. The realities that obtain will determine what happens in our politics. We ignore reality at our peril. We hope for the Republican Establishment to embrace Ron Paul politics in futility. We hope the average American will embrace self-sufficiency and personal responsibility in vain.
While there remain several potential outcomes for us as a nation as we live through this particular Sunday, the likely avenues we will travel have been reduced to just a few by the realities of the world around us.
The 800 pound gorilla in our midst, the seeming unavoidable reality, is the pending collapse of our economy. Smarter people than I, people who are professionals in the world of finance and economics, are telling us that we have passed the point of no return and that collapse is imminent. When I apply my common sense and general understanding of how things work to the layman translations offered by folks like Denninger, I am must conclude that they are on target.
So, Reality One that I use as a premise for decisions I take is that an economic Armageddon is imminent. The date of said calamity is tough to nail down, for obvious reasons. Most of the BIG companies in our lives should have died in 2007/2008 as economic Darwinism reached out a boney hand. But the system was corrupted by meddling Government, delaying the inevitable.
The economic criminals among us are very good at what they do, so do not under-estimate their ability to string things along for a while. Running the printers is pumping money to big players, who are artificially keeping the stock markets inflated. It is, likely, the final bubble these folks will be able to create, as they have already destroyed every other significant sector of the economy. When this one blows, we do not have any working sector remaining on which to break our fall.
But running the printing presses is a delaying tactic. They are also trying to legislate, to paper-over, the obvious criminality of the housing and mortgage frauds, buying more time. They have games they can play, right up to the moment it all heaves the final breath and final collapse is upon us. They will try to delay the inevitable and to put as many assets in their column as possible before the system breaks.
Should a collapse be welcomed by Patriots?
Of course we all understand what a collapse means. Riots, hunger, famine, disease, and a heavy-handed assertion of power by Government. A collapse will fundamentally redefine our standard of living for at least a generation.
But if the goal of Patriots is a fundamental shift of the course our republic is travelling, and a return to our founding principles, would not a collapse with all of the horrors entailed, become an ally of the Patriot?
Who would most suffer from a collapse? Would it not be those who are least able and inclined to take care of themselves and pull their own weight in society? Is it not this very group of people who are today responsible for ruining the republic?
Good riddance. Sorry you must die an ugly death, but you are killing the rest of us slowly with your pathetic, parasitic existence.
Patriots, it would seem due to the realities on the ground, have only three feasible options for achieving the goal of returning the republic to Constitutional fundamentals.
Politics: Voting Patriots into the US House would certainly change course, without resorting to Second Amendment remedies. Do we have the time, considering the impending economic crises? If Patriots took the House in 2012 and immediately de-funded extra-Constitutional spending, we could theoretically avert collapse. Do Patriots have the will to even try? A political solution would require many stars to align, quickly, to even have a shot.
Second Amendment: This is a non-starter on so many levels, not the least of which is that Patriots have no interest in marching out in today's climate to engage. Patriots are greatly outnumbered. Forget how many firearms may be in the public, the more important assessment is how many people will take up arms and use them to advance the goals of the Patriot, and how many would take arms to advance the goals of Government (translated to: handouts and freebies). Public opinion is with the Squatters and Plunderers. For every block in suburban America on which a Patriot lives, there are several neighbors who would drop a dime on him to preserve their status quo.
There will be no Patriot uprising to any injury or insult inflicted by Government. No matter what hyperbole you hear or read, the next Waco, Ruby Ridge or Olofson will be met with the same response from Patriots as was TSA running knuckle-deep into wives, moms and children...at most Patriots will choose to avoid circumstances that would put them in conflict with Government. At most, Patriots will stop flying, we will not gear up and make a point at the airport.
Whether you consider that to be cowardice or pragmatism does not matter. It is demonstrated reality.
Collapse: If we accept the premise that a societal collapse is imminent, consider the prudence of simply using every day before the ruckus to lay-in supplies and prepare. When it happens, consider keeping your head down, and let the ugly realities of such a collapse run their course. Consider staying out of the way as people die in riots, of hunger and disease, while you remain strong and nourished in your basement.
In such circumstances, is it not likely that a moment will come when it is realistic for Patriots to emerge and impose Founding Principles with those who are left? It would begin small, in your AO, as defined by the range of your car equal to one-half tank of gas. Before long, these tiny circles as drawn on a map would begin to bump up against one another, forming larger bubbles and secure zones.
Patriots would be left with, essentially, a mopping up operation to be rid of the remaining assets of Tyranny and the few idiots who seek to become Warlords in the chaos.
It would appear that most Patriots are moving forward with hopes that politics may provide a solution, while preparing for collapse. There has been considerable positive response to my recent posts about engaging in 2012 politics, and most people are willing to engage, though hesitant to put too much faith in the outcome.
I think this is the most prudent path forward, given the circumstances facing us today.
Patriots do not seem to have much appetite for my suggestion of armed rallies (in Ruckus) akin to RTC events in the opening moments of it. The two most common concerns are very valid. Most are convinced they'd end up alone, as they have no confidence other Patriots would show up. Others are convinced that such rallies would fly into the teeth of Government strength, compounded by servants of Government who would respond with Ego rather than intellect. I can't argue with either point.
So, we prep as we work on politics.
If the political avenue works, outstanding!
If the collapse becomes reality, so be it!
Either way, Patriots will not simply submit to tyranny. How we get to Liberty is the only variable.
It may be that Collapse becomes the best friend of the Patriot and Liberty. Disease and famine will clear the field of enemies of Liberty. Those left standing will once again appreciate the values common among our Founding generation: self-sufficiency, personal responsibility, common sense...and genuine Freedom.
At the moment, Collapse looks like a win-win for Patriots.
Should the III engage in Politics?