Guest Post by Hardscrabble Farmer
My youngest son and I have been collaborating on a form of homeschooling that involves a great deal more than simple assignments and projects. We work together daily around the farm and spend much of that time in rapt discussion about the books we are reading, or films we watch, and talk in depth about the ideas that concern him.
Most of it is Socratic in nature for I had always learned best by being challenged to formulate my own understanding of the world rather than as a passive receptacle of random facts. This past month we have been exploring the writings of Thoreau and trying to integrate understand his philosophical examination of self-reliance as it relates to our own lifestyle.
He sees the connections and understands the radical nature of his decision to walk away from society- one in ascendance rather than decline- but cannot fully see the similarity to his place in the world. So we select certain passages and try to find examples of those ideas in our daily life. While I wrote the following essay, the quotes that accompany it were chosen by him to accompany each passage. I’d give him an A.
For over thirty years I have been trying to keep up with the slow and steady fall of the American Empire. I have gone through the various Kubler-Ross stages of loss and grief and found myself not only coming to an acceptance of our current reality, but finding a way through to the other side. There has been, until recently, an overwhelming sense of hopelessness that permeated the American zeitgeist, a defeatist submission to the never ending slide from our independent heritage into a mommy dearest tyranny that never lets up.
For most of my adult life I struggled with things that were impossible to comprehend much less tackle. And so I became resigned to living in a state of perpetual frustration, unable to articulate my desire to actually do something about it until we quit waiting for the world to change.
“I learned this, at least, by my experiment; that if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours..” ― Thoreau, Henry David
We chose to withdraw into a neo-agrarian lifestyle tied to not only the land, but a kind of intentional self-reliance that demanded our constant atention and focus. While I have never stopped paying attention to the outrages of a culture headed towards the rocks, it no longer concerned me as it had in the past. I came to discover that the path towards collapse was not something that could be avoided, but was inexorable. Farming uncovered a set of fundamental truths about our purpose and the inexorable ebb and flow of life.
Order and chaos are the human equivalent of growth and decay, each dependent upon the other in order to maintain a balance in a closed system of both time and place. What is happening isn’t the result of mistakes and incompetence, but the natural result of a social order that has outlived it’s youthful vigor and fallen into a senescent torpor. We are where we are not because of anything we have done or failed to do, but because it was inevitable. There is, in this knowledge, a wonderful optimism and hope for the future.
“Live in each season as it passes; breathe the air, drink the drink, taste the fruit, and resign yourself to the influence of the earth.” ― Henry David Thoreau, Walden
Lately there has been a shift from the perpetual fury of doom porn posts and abject resignation towards something intentional. Some of my favorite writers have come to the conclusion that the only path left is to step aside and let it all burn rather than to fight for a system that no longer has much left that is worth perpetuating. The phraseology is almost identical, that it is time build something new, to find a way to create a new reality that reflects the values and beliefs of traditional America in a post-American landscape.
They acknowledge that the decay has become so entrenched that there no longer exists a path back to whatever it was that we fondly recall about the American experience of the last century and that the only sensible move is to find a place- and other like-minded people- where the foundations can laid for a brand new start.
“You must live in the present, launch yourself on every wave, find your eternity in each moment. Fools stand on their island of opportunities and look toward another land. There is no other land; there is no other life but this.” ― Henry David Thoreau
When we bought the farm almost 15 years ago we had a sense of what was coming. In fact we made our move more out of instinct than deliberation, without any real knowledge of what kind of work or skills sets it would entail, but with complete confidence that we could find a way to make it work for us as a family, to pull up roots in our ancestoral hometown in order to find a better life. I have written about those experiences, both the successes as well as the failures, and in as much detail and candor as I could manage at www.hardscrabblefarmer.com.
We have opened our farm and our lives to hundreds of strangers from all across the country and communicated with hundreds more in writing from all over the globe. We discovered that there are far more people interested in finding similar solutions to the problems they are facing than we ever imagined. They understood our decision to go Galt and retreat from the post-modern world while keeping an eye on it’s slouching path towards Gomorrah and shared their dreams to somehow, someday do the same.
As each year has passed and our experience has led us to the conclusion that we were both prescient and exceedingly fortunate to have acted when we did, it has also made us ask the next logical question; what’s next? We have a established a successful farming operation that works well in both a challenging climate and a difficult terrain. We have built the soils, bred up flocks and herds that have adapted ideally to the conditions of the ground- land race animals that are both hardy and nourishing, living natural lives and learned enough to be able to share our abilities with others in a meaningful way.
We’ve established a deep connection to the community, made friendships with like-minded members of the local community, raised our children in an environment that gave them an opportunity to experience freedom as well as responsibility, and turn a good marriage into an epic one. We’ve weathered storms and experienced losses with the same attitude as we have our achievements and successes and learned to adopt a stoic frame regardless of the vagaries and uncertainties of life and circumstance.
“How vain it is to sit down to write when you have not stood up to live.” ― Henry David Thoreau
And now we have reached a point in our life where we have choices to make, about our future, and about the role we play in sharing what we have done with others. As we head into the back forty of our lives and our children take the stage in the generational shift that has existed for as long as we have existed as a species it becomes apparent that we have something more to offer than just words on a screen.
I have tried to be a positive force regardless of the influences of the outside world, pointing other people towards a peaceful future built on realistic expectations. I have never tried to hide the difficulty and loss that is inextricably linked to a life lived in lockstep with nature, nor underplay the costs associated with stepping back from modernity. It wasn’t until recently that it became clear that it would lead us to the next step and hopefully present an opportunity for others to do something similar.
“I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived. I did not wish to live what was not life, living is so dear; nor did I wish to practise resignation, unless it was quite necessary. I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life, to live so sturdily and Spartan-like as to put to rout all that was not life, to cut a broad swath and shave close, to drive life into a corner, and reduce it to its lowest terms…” ― Henry David Thoreau
And so we’ve developed a simple plan. In the next year we will subdivide several lots in order to make them available to those interested in becoming neighbors to a family farm. This would not only allow us to continue to do what we have grown to love without wearing ourselves out into old age but to offer a chance for those who have decided to move on into the next stage of their own lives, in close proximity to a working farm, high above the banks of a dying Empire. We’d love to be able to encourage and teach anyone interested in a similar lifestyle, share our connections and skills and begin to build a safety net for the future.
Before we begin the process, however, we wanted to gauge the reaction of those who have known us longest through the stories we’ve told and the visits they’ve made to our land to see if this makes the same kind of sense to them that it does to us. As the final act plays out in the urban centers of the Western World the seeds for the future are being planted in the fertile soil created by that decay and while no one could possibly know the future, it is something worth preparing for today.
“If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put the foundations under them.” ― Henry David Thoreau, Walden
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Throughout the years of reading TBP your story has always been the one I found most inspiring.
There is certainly no better way to gather a community of like minded people and make sure there is always someone reliable to watch your 6.
Myself, the wife and brother in law are contemplating a move away from the cancer of Portland. Even on the vancouver side of the river the vermin from portland have slowly been taking over. This time washington waited like a whole 3 days before reinstating masking. The brother in law is IT and skilled enough to have his pick of remote IT work when he leaves the service of Bezos and his leviathan company. Myself i am in pest control the first lockdown killed my job.
Needless to say even the more left than right brother in law wants to move somewhere more rural less “diverse” and with a better community.
My family and I would love to know more!
Pogrom, pest control has certainly not been killed here in NH.
You mean the bugs go all the way up on that coast!?
Pest control is going strong here in AZ! and no masks or mandates…
Some time last year I decided to read all of the essays on http://www.hardscrabblefarmer.com, one per day, with my morning coffee. They each touched my heart in special ways, sometimes they made me laugh out loud, but more often they provided a deep optimism and hope that I was in need to hear. I am forever thankful for having found those pearls of wisdom.
As for building an intentional community of like minded people, I am not surprised that that idea ripened your mind.
It seems to be simply an extension of your generosity and of your ability to see what’s coming more clearly than most.
As always, the devil will be in the details. I expect that there will be many who scream “I’m in” or “pick me, pick me!”, but only very few will realize the hard work and sacrifices that will be required to make it work. Even fewer will actually walk the walk and commit to it with all their hearts and souls. The difficulty will be to find and choose just the right families/individuals, because I think the demand will be high.
Having said that, I’m in.
HSF, I envy your chosen route, we’re I a younger man I could see myself in a similar position. After growing up in SoCal, it was bitter to watch the evaporation of small “truck farms” and produce stands in the LA burbs of Carson and Torrance. And in the 90s I saw firsthand the “development “ of citrus, avocado and other orchards in Ventura county.
I really felt the connection and need to be connected to the land during my grad school days at UMinn while driving backroads to take the shortcut to my aunts house in Elkader, IA. I recall driving with my grandmere and commenting that if I had not set out to be a chemist, that I would have liked to be a farmer. Too bad I didn’t realize I could do both (I’ve met many working in science labs as they farm family land on the side, usually when they have to choose 1 or t’other due to aging parents etc I see them go back to the farm).
Anyway, that said, is there any legal way to force any covenants on your land sales to prevent undesirable elements moving in and causing trouble? Perhaps long term leases are the way to go.
You’d be surprised, or maybe not, how many folks back in Carson bought homes immediately adjacent to an oil refinery that had been in operation since the ‘30s and then made numerous complaints re odors and noise.
Same with airports. Move next to an airport operating longer than they’ve been alive then start agitating to close it down due to noise and “saaaaaaafety”.
I too lament the loss of agrarian reminders of the region’s past. Most recently the large Kimberly-Clark plant that made Kleenex and diapers in Fullerton was bulldozed (cost of production too high here in Commiefornia). On that site were a couple of acres, at least, of citrus and avocados, presumably part of the heritage of the area that was allowed to remain untouched.
Passing by these small groves early mornings on my work commute in blossom time was a rare treat. Nothing like orange trees in full flower.
Now the plant has been leveled to make room for 1.5M sq ft of tilt-up warehousing. Gone are the trees.
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/E9_pY8TX0AIBIWT?format=png&name=900×900
No, do not sub dived to non Family, Sons and Daughters only.
Sounds kind of hippy 60s. Think early, first years of Plymouth Plantation.
I do not think that this is about subdividing the farm itself. That would be unwise. Wait, let me rephrase that: That would be lunacy! I think we are talking about land in proximity.
Your thoughts nail it!
“As always, the devil will be in the details. I expect that there will be many who scream “I’m in” or “pick me, pick me!”, but only very few will realize the hard work and sacrifices that will be required to make it work. Even fewer will actually walk the walk and commit to it with all their hearts and souls. The difficulty will be to find and choose just the right families/individuals, because I think the demand will be high.”
We have more land than we can currently farm. We already have neighbors that surround our property. This isn’t an invitation to join a cult, it is a discussion about the possibility of sub-dividing a tract into 5 acre homestead lots to attract others who have the desire to become self-sufficient in an environment where there would be someone nearby to help them along. The type of people who would be most interested- I would think- would be those who are already drawn to the kind of life we’ve been building. The location that is far enough from the urban centers to provide some sort of buffer from the tumult in a state that is rooted in the idea of personal liberty- Live Free or Die is on our license plates.
The idea of everyone being atomized and living apart from others like them with similar values hasn’t really worked out to our advantage, has it? Have people who are already share your values and traditions living nearby seems like a no-brainer to me, but the reason I opened this up to discussion was so that people with different perspectives and experiences might be able to contribute some insights and advice. The fact is that once I get to a certain age, the likelihood of having to subdivide and sell off to whoever the realtor brings over is going to become a certainty. I would prefer to hold on to the part we already have in production in order to pass it along to my children without being forced to sell it outright and walk away from all of our years of labor and love when I can no longer afford to keep it.
Our entire family and some of closest confidants have been in a discussion about this for over a year and everyone thinks it’s a solid idea. I brought it here because I trust the motives, experience and intelligence of a vast number of the people who visit TBP. DC has it’s high paid think tanks coming up with all of their big plans, we’ve got our own here built by people with solid values and good intentions. You could hardly hope for a better forum to make plans for the future, and after all, what good would it do to see what’s coming if not to prepare for it in the best manner possible.
I did not realize that you have THAT much land as to be able to subdivide some of it and still pass on some to your children, so please disregard my comment above.
When I grew up in rural Germany, I loved horseback riding, but my family could not afford our own horse. I ended up riding and showing other people’s horses, whose owners were happy to get an excellent horse trainer (because I was good at it given it was a labor of love) for free.
The horses lived at a local family farm, a 3 minute bike ride from my house. I spent every day from 3-7pm of my youth at that farm, perhaps the best years of my life. Nothing compares to the freedom I felt galloping the distance of a freshly harvested corn field. As farmers in Germany often are, they run a tight ship, almost military style. I was yelled and cursed at for not sweeping the stable floors properly. I learned not to do that again and it instilled in me the value of a task well done and not to cut corners.
In the summer, we all helped with the hay harvest. They were long and brutal days of lifting up hundreds of hay bales onto the conveyor belt. Hard work for a skinny 14 year old girl. And yet, those days were awesome, and the smell of freshly cut grass and hay still evokes in me a certain sense of nostalgia.
When the farmer’s two sons were between 20 and 25 years old, he sat them down one day and asked them a serious question, that he needed them to tell him what the future of the farm will be. He wanted them to either firmly commit to continuing the farm operation when he would get too old, or to tell him at that time if they had no interest in that.
After some deliberation, they both said that they will continue to farm the land.
They held up their promise. Both in their 40s now, they have each built a house on the farm and are living there with their wives and children. When I visited Germany last month, I slept in the same room where I spent my youth. When I looked outside the window, I saw both sons and their father (who is now in his 70s) driving huge loads of hay to the farm before the rain was coming in late that night.
I never had full “hay-fever”, but I would have a face full of snot by the end of putting up hay, and I still remember enjoying it. That was on Grandpa’s farm and some odd jobs. As an adult I still didn’t mind it when I worked for a horse trainer and then for a ranch. However, putting in a 50 hour week putting up round bales is another story.
Still working on the ranch was the most enjoyable job (2 years, part time during school, full time otherwise) I ever had, but I figured I’d never be able to afford a family (which wasn’t in the cards anyways).
But I ended up vacillating between the military and science. Neither of those worked out as planned either. I have been trying to convince my wife to do something similar with our early retirement. And then this morning she tells me about this article.
So thanks to Hardscrabble for starting this conversation in our home.
Thanks for the clarification. I was wondering about that. Under different circumstances I would jump at the chance. I too am looking at the inevitable decline (I’ll be 65 here in less than a week), and have pondered what that’s going to look like in the next few years. I took over from my folks, and still support them as they live the last of their lives here, but I have no-one to pass it on to. So your mulling the options makes perfect sense to me.
Sounds like a pretty awesome idea. I hope people take you up on it.
Thoreau lived near town, had lots of friends and wasn’t the hermit that one would believe he was. His mom did his laundry and he did odd jobs for her. He was self sufficient… up to a point.
I went quasi-Galt several years ago. NO social media, smart phones or teevee, no tying into the materialistic and superficial lifestyles so empty and so prevalent. No regular job, no attachments to ‘stuff’ and clothes and other items acquired second hand. I make soap, I bake bread, I cook and quilt and, of course, paint. I can jury rig stuff and fix pvc plumbing and take care of whatall around here but I still need the proximity to civilization. I drive a car so have to got through all the fol-de-rol tied in with that, I need doctors and vets at times and electricians and other skilled folk.
I’ve often entertained the idea of a community of like minded folk living in close proximity and joined together for mutual benefit. I see the benefits and I see the flaws too. The key factor being factoring in personalities and age. Old farts will have a hard time keeping up and become a burden on the commune (for that is what it is) so that will need to be factored in. Then you have the control freaks wanting to run things according to their ideas and ego and there needs to be a mechanism to keep them in check.
You are fortunate in your family and vice versa. I would love to visit with you and yours were I closer geographically, you all are my kind of peeps. I hope you create your Walden Pond, we need that, especially for what’s coming.
Extremely solid plan, provided you perform some manner of personally vetting prospective buyers. Good fences make good neighbors and so on. It encapsulates the American version of tribalism. But methinks you’ve already done that. 🙂
IMHO you are striking right before the iron cools. We don’t have a lot of time on the U.S. clock. Gut feeling.
Hard Farmer,
As someone who has admired and appreciated your writing for a few years, I agree that your idea is rock-solid. I’ll also mention that when I saw your picture with Admin last 4th, I got the biggest kick out of your long hair!
I’d like to share a short personal anecdote that I see as relevant to your situation. In the early ’70’s, I purchased some land from my dad, and then a couple more adjoining plots that became available. It was heavily wooded jungle, with no utilities and barely accessible via a narrow gravel road. However, it was very near a beautiful glacier-carved, spring fed lake, a rarity in agrarian Iowa.
I built a modest wood cabin in the woods, with a well and septic tank. I was a budding carpenter in those days, with long hair and a ponytail. The locals referred to the area as Hippie Hollow.
Here’s where it gets interesting and pertains to your story. I had more land than I needed, so I sold off part of it, to two close friends. One of them was a tree trimmer, who had a small sawmill out on the farmhouse he rented. We built him a modest house out of locally milled native hardwoods; oak, ash, elm, red elm, black walnut and such. He has since died unexpectantly, and that house has had three subsequent owners, all reasonably good neighbors, with the current occupant being the best of the lot.
The other friend was a fellow hippie and adventurer, who inherited a share in some farmland, and he built a modest house out of recycled lumber from a couple of corn cribs from the farm. He is there to this day, and we’ve been friends for over 50 years. He’s quite a bit left of me politically, but we live with it.
Importantly, the neighborhood has changed a lot. Many more newer houses close by, city sewer and water now, paved streets, and the relentless raising of property taxes. Keep in mind this is a 50 year story.
I guess my point is, I agree with and support your idea, and as several others have mentioned, who your new neighbors will be is of key importance. Christian, conservative, 2nd Amendment loving, hard working families sound pretty good! My guess is nearly all of your fans here would trust your good judgement on whom you choose as neighbors.
Vaclav Havel is mentioned often in this video about mass psychosis and menticide and he describes exactly what you are doing as a response to the present insanity.
A nice dream, but not based in the reality of property ownership and human nature. You will lose control of who your neighbors are. Even if you approve of the first buyer, if and when they sell, it will be out of your hands. I have never seen such an arrangement work unless it is only family members, and even then can be risky.
This country is living on borrowed time. Unless those folks are outta there within the next 5 years – which kinda defeats the purpose – that wouldn’t even factor into my decision. Especially since HSF is long in the tooth himself. (No offense.) 🙂
I tried this is the 80’s in my 30’s in West Texas and fell on my face.
Then in NC (14 acres) after the Petulant One was re-selected and took off like a rocket.
Good book…used the original in 2012 on…wore it out.
That was inspiring. We are earlier in our journey but having made some steps already. I have been a cultural secessionist for many years already, so that part is an evolution. If you would be willing please write about how you let go of old relationships as a result of your journey, and found new ones. I am finding both of those difficult.
I think if you’ll take a closer look at Thoreau , you’ll find he didn’t go into to the woods voluntarily.
BTW, are you an atheist ?
Most definitely not.
What would you tell the 1930s Kulaks if you could go back in time?
Resist.
Remember this, no matter how bad it is under any kind of political system, even in it’s most violent thrall, you can’t kill everyone. There are 45 million Ukrainians still alive today. Granted not everyone has the luck, but there are too many people and too much land to control or kill everyone and frankly I don’t think they have the abilities or the convictions of the Soviets on their path towards totalitarianism.
But I’m an optimist by nature. And I choose not to live in fear of what if.
God says otherwise.
Mark 13:20 KJV: And except that the Lord had shortened those days, no flesh should be saved: but for the elect’s sake, whom he hath chosen, …
It amazes me when people go to the Bible as a means to sow despair.
GLWT.
It’s only despair to an agnostic. Without despair of winning on ones own puny body and intellect it’s impossible to repent and seek Gods face and protection.
Self reliance will fail us. God reliance will save us.
If you want to believe this is a secular storm that will blow over and miss you, you do so at your own peril..
Seems a bit extreme. So I have to question where it comes from and to what purpose.
So why don’t you tell me where you think it’s coming from instead of insinuating by sniping from a building a mile away.
I see it as peddling hopium in a pretty dress.
We are in the midst of a designed collapse of the entire country and reformulation of anything left over into a food and mineral plantation for the NWO.
I figured you’d promote trannyism as holy.
I thought of this phrase in response to you and copied it from Wiki:
The phrase “God helps those who help themselves” is a motto that emphasizes the importance of self-initiative and agency. The expression is known around the world and is used to inspire people for self-help. The phrase originated in ancient Greece as “the Gods help those who help themselves” and may originally have been proverbial. It is illustrated by two of Aesop’s Fables and a similar sentiment is found in ancient Greek drama. Although it has been commonly attributed to Benjamin Franklin, the modern English wording appears earlier in Algernon Sidney’s work.
The phrase is often mistaken as a scriptural quote, though it is not stated verbatim in the Bible. Some Christians have criticized the expression as being contrary to the Bible’s message of God’s grace.[citation needed] A variant of the phrase can also be found in the Quran .
I had an executive officer on one of my boats that lived by the adage “If it’s going to be, it’s up to me”. I live with family members that don’t plan 5 minutes in advance let alone 5 years. They can do this as the ants in the family bail them out constantly. Some people that leave things to god are like family members that don’t plan.
But we urge you, brothers, to excel more and more and to aspire to live quietly, to attend to your own matters, and to work with your own hands, as we instructed you. Then you will behave properly toward outsiders, without being dependent on anyone.
Odin laughs at you anon I
HSF, what’s GLWT?
I imagine a man of your moral character and accomplishments would have a difficult time of understanding a need to have a Savior for sins he has committed……it is easy for someone who lived a life like I did.
I suppose I’m a dispensationalist..don’t know, because I have always looked for that Blessed Hope of His Return- and lived like I was given a ticket to sin. I discounted the depth of His Grace.
I might suggest that if you see that quote as an attempt to “sow despair”, you may not fully understand the message…?
annuit coeptis novus ordo seclorum <—-====
It amazes me how the foundational position of 'philosophical' writings have already been covered in Scripture…..
"and talk in depth about the ideas that concern him."
I would sure like to hear a little bit about what ideas of concern he holds?
I always have to look up these things, too. GLWT = Good Luck With That
you are not alone
GLWT == Good luck with that
Good Luck With That. It implies that if you choose a course of action predicated upon failure/loss/fate, your best outcome would be good luck.
Here’s the part anon1 responded to-
“…you can’t kill everyone.”
To which he responded-
“God says otherwise.” followed by the scripture-
“…no flesh should be saved…”
Wow, thanks, I guess I’ll go lay down in the yard and wait for the end times. It’s like a weird form of Divine cock blocking.
I found that to be deliberately pessimistic since the predicate phrase was-
“…except that the Lord had shortened those days…”
You think anon1 has a direct line to the Almighty? Is he a prophet? Then how would we know if these were, in fact, those days?
I can’t begin to describe how many times I have tried to convey a sense of purpose in the face of the never ending doom porn/tyrannical actions of our day in order to give some sense of hope. I’m not going to live in perpetual anxiety over what may or may not happen, now or someday when there is so much else that we can do. And I don’t appreciate people who are ostensibly good Christians trying to convince people we all gonna die- except them- because God chose them. If that’s your religion, you can keep it. It’s not compelling and it certainly isn’t in the spirit of love, but what else is new these days?
God of the Bible chooses everyone if and only if they choose Him by true faith
Everyone else does die eternally both physically and spiritually.
Both all inclusive and all exclusive.
Both the spirit of love and the spirit of judgement.
It wouldn’t be true love if we didn’t have a real choice with real consequences.
Hfs said “Here’s the part anon1 responded to-”
“…you can’t kill everyone.”
I did no such thing and as is not unusual here, you implied and insinuated volumes of misinformation into my brief words.
You nor anyone else here has ever heard me say or imply
“And I don’t appreciate people who are ostensibly good Christians trying to convince people we all gonna die- except them- because God chose them. If that’s your religion, you can keep it. It’s not compelling and it certainly isn’t in the spirit of love, but what else is new these days?”
“Remember this, no matter how bad it is under any kind of political system, even in it’s most violent thrall, you can’t kill everyone. There are 45 million Ukrainians still alive today. Granted not everyone has the luck, but there are too many people and too much land to control or kill everyone and frankly I don’t think they have the abilities or the convictions of the Soviets on their path towards totalitarianism.
But I’m an optimist by nature. And I choose not to live in fear of what if.”
Who told you to live in fear? Not me. I’ve said often and recently we need to be building our faith because this is not a secular storm that will blow over and miss me in Podunk as you have said in the past.
This is all spiritual in nature and they do indeed have the abilities and resolve to kill everyone. The lack of this fear you describe is in faith in God through Christ, not my physical or mental abilities.
“They” have stated often and loudly they plan to eliminate all but 500 million. Talk about claiming Christians think they are going to live and the others will die. You’re peddling a much more clever version by claiming you expect to be passed over.
Flash commented on your take on Thoreau by saying he didn’t go into the woods voluntarily and and are you an atheist. Glock asked you in direct relation to that by asking what you would say to the people who died in Holodomor who didn’t expect to be eliminated despite all the warning signs. That’s where this started.
You are free to believe what you want but when we post an article or comment, everyone is free to critique it.
There is a destructive spiritual war being waged throughout the world at this moment and We are in the midst of a designed collapse of the entire country and reformulation of anything left over into a food and mineral plantation for the NWO.
Farms will be a prime target for the taking.
Great reply, HSF….I appreciate it.
“Christians trying to convince people we all gonna die- except them- because God chose them.”
That’s not my ‘religion’
the belief in and worship of a superhuman controlling power, especially a personal God or gods.
a particular system of faith and worship
a pursuit or interest to which someone ascribes supreme importance. **BINGO**
The old cover is falling off, and binder broken, but the words are just as fit as ever.
“Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.”
I’m bettin’ this would describe you accurately, without getting into any debate about who/when the words were intended for (though that holds merit)
SPOILER ALERT: we all gonna die.
annuit coeptis novus ordo seclorum <—-==== that's not really about what you nor I believe…….but we will all deal with the consequences of it.
Preterist I am NOT.
“…except that the Lord had shortened those days…”
GCP holds (and can excellently uphold it with scripture) an understandable view of this passage, imho.
‘as it was in the days of Noah’…..again, imho, points to a genetic intrusion occurring, and being the reason for, the flood. The ‘days’ in which we find ourselves, points to another attempt ……..but, if memory serves, the genetic thing is something you are highly skeptic of?
I simply cannot seem to open my mind to any non Biblical explanation for our current circumstances..
annuit coeptis novus ordo seclorum <—-=====
There is plenty of evidence in stone, to support what 'god' those who founded this country believed in.
Despair is a sin. This is not only only a physical and physiological war, but a spiritual one as well. The greatest enemy we face is death and that is the only one we must defeat.
2 Corinthians 4:9
persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed;
Job 6:26
“Do you intend to reprove my words,
When the words of one in despair belong to the wind?
Psalm 27:13
I would have despaired unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord
In the land of the living.
Mark 8:36
For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?
1 Peter 1:23
23 For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.
Flash says:
“The greatest enemy we face is death and that is the only one we must defeat.”
Jesus Christ died once, for all. Not sure what you mean by “we must defeat”?
When the plandemic rolled out (on Fri. the 13th), Emperor Trump declared war on “an invisible enemy”, and positioned the state to be the arbiter of life and death. How anyone can not see this as the embryonic stages of the promised mark of the beast is simply beyond me.
annuit coeptis novus ordo seclorum <—–====
The lie seems easier and the world wants easier.
10and with every wicked deception directed against those who are perishing, because they refused the love of the truth that would have saved them. 11 For this reason God will send them a powerful delusion so that they believe the lie, 12in order that judgment may come upon all who have disbelieved the truth and delighted in wickedness.…
Berean Study Bible · Download
If you not a follower of Christ, you lose. Death wins.
I thought it was obvious.
Matthew 6:34:
“Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.”
Doesn’t mean sit on your ass, it just means deal with what’s right in front of you while you can.
Or, as I prefer, this one:
“It is pointless to worry about the things you cannot control, because you can’t control them.
It is pointless to worry about the things you can control, because you can control them.”
– Wayne Dyer.
Worry–a very Human and Natural emotion–is a waste of time and energy. At it’s essence it’s bringing future problems forward in time.
“Doesn’t mean sit on your ass…”
Actually, it the context, it kinda does. Christ instructed His Jewish disciples to “not” work, to “not” worry about what they would eat or what they would wear; to “not” worry about money; to “not” even be concerned with what they should say to their “rulers” when apprehended, that the Holy Spirit would put words into their mouths, speaking through them! They had far more important things to do.
This is not how anyone should “follow Christ” today. This was a pattern for believing Israel. They were about to waltz right into the great tribulation and God would supernaturally feed (can you say mana from heaven) clothe and protect them (Mark 16:15-18).
Indeed, just the opposite occurs today. Our pattern to “follow Christ” is given to Paul by Christ to give to us.
1 Corinthians 11:1 KJB… “Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ.”
1 Timothy 1:15-16 KJB… “This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief. Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might shew forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting.”
We are to work to feed ourselves as HSF so admirably accomplishes.
2 Thessalonians 3:10-12 KJB… “For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat. For we hear that there are some which walk among you disorderly, working not at all, but are busybodies. Now them that are such we command and exhort by our Lord Jesus Christ, that with quietness they work, and eat their own bread.”
To follow Christ within the will of God today is to follow the example Christ sent to believers today; Paul.
If you’ve been (instructed) fooled to think that the “red letters” are instructions for you to follow, you are hardly alone. Most of Christendom finds itself in the same place. Read those words, take them literally, do not “spiritualize” them to fit your own belief systems. You will find that they are physically impossible to follow and rightly so, praise God!!!
Those guys, even with Gods supernatural assistance had and will yet again have it tough! We have it so much better! All we need to do is trust in what Christ already did! That He died for our sin, was buried and rose again the third day for our justification! Believe and be saved! Then… get on with your life, hopefully fully appreciating the amazing grace it took to give us such a gift!
Nobody said anything about sitting on our butts. Farmer said they can’t kill everyone. To which I quoted that simple verse with the statement that God says otherwise. He chose to twist that around and badmouth Christians who quote scripture. A not untypical tactic here. Nobody has ever heard me say do not prep or quit living. I have said repeatedly to build your faith first because without that you may as well sit around and wait for a miserable end. The idea that we are going to outsmart Satan with our puny human abilities is a disservice to others.
I don’t see him badmouthing those of us who quote scripture. Some quote scripture inappropriately, that ought to be pointed out.
I wasn’t directing that comment at you either but since you’re paying attention: you’re building your faith on a confused gospel. You (and the vast majority of churchianity) fail to rightly divide between what God had done and will again do with the nation Israel; and what He is doing today with the body of Christ. Two completely separate entities. Two completely distinct purposes. We ride with Paul alone, not at all with Peter, John, James and the rest of the Jewish believers; though we learn much about God by them.
Titus 3:4-7 KJB… “But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour; That being justified by HIS grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.”
Only He is righteous. Only He can declare something righteous. He has declared that His body, through faith in the shed blood of Christ as payment for our own sin debt, is righteous and therefore heaven bound!
Get on board and build your faith with the apostle Christ sent directly to you!
Wow…down votes
( what am I missing?)
Philippians 4:4-7 KJB… “Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice. Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand. Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”
I hear you. But .. MAN … it is hard at times !!!!
Throughout these tough times, there is a glorious day ahead of us. No matter how bad things get, one can always choose to focus on that. No one said it would be easy; just examine Paul’s life…
2 Corinthians 11:23-30 KJB… “Are they ministers of Christ? (I speak as a fool) I am more; in labours more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequent, in deaths oft. Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one. Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep; In journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; In weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness. Beside those things that are without, that which cometh upon me daily, the care of all the churches. Who is weak, and I am not weak? who is offended, and I burn not? If I must needs glory, I will glory of the things which concern mine infirmities.”
Glory in infirmities… WOW, that’s a man who KNOWS what’s up!
Romans 8:18 KJB… “For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.”
“When it was evening, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a deserted place, and the hour is now late; send the crowds away so that they may go into the villages and buy food for themselves.” Jesus said to them, “They need not go away; you give them something to eat.” They replied, “We have nothing here but five loaves and two fish.” And he said, “Bring them here to me.” Then he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven, and blessed and broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. And all ate and were filled; and they took up what was left over of the broken pieces, twelve baskets full. And those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children.”
There He was, the one who had made the lame to walk, the blind to see, who had given comfort to the afflicted, solace to the broken.
And yet, even as they were blessed to be in His company and to hear His words, they hungered for food. The human needs did not end with His words, but were present always.
Even in the midst of a spiritual crisis we must feed ourselves, our friends and family.
That’s all I’m trying to do at this stage of the game, find a way to feed the body while we struggle against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world.
I don’t have all the answers, but I have a few of them, and sharing them with good people seems like the least we can do in times like these.
HSF, you don’t have ALL the answers man, but you have chosen a life and a life-path that has given you more answers than most of the posters in this thread.
Living on a farmstead with animals and, well, LIFE, and death, and seasons and cycles, teaches a man a thing or two that other men unsimilarly situated will never see or truly understand.
I suspect you are a person with a strong intuition. Keep listening to it. It won’t fail you. It comes from a higher power.
“There are nine and sixty ways of composing tribal lays, and each and every one of them is RIGHT!” (<-Kipling)
Good luck brother!
What your doing is admirable! Keep on keeping on! I’m trying too albeit on a smaller scale.
Do you know why Jesus performed such miracles? Because the Jews require a sign. Had they (national Israel) believed that Christ was who He said He was, the great tribulation would have begun (2,000 years ago) and God would have seen them through as He saw their grandfathers through the desert.
We have it differently today.
2 Corinthians 5:7 KJB… “(For we walk by faith, not by sight:)”
1 Corinthians 1:22 KJB… “For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom:”
We have only to trust, don’t be a Greek seeking worldly wisdom… 😊
Ephesians 1:13 KJB… “In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,”
We trust in what He already did for us; not in what we hope to do. Nothing we can ever do could possibly be as good as what He did for us! Would you be executed to save your enemy?
Romans 5:10 KJB… “For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.”
I was His enemy and He died for me. Mind blowing…
Speaking directly to the Jewish tribulation saints who have an unfinished task at hand.
And you are going to be watching with soda and popcorn from your perch in heaven as the world groans in suffering.
If it were even true about those tribulation Jews it still doesn’t change a thing. Self reliance fails us.
You’d better be self reliant in the flesh as God will not provide you with physical blessings at this time.
1 Thessalonians 4:11-12 KJB… “And that ye study to be quiet, and to do your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you; That ye may walk honestly toward them that are without, and that ye may have lack of nothing.”
Seems to me HSF gets it.
Reliance on self for salvation another story entirely! GLWT…
Here is what I said. You inserted what you wanted to hear.
“It’s only despair to an agnostic. Without despair of winning on ones own puny body and intellect it’s impossible to repent and seek Gods face and protection.
Self reliance will fail us. God reliance will save us.
If you want to believe this is a secular storm that will blow over and miss you, you do so at your own peril..”
Our KenKaren Doll is so bright and shiny; like a special kind of turd.
Exactly! Very well said
Whadda KenKaren dickwad. Just sayin
That’s a good way to live. Hope & Joy are an awesome combination in the face of uncertainly. A little Appreciation thrown in won’t hurt either.
Beautiful essay! But how close are you to the outflow from cities when things go pearshaped? I have serious security concerns in the NE US…
Right you are. The worst thing for a government to lose is the confidence of its citizenry. We’re there for half the country. When they lose the ability to project a stable economy of scale, it’ll be 100%. In my estimation you’re doing the right thing.
Wrong. The bondage necessary to make those little fish into a big fish requires the organic process. Will alone is not enough. We are not a we. Nice fairy tale though. Now if the men were real men, there would be teeth in resistance. Oh, well. What matters is culture, and it’s gone. We have no behavioral soil anymore. “Bahh. I got mine. Can’t have war here.” Agri-culture is spelled with culture. HSF might plant something. Emasculation is a show stopper regardless. The cultural detritus we is leaving this world, and good riddance. Praise me some Jesus troll. The Stoic patience indeed.
I have been forwarding your post to other websites and have enjoyed you for years. You are a real inspiration. I am soon to be 63 years old. Never made it up to your place. From Boston and transitioning to Laconia for retirement. Being threatened with termination at a big 3 letter hospital in Boston West End after 28 years that our current CDC director hails from for refusing the shot. That my 57 year old wife will lose health insurance is my biggest concern but I will never be forced into a mRNA vax. My wife was on board long before me. My plan is to learn all I can about local plants that reduce inflammation and respiratory disease. I hope to find someone who knows and wants to teach or share this knowledge directly. I do not want a certificate course of some kind. I do want to make it a part of my life and spiritual journey. Give it the respect it deserves. PS the wife and I are planning on stopping by soon. Not to bother you but to check out the area and think ahead. Like you and Valcav Havel we do not plan to fight or even explain ourselves to others that don’t already see and think like us. We do plan on contributing to building an alternative that will be ready when the current structure of lies collapses. Again thank you for your example and inspiration. We will visit your town and farm this Fall . Dennis and Jackie Gaudet – Laconia NH and Revere MA
It took me the better part of the last 13 years to figure this out. Part of it is the futility of pushing on a string. Part of it is the time to de-program and re-teach. Most of it is having ZERO desire to save anything in the current system.
Good folks will be lost, bad folks will be lost, and they all had the same opportunities as I did to change who they are.
Fighting is a system. Live off the land and crap your enemy out as fertilizer for your tree of liberty. Capacity for war, capacity for peace, and the wisdom to prioritize correctly: that is what patriarchy is made of. The Christian imperative to be left alone is ridiculous. All watering holes are contested.
Nope, not about that for me. I’m no longer willing to invest my precious time into worthless endeavors. I want to savor every minute I can with my family and the core of my tribe is already established.
Fuck everyone else. I’ve spent years tilting at windmills. I’ll write an article or two if it’s on a topic that is of interest to me, but that’s about it. I reached my Karl Denninger moment in March. If folks wanna ask questions I’ll answer them to the best of my ability. But I’m auto-ignoring dumbfucks. IMHO Jim has waaaaay too much patience. I’d have banned a half dozen people over the last week or two.
But then again, I’m leaning toward a more dictatorial demeanor these days.
Umh. I too want to enjoy my last days. Imagine there’s no dumbasses. It’s easy if you try.
I look forward to meeting you both. We’ll put you in touch with a couple of herbalists we know who can answer just about any question you could come up with.
Thank you so much. Den and Jackie:)
For budding herbalists, I recommend any book by Stephen Buhner. The most recent one just came out two days ago: Herbal antivirals, 2nd edition.
“[E]ven in it’s most violent thrall, you can’t kill everyone.”
But several places have come pretty darn close.
I think Belarus suffered the highest losses of any nation during the war and that was still only 25%
Like I said earlier, we’ve had enough of the doom porn, it’s time for solutions.
Have you got any of those?
If the subject of God and his empowerment then disempowerment of lesser gods interests you, check out Michael Heiser’s videos . I grew up attending church and even went to a Christian school, but I’d never heard any talks on God and his divine council till I heard this.
Highly recommended read too….more info that I ever heard at church.
The Unseen Realm: Recovering the Supernatural Worldview of the Bible
BTW, Michael Heiser has been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. This guy is a national treasure.
And you still won’t hear anything worthwhile in one of those joints. Sam Untermyer and Cyrus Schofield saw to that.
For the same reasons you also won’t hear about the Serpent Seed or Heterosuperfecundation in the garden instead of Eve visiting a fruit stand to buy apples.
Heiser is good but even he is a product of Seminary.
Heiser doesn’t do rapture, Israel worship or other eschatology nonsense. Plenty of those that do though. Scroll on, till you find one.
Why an Obsession with Eschatology is a Waste of Time, Part 1
Didn’t say he did. I have several of his books including reversing Hermon and have listened to countless videos. He is still a product of the Seminaries so he won’t touch certain things.
He did a good service putting life in scripture by explaining how people would have understood words and passages completely foreign to modern minds.
I’m not obsessed with eschatology, I just don’t think it’s nonsense because it is happening all around us. We were told to discern the times.
anon I please share some sources, I’m very interested in deep exegesis, topics ranging from cessationism, heresies & heretics, false true teachers, KJV onliests,prophesy, etc, etc, etc
I’ll give you a sample to see if you are serious. Here is the one short video explaing what really happened in the garden. Without this one cannot understand what is happening today because they don’t know who the enemy is.
If you are still serious afterward just email me at [email protected]
“There is a principle that is proof against all arguments and a bar agains all information and cannot fail to lead a man into everlasting ignorance. That principle is contempt prior to investigation.” Herbert Spencer.
Same monotone stuff I heard for decades in church and school.
Have a refresher course.
Michael Heiser – What Happened in the Garden of Eden?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1RAMHF90tkw
There was no Satan in the garden of Eden.
Satan and Eden: with Dr. Michael Heiser
You never heard what I just posted in any mainstream church. And you can quote a product of those same churches all you want but that doesn’t make it accurate. He’s a product of Schofield seminaries. Satan wasn’t in the garden. Right!! And Eve ate an apple, right? And for that man was cursed?
Apparently you’ve never read or listened to a word Michael Heiser said or wrote and a liar to boot.
Update : I listened to the end of the video because that’s where it started , whereupon I heard nothing new, but doing little background on this televangelist , you’re right? I’ve never heard such nonsense. Does he heal with a cloak and prophecy too?
Greasy snake oil salesman comes to mind.
You don’t like it when it’s done to you but you don’t mind lying about what I posted because you never listened to a single minute of that video. You said satan was not in the garden. It’s right there in black and white. And you claim to read minds. How would you know what I read. I read enough of his stuff and listened to his mocking condescending voice more than enough to know he’s a product of Schofield. You on the other hand have never listened to one minute of Murray’s extensive audio and video library but lie about what’s in something you never looked at. Heiser works for groups fully beholden to government. Murray never did for a minute.
Satan had sex with Eve and begat the human race…yeah, I listen long enough. Crackpot heretics and the greasy charlatans like Murray make Christians look like imbeciles. Is it on purpose?
See, you didn’t listen to a single word. He never said nor implied it but you don’t mind lying about it do you.
He didn’t say Stan had sex with Eve and had Cain, which by extension is at least genetically a large part of the human race? Based on what?
It’s been my experience that it’s always the easily duped dumbass that follows the charlatans.
“Briefly, there are some commenters who believe that the Bible *really* teaches us that in the garden of Eden, Eve had sex with the serpent (aka, Satan or the Devil – never mind that Gen 3 does not use either of those terms) and fathered Cain. My contention is that the biblical text does not teach this nonsense. Rather, it is an idiosyncratic interpretation of the Eve narrative, projected into the text by misogynistic interpreters in the ancient Jewish community.
These ideas are ultimately based on two items (and then taken in different directions, depending on the interpreter: (1) the notion that Eve’s name can mean “serpent”; and (2) that the “deception” of Eve in Gen 3:13 has a sexual connotation. In regard to the first, the article linked to above refers to another article by Scott Layton. It is a technical discussion of Semitic morphology that shows the Semitic “Eve” is not the same as “serpent” (and so should not be understood that way, despite the fact that certain rabbis thought that way; NOTE: Just
because a rabbi thought X doesn’t mean X is true or even sensible).”
But Mike, someone might say, what about 1 John 3:12 (“We should not be like Cain, who was of the evil one and murdered his brother”)? Being “of the evil one” here is the same metaphorical meaning as when Jesus told the Pharisees (note this comes from John’s gospel – same writer as 1 John) they were of “their father the devil” (John 8:44). So, was the serpent out screwing more women producing the Pharisees? (I can just sense the anti-Semitic “Jews are the spawn of Satan” answer for that one). Cain was “of the evil one” because he murdered his brother — he did evil. And let’s look at 1 John 3:12 in its context, shall we? If we take 1 John 3:12 as Cain being literally fathered by Satan, then *all of us* are also the spawn of Satan, since verse 8 of that same chapter says, “Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil.” Since the same book (1 John 1:10) says that no one is without sin, I guess we were all spawned by Satan (even the people making the silly literal argument, unless they are somehow divine and not human [note: no “bloodlines” are mentioned in 1 John; its anyone who sins]). It’s obviously metaphorical.
That is an excellent example of twisting words and using sarcasim to distort something someone said and it does not address what Murray said in that video. Whoever he lumped into that it was not Murray but that wouldn’t bother you.
Murray said Eve had two sons in the garden by the not rare act of heterosuperfecundation. That’s a big word for you but look it up. One was lucifers(Cain) and only founded the Kenite nation not all humanity but lying doesn’t bother you. Able was Adams son and Seth was his replacement. Nowhere in the scripture does it ever say cain was Adams son.
Murray does the entire bible from the Hebrew and greek using the KJV for comparison and anyone can atch these 30 minutes videos and compare notes with Heisers 501c3 employer based videos. Heiser specializes in sarcasm, smirking, mocking and twisting of scripture and the words of a lot of good people. Certainly a Christian virtue.
As for Spencers quote. I linked Forbes and quotepark. Where did you come up with AA. Oh, that’s right, distortion doesn’t bother you.
As for using referencedot com as a method of slandering him, remember he is an anti Zionist and gets the treatment reserved for anyone with a national audience who exposes them.
Here is the SPLC hit piece you apparently get your info from.
https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/intelligence-report/2008/branson-televangelist-arnold-murray-preaches-christian-identity-theology
He is a former Marine and a veteran of the Chosin campaign and a member of “The Chosin Few”
Repeating a lie about his doctorate is cheap. Here is his statement from this link
https://sites.google.com/site/samuelelijahmaccabee/home/ministries
Doctorate of Religious Education
I have never claimed to have received a doctorate from Roy Gillaspie. I do not know where some of these “researchers” came up with this. Roy Gillaspie was simply a beloved teacher of God’s Word and I have never said or implied any such thing. It is true that I have a policy of not publicly stating where I earned my doctorate because then “critics” cannot judge me by association. I have always publicly stated that my credentials are my ability to teach God’s Word. To the extent that our Heavenly Father blesses me with the ability to clearly teach His Word then what higher ordination could there be?
Try this one, a more neutral source.https://cyber.harvard.edu/ipc/Group_5_Dispute_Results
Opening with It’s been my experience means you have no other argument than slander and ridicule.
You even stole William Paley’s quote an attributed to a socialist POS. Keep looking for that acorn blind pig.
“There is a principle which is a bar against all information, which is proof against all arguments, and which cannot fail to keep a man in everlasting ignorance – that principle is contempt prior to investigation.”
― William Paley
Nobody stole anything. Several people are credited with that saying and Spencer is one of them and you are as dishonest as the day is long. https://www.forbes.com/quotes/4324/
Contempt prior to investigation is what enslaves a mind to Ignorance.“ — Albert Einstein This or similar statements are more often misattributed to Herbert Spencer, but the source of the phrase “contempt prior to investigation” seems to have been William Paley, A View of the Evidences of Christianity (1794): “The infidelity of the Gentile world, and that more especially of men of rank and learning in it, is resolved into a principle which, in my judgment, will account for the inefficacy of any argument, or any evidence whatever, viz. contempt prior to examination.”
Source: https://quotepark.com/quotes/1880779-albert-einstein-
contempt-prior-to-investigation-is-what-enslaves-a/
Note that it says “Seems to have been attributed to Paley.
You can pound sand.
smh…ignorance always doubles down.
https://www.nwarkaa.org/herbertspencerquote.pdf
The so-called “Herbert Spencer quote” was added to Appendix II in the
publication of the 2nd edition Big Book in 1955. It is not an accurate
attribution. No written work by Spencer contains the quote. Current
research attributes the quote to the English clergyman, author and
college lecturer by the name of William Paley who lived from 1743 to
1805. Paley trained for the Anglican priesthood and was appointed a
fellow and tutor of his college in 1766 and rose through the ranks of
the Anglican Church.
Dude got fraud written all over him.
“According to Murray, he received his doctorate degree in theology and was a former U.S. Marine who served in the Korean War, although this background has been scrutinized and found to be largely unsubstantiated.”
Pastor Murray claimed to have attended Biola University, although the school’s registrar had no record of an individual named Arnold Murray being enrolled.
Surprised you side with the SPLC in trashing a Christian Identity Preacher and use their sources.
Here is the SPLC hit piece you apparently get your info from.
https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/intelligence-report/2008/branson-televangelist-arnold-murray-preaches-christian-identity-theology
He is a former Marine and a veteran of the Chosin campaign and a member of “The Chosin Few”
Repeating a lie about his doctorate is cheap. Here is his statement from this link
https://sites.google.com/site/samuelelijahmaccabee/home/ministries
Doctorate of Religious Education
I have never claimed to have received a doctorate from Roy Gillaspie. I do not know where some of these “researchers” came up with this. Roy Gillaspie was simply a beloved teacher of God’s Word and I have never said or implied any such thing. It is true that I have a policy of not publicly stating where I earned my doctorate because then “critics” cannot judge me by association. I have always publicly stated that my credentials are my ability to teach God’s Word. To the extent that our Heavenly Father blesses me with the ability to clearly teach His Word then what higher ordination could there be?
You idol Heiser works for a 5013c and we know what that means when it comes to truth telling or lack of it.
Here is a neutral search sites view on Murray.
https://cyber.harvard.edu/ipc/Group_5_Dispute_Results
Once again you can pound sand while you carry (((their))) water.
Whoa.
So which of you can tell me how many angels can dance on the head of a pin??? 🙂
He had Mommy and Sis providing plenty of aid also.
man, you are an inspiration, thats for sure. i’m trying to do something similar here in greece, though with a lot less (and a lot less productive) land and a much more hostile environment. every bit of inspiration helps. there is definitely a lot of resignation about ‘just step aside and let it burn’ for the bigger system. it’s hopelessly unsalvageable, and even if it _could_ be saved it’s no longer worth saving. its end is still a long and brutal process. all i can do from here is cheer for you and shout bravo for what you’ve accomplished, and as much as possible hope you manage to pass that on to the next generation.
When the avowed Marxists calling themselves, “The Young Turks”, held a cattle call for 1,000 people and selected the “Squad”, AOC and pals, Muslims with the head dress, for their camera friendly looks and empty brains to follow the script to get elected, and “take over the Democrat party”, in weak districts for ease of electability, they proceded to do it. AOC immediately held a noisy rally outside Pelosi’s office to let her know they were coming for her. Pelosi got the message to get on board or get run over and lose power.
However the 75,000,000 million that voted for Trump are still out there, and likely growing.
The folks are seeing the hopeless demented moron taking orders from Obama through Susan Rice, Obama’s old side kick front line stooge, is now exposed as the hopeless fool for all to see. Same with Kamala the cackler idiot.
The pendulum is swinging.
Martin Armstrong with his MEGA computer analyzing the world is seeing the swing coming.
I can’t understand why some people believe that Obama is pulling any strings. He’s a lazy puppet himself, dissolute and vain.
Thanks. I got tired of pointing that out.
Maybe we should adopt some graphic memes so we can repetitively post them like dumbass tags. Could be funny.
Agreed. Lazy, stupid and incompetent. It’s the globalists who are pulling the strings.
Why do you take the circus seriously. The higher elites either care, and its fixed, or they don’t care, and it doesn’t matter except for those who do and do not get elected. There is no positive value there for your attention investment. No pendulum. A cycle. Old phoenix to flame. There I go again, being insane. *walks away*
HSF
I greatly respect your thoughts, values and chosen lifestyle but truly believe what is coming is so all encompassing and evil it will literally leave no stone unturned and no person alone apart from full allegiance to it’s leadership and worship and any resistance will be a capital offense.
We all must hold dearly and uncompromisingly to our traditional Christian faith and values come what may and continue moving forward unwavering always to God’s desired end.
No matter what comes in both living and death by God’s miraculous grace His true followers will always overcome, will always ultimately prevail.
terrifying words there, but i read the same words and see the same basic picture here. we can’t give up, but i will also not be entirely surprised if we’re also attacked and destroyed here for not worshipping the enemy.
Fear is the mind killer. I remember raining 40mm from 2 apaches and a full infantry company for 15 minutes into a whadi with a machine gun squad. When I took my team to clear it, 3 were still alive and their weapons still functional.
It is harder to kill and destroy than people think, like HSF tried to point out with Ukraine. 20 years of occupation did not defeat the Iraqis or Afghanis and never once was DC able to form a stable puppet government in either. Just the façade of one.
Always remember … you COULD be right. COULD. We have no idea how long this could go on for. So HSF is correct to live life with an attitude of hope.
You will only prevail if you fight. Prayers and church gatherings are no longer enough. Fight peacefully and with love, but fight!
All nations / societies obviously run on their economy and the residents perception of their wealth and security. World wide numerous examples abound. This review of where we are is of KEEN INTEREST.
FED is in a liquidity trap. Explained two years ago.
https://realinvestmentadvice.com/shelton-the-fed-the-realization-of-a-liquidity-trap/
Now this is the result, with Zero interest rates.
https://realinvestmentadvice.com/japanization-the-sp-500-is-tracking-the-nikkei-of-1980/
There are families that would mesh and compliment and make greater what you and your family have so far achieved. There, the positive stuff is out of the way.
But, how will you vet the families? I would only consider families, as single or dating individuals, don’t bring anything to lose to the situation. No actual skin in the game.
Apt in the current climate; will you be inviting contagion, people of low morals, into your midst?
My wife and I tried a version of what you’re proposing in 2012. We just picked the wrong person. But that experience colors my views. The concept of circling the wagons with like-minded people is a smart and generous one. But how many people would really take a bullet for you?
Orlov’s “Communities That Abide”:
might be worth perusing. Do read the reviews.
Going forward, I would be hard pressed to TRUST any other than kin, but I am an asshole. So there is that.
I had no say in who bought the abutting properties over the years we’ve been here, nor the ones who were here first, but we’ve got some really great neighbors, so it seems the odds are in our favor, especially if we kick the idea out there to people we share values with rather than just pop it on the open market. I’m pretty sure that there are laws which prevent such actions on the landowner’s part.
There is risk in anything we do, that’s life. And I am not going to stop trusting people who’ve earned it, that’s too valuable a gift to discard based on temporal events.
If I were you, I would make prospective land buyers agree to helping your on your farm for a set number of hours/days per year as a condition of purchase. That way you win two ways: get help for free, plus monetize some of the land. Alternatively, you could lease out the lots in exchange for farm help and not actually sell the land.
The only downside of that arrangement would be that people tend to do shoddy work if the only reason that have to do a task is by force. So the trick would be to find people that actually enjoy farm work, not those that dread it.
Did I mention that our family is interested? We would love to move to NH. And I know how to stack hay bales (see above). My husband cooks well and can mow the lawn or operate heavy machinery. Our children look cute and will occupy and name your chicks. I can send you further details of our skills and prior accomplishments and our farming-CV upon request.
That just sounds like forcing trouble where none need exist. It sounds low trust and the point is to start above that level.
As he explained it, he is just controlling a real estate deal and the bonuses of good neighbors is the bonus. People doing all of this work of planning and moving are going to be very invested, at least initially.
At 5 acres its more appealing to couples going into retirement than beginning families, but I can see it working either way. It won’t be able to support a family without supplemental income. It would be an incredible environment to raise children, over anything in town.
People are going to change and unforeseen circumstances will arise. All you can do is the husbandry.
You might be right that it could invite more trouble than necessary. I was just brainstorming here. If one exchanges a piece of land of land for cash, and then said cash becomes worthless, then nothing was gained to prepare for the future, right? So having an agreement for farm help for years to come is something more tangible, even if invisible. It does not even have to be a written contractual agreement. Where I come from, horses are sold by handshake only, and those agreements are never broken. You stand by your word. If you trust each other, handshakes mean something. Or I could just be extremely naive…
I don’t know why you think that 5 acres would only attract retirees. Because of the lack of jobs in rural NH?
I do think that 5 acres is plenty of room. Read the book by Kains: Five acres and independence.
Currently, our suburban lot here is 0.28 acres. I “farm” about 0.1 acres of it (=vegetable garden), and if you have an indoor grow light, do some combination of square foot gardening and are flexible with what you eat depending on the weather and season, you can harvest a surprising amount of vegetables, enough so that we do not have to buy any veggies for our family for the growing season of about 6-8 months. To me, 5 acres would be huge.
I was trying to contribute to your brain storming, not rebut you. You have a good idea to make sure everyone understands expectations up front.
if you have decent soil and water you can do a lot with 5 acres. It still might be pushing it to get all your calories from 5 acres. we often confuse viability with growing the stuff thats expensive to buy – vegetables and fruits etc – and ignore the staple calories. Good soil and good care of preserving soil health, and adequate water, are enormously important. Here on arid land with thin poor soil, rain-fed fields will yield not one tenth of what an average field will yield in someplace like HF’s new hampshire- i have a patch a bit between a quarter acre and a third of an acre, that i plant (alternating years, the other year it is fallow and is grazed by a horse) with a variety of what that used to be common here – basically emmer – planting is whenever theres enough rain , ideally late november, to be able to plow it (done with a walk-behind diesel powered tilling machine, the previous generation used horses/mules/oxen for this) because april to october there is for sure not a drop of rain. planting is done by hand, broadcasting seed walking through the field. it’s a small field so this is trivial work.
weather here is highly variable but in a decent year the yield there is about 80 kilos of wheat heads (no straw, but still with the hulls on the seeds. these old varieties do not winnow easily at all and i have no winnowing machine. i harvest by hand with a sickle, and i thresh by ‘hand’ by beating the crap out of it with a flail and jumping on the pile with heavy boots, and separate the straw the old way by doing this on a breezy day and letting the wind blow the straw to the side of the threshing floor. old timers used horses, donkeys, and any idle people hanging around for this job. For that field, harvesting is maybe one easy day of work, but the threshing is two days of tiring work. anyway, of the 80s kilos one needs to keep , say, 20 kilos for replanting. One could safely say that 40% of the weight is the hulls, though it is better to store the grain with the hulls on as it is good protection from insects. storage is in stainless barrels that fit reasonably tight.
so on a shade under 1/3 acre, yield is 60 kilos in the hull or maybe 35 kilos bare grain. so say 250 pounds of edible grain per acre in a _decent_ year. in a crap year it could be much less.
For someone in a mediterranean environment this leads to the conclusion that one acre per person for basic calories is an absolute bare minimum for a starvation level of calories, and a couple bad years in a row will still put one into debt and eventually serfdom.
side note: as we currently dont depend on this to survive we dont eant it all, i keep most all of it for seed. A barrel opened up after a couple years, honest to god the barrel smelled exactly like the breakfast cereal grape nuts!
this past winter was a crap year. we were caught up in a lot of other things and i only planted a very small patch of about 1/10 of an acre to keep some fresh seed. the yield was dismal, rains were extremely late coming , not til almost christmastime did it get planted, and i only got maybe a single kilo of grain out of that patch. ‘harvest’ was walking the whole thing picking every single head off of any stalk i coudl find one by one, thats how little it was. if we were depending on that we’d have starved, or we’d have eaten the couple years old seed grain.
Yours sound like the stories my parents have told me about how they survived the war in rural Germany. They were 100% independent, without running water in the house. The days were filled with back breaking labor, but they never starved. They had an illegal/undeclared pig hidden behind one of the bedrooms and so did all their neighbors. Neighbors helped with slaughter after nightfall.
I think 100% independence is ideal, but you shoulf not let the inability to achieve that get in the way of attempting partial independence. If we could add a couple of pigs, a rabbitry and just more acreage to our current vegetable garden, we could probably get to 80% independence. I would also like to learn more about fermenting, canning and other forms of preserving the abundance of summer.
Thanks for your description!
yes, even if we do not get 100% of the way every bit helps. right now we can still buy supplies. During the wars in the 40s (in greece three wars in a row came through the country, the italian invasion in 1940 and their defeat in 1941, then the german invasion in 41 and the occupation til the end of the war, and then the attempted communist takeover backed by tito in 48/49), food was of course a major problem. during the winter of 41/42 there was a systematic confiscation of food supplies from the civilian population. Many houses had a false wall or a hole dug under the floor to hide some food. In the cities all sorts of black markets flourished with even occupation soldiers selling food to people for whatever small and valuable items gould be had. In the south of the country where most of the war was under italian occupation, the italian forces were not well-supplied and were expected to feed themselves from local sources. this meant that the italian forces combed the countryside regularly confiscating anything they wanted. There are interesting stories of puzzled greeks watching the germans chasing and killing or capturing their recent comrades in arms italian occupying forces after italy surrendered!
In areas where the communist forces held ground they were the most ruthless of all in plundering anything of value from the local population, even taking children to brainwash and enroll in youth batallions. handed back a rifle and send to go brutalizing and plundering neighboring regions. There are still many huge wounds open in the society from that era even 70-odd years later , as even many families found themselves split apart by those fights. hard to get a straight story out of most people because theyll still try taking sides even though almost everyone involved is dead.
all through this, in the countryside, most peoples only store of wealth was the food supply to last until the next season. when i rebuilt my house i kinda regret not building in some such hiding places – i of course had hired some help of cousins and neighbors during the building work and the whole process of construction was in full view of everyone else in the village and i figured any ‘hidden’ space would be noted as unusual by everyone, immediately identified as a hiding space, and would only stick in peoples memories even worse if/when such times come again. i think this time around we’ll have better success hiding excess supplies in buried caches out in the fields on the mountainside. As almost any labor involves digging holes or trenches by hand anyway (watering trees, vegetable plots, digging vineyard vines, etc) theres nothing suspicious about someone being seen out in a field digging.
thats one place where old construction techniques were more helpful to the task – most poorer class construction was drystone rubble masonry with only dirt or mud to fill the gaps. such walls can be taken apart and reassembled a bit at a time whereas all more recent construction is still stone, but with cement mortar. making holes or moving walls etc is a demolition project, and also leaves a much more visible evidence of modification. Still the house in its previous state was both a gigantic maze of small gaps for bugs and mice to nest in, for water to seep through the walls , and of course in an earthquake that will come down on your head.. so i rebuilt it with mortar. much more solid, but no easy hiding places in the walls..
Years ago when we had our will made the law firm at their presentation of getting your ducks in a row (Colorado) insisted to not put ones children on the deed to the property as many parents were forced out of their homes when child and spouse got divorced. The spouse would insist on the sale of parents home to gain half of the child’s percent of the property. That is in a community property state which NH is not.
I was discussing with son the current plan for the federal government to do away with the stepped up basis in all property on death of owner. He suggested putting his name on the deed of our home and I explained why not. I think we will put him on a beneficiary deed that passes to him without probate on our deaths though. That way it protects our property from divorce. Our concern is that DIL’s mom is two times divorced and that has resulted in my son and his wife maintaining separate accounts in their marriage even after almost a decade of knowing each other prior to marriage.
You probably already thought of this but to make it workable for younger people selling Contract For Deed might be the way to go. You can vet people then, too.
At that point have the infractions strictly spelled out and in your head, meaning how far you’ll stretch noncompliance due to ‘bad luck’, etc.
A typical story may be the dad is a deadbeat somehow, but everyone really likes the wife and kids and feels sorry for them. An old story, too. Pioneer diaries are very interesting reads.
Also, if you now gradually get power, water, and/or sewer to the plots (or one of them even) the success rate will most likely increase, but isn’t necessary of course.
yeah, i’d be really sketchy about either letting go of family land or of bringing in a bunch of weakly-vetted strangers into the area. if something goes wrong with them, too, the neighbors will lay the blame on who brought in those troublemakers.
hell, here we have trouble with a herder from another village who rented a few plots from a couple of weak hands here, over the past few years, and now uses this as an axcuse to treat everything in between those few plots, ad his own. he fences other peoples’ land off and runs his sheep in them, he fences off public roads even, and overgrazes whole areas. hell go on doing so til stopped, the law here is totally weak and when it ever does get involved is as likely to support an abuser as it is to possibly defend a victim.. and property rights were always rather weak here – even going back to roman law there were general expectations about private property which most americans would cringe at (people merely passing through your land had essentially a right of way so long as they were just going through from point a to point b, for example. someone else’s animals who broke in and caused damage, unless it could be proved that it was deliberate , the maximum liability was the actual direct damage to crops or whatever (nothing about years of lost labor and lost fruits for , say, damage to trees) – but long story short, these herders have been getting much bolder recently about stepping up their level of abuse and other people in the village are grumbling about the people who originally invited them in by ‘renting’ a couple plots to them.
in the old days this would have gone on to become a vendetta until the herders were driven out.
so i’d be cautious about selling or even leasing to outsiders unless they were very well vetted.
Don’t tempt me.
I’m going to show this to my daughter. She is the ‘gardner’ here and talks about doing a horticulture degree/program (she’s been heavily involved int he school farm here). It might be a good idea for her to communicate with you directly, to get your input and maybe, being as how she is of like mind to me (and you), it will be something she is interested in looking at.
For what it’s worth, I think it’s a marvellous idea.
“The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed and hence clamorous to be led to safety,
by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary.” H. L. Mencken
https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2021/08/fear_porn_incorporated.html
There are risks in everything. Many here seem to think keeping it in the family is the best idea, and may be in this case especially. However there is a saying to never do anything that increases the benefit of you being dead. Inheritance has many dangers and destroys many families.
We recently were told a story about a guy’s grown daughter/family that loved this certain area and always vacationed there. Well they started thinking about getting a plot and gradually working it. This area’s prices are increasing dramatically these days. They were fishing and met this old guy and just started talking. In short, he ended up selling them his place at extreme discount. He thought they were the perfect people to leave his land to. Of course they are very happy.
i wish i met some old timer like that around here! here the few people who might sell anything think thats their one and only ticket to living the rest of their days in ease and comfort, and everey once in a while some rich and stupid foriegner does pay stupid money for something enough to keep the dream blazing brightly.. meaning we cant afford our own land or houses anymore. add to that the same price inflation from bank funny-money as almost everywhere else. i worked a decade up in europe and saved every penny just to be able to build our tiny-ass house and buy a couple small plots, second rate land but its all i could find anyone selling and some is better than none. inherited nothing, and my parents even had inherited nothing- they left to the states a long time ago and cousins etc got what few bits of land we had in the family. i know we’re gonna have to survive on acorns for a few years pretty soon.
I didn’t say yet, but think this is great idea and will certainly open you guys up to new adventure while helping others!
We are actually somewhat doing the same thing but we are both so introverted (almost hermits but not all the way),and have had betrayal incidents, that we have to go about it in a more organic way and, more or less, just be open to it happening, if that makes sense.
I agree with the general thread that this is a terrific idea. I have had similar notions (dreams unformed, more Sidney Carton than Thoreau) about the best way through this season–which I agree is the best way to frame it; not only inevitable, but necessary. Multiple families, all of similar mindset, sharing a place where there is enough room for privacy, but help and community are within walking distance.
Not too unlike the westward expansion days, in principle.
The only suggestion is to be rigorous in you selection process. Everyone would need to be entirely committed.
Also, strong leadership would be necessary. I am not entirely sure Stoicism and Leadership are compatible. Just something to ponder…a Socratic challenge if you will.
As I read with interest, I think about the tax obligations of owning that much property. In generations past one could reliably count on work or investments for income. Along comes covid and/or woke society(sigh). Now, one can not count on any such things as savings, pension, investments or other work to get through retirement. With that in mind, I think it is prudent that you considering doing this just as a hedge so as to insure being able to keep the piece of property that you have developed and call home. If’n I were not already planted down, I would be on my way. Good luck!
email sent, friend.
It is a great idea and I hope several like-minded industrious patriots take you up on your timely offer.
We are just over a dozen years here, with all of the properties available around us when we moved here now owned by industrious people intent on being self-reliant and free.
It does seem to be the “choose this day whom you will serve” moment, doesn’t it?
Of course the new neighbors wouldn’t necessarily have to be good farmers but spicey like musicians, etc. to add flavor. Even the Germans had their polkas.
Of course it can lead to trouble, and that’s why there are Baptists! (joke- but same old thing over again)
>They acknowledge that the decay has become so entrenched that there no longer exists a path back
I’d say they and you now reached this point:
—
Don’t forget to teach this lesson to your son as well!
Meaning it’s of no use to stay glued to one’s current location, at some point you need to consider changing the country (while you still can.) That includes learning a new language.
I consider it highly likely that the US will go through a period like the 80 years of Russian communism, meaning not even your son can wait ’til it burns down. Most other options (revolution, WW3, or civil war) will end quicker but are highly unlikely to produce a good outcome.
You have built up your farm in 15 years, why shouldn’t he be able do the same somewhere else?
All the best to you and your family
Never forget the 3rd kind: Those that study history and do the wrong thing for selfish reasons regardless.
HSF knows my details, I won’t bore the rest of you with them.
I farmed 450 acres (successfully) in Canada. Trudope got elected and I left for Nicaragua.
My 1st marriage was barren (figuratively and literally) and I walked away with considerably less money than I could have ( seven 0 000 000’s) and a smile on my face.
5 years later, many acres of passion fruit, Jersey cows and all the fruit and veg you can eat and all of of sudden, I have 2 young girls (2nd marriage, prolific and rewarding) to look after….
We started talking to HSF about relocating to the Keene area, Free New Hampshire headquarters, close to HSF, good community, good schools, good everything for little girls to grow up in,…
Half Moon Farm, still for sale as far as I know,.. 770k if anybody is interested.
BUT,… SWAT teams taking down Bitcoin advocates in Keene,.. NFW
We have since attracted a community of Covid refugees, mostly European, deep pockets kind of folk.
We are building a school and a community, divided between high montane coffee/vegetables and a lower piece of dairy and fruit. Lots of fruit. I sold 80 000 lbs of passion fruit last week.
If you are interested in being a part of this community, james.d.fortier at the big G.com
Thanks for the offer!
After about 5 years ago realizing the West is imploding with nothing to stop it, and Augusto Del Noce telling/teaching me the underlying reasons in “The Crisis of Modernity” (was written 50 years ago!), I did
a) become a Christian (after being atheist all my life) by thought and action – not by adherence to any institutionalized form of Christianity (i.e. church.)
b) thought long and hard about my options. And came up with the understanding that basically only China and Russia are outside of the influence and control of the dying, insane empire (and maybe North Korea, and now Belarus and Iran.) For example the Nicaraguan prez, if asked by the US to jump, will only reply “how high?” or will soon be dispatched.
As China for a Caucasian is a dead end, that leaves Russia.
And Russia has the big advantage that it’s looking more by the day to be the final holdout of (Orthodox) Christianity, now that we even have a Marxist pope. That’s the hill I want to die on, if necessary.
At my age, I have one last chance to make a big change in my life. (I did several already, in hindsight not always for the better, but that’s life and at least I gained a lot of experience, without I wouldn’t be where I am today, in philosophical understanding.)
So I’ve been learning Russian for 13 months. I can halfway follow (not too fast, clearly spoken) Russian on the channels at https://www.ontvtime.ru/live/otr.html now.
I have moved to a Central European country last year, as a (likely) in-between step on my way to moving to Russia. It’s a nice country (I have lived here before), but the signs are clear that it is only a few years behind in the disintegration (not split, but shattering!) phase of the whole West.
The whole Corona shitshow has delayed me almost a year; now I’m finally (temporarily) settled and can start to look for a date to visit Russia for the first time, but it will likely be next spring.
All the best to you and your community
I share your understanding of what is going on, but it isn’t clear to me that withdrawal is the answer.
Among other things: unless you become neo-Amish – the world is still going to intrude.
The farmers pioneering farms on Indian-plundered land were fine for a short time – until the transportation (railroad) barons started to crack down.
It simply isn’t possible to be left alone.
This ain’t the grey leader for this fourth turning…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JbRTInYrd3Y
HSF,
Your present reality is my dream. I know I can’t remain in my beloved Colorado much longer and will soon leave for place with more space and less people. Also a place where the people think like I do and have the same desire of liberty and opportunity for themselves and their families. It seems my compass is directing me to Wyoming, the Panhandle of Nebraska or, the Black Hills of South Dakota. I like my pine and aspen covered Rocky Mountains and the stark beauty of the High Plains. If you can find the right folks that will mesh with you I think your idea is sound.
No doubt a smart decision for you, your family, and those who join you.
In the book of Ecclesiastes (chap 4, verse 12) it says: “And if one prevail against him, two shall withstand him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken.” Regardless of one’s opinion of the Bible, it would be hard to deny the truth behind that statement which could also be translated into: “Lone bananas get skinned, but there is strength in numbers”.
My roots go deep where I am at and I plan to make my stand here in the region of my ancestry. In fact, I’ve already made my stand and my years of blogging has only made me more confident and secure in my ideological positions – not to mention more forceful, polished, and articulate in both my speech and writing here in my locality.
I’m all in now. I stopped waiting some time ago. Mandatory vaccination and passports are my line in the sand. Try to restrict my ability to make a living or move about freely in public areas and see what happens.
There will be no bugging out for me. I’m known here and people are either with me or against me.
American Historian and philosopher Will Durant once wrote:
Just like clockwork. Godspeed, my online friends.
I got the high above the banks line from the Durants. I wish I could remember which volume it was in because it has stuck with me for years and years. Incomparable historians with a philosophical understanding of what we are as people.
I guess I was born in the wrong time.
Nope, right time. Often it’s not realized until the twilight of our lives, if then. You and a few others have bombarded me with ideas and inspiration.
Perhaps not a butterfly flapping its wings and causing a hurricane…maybe it’s just the ink of one sentence that changes one person and the nature of things. Everything is so inter-connected, so multi-dimensional.
Re: Which Durant Volume
Obviously, I collect quotes and, years ago, you referenced Durant’s “river banks” in a comment. At the time, you stated the author and source (which I later forgot), but I did keep your version which was a paraphrased rendition of that particular metaphor by Durant.
Then, last year, on the four year anniversary of my blog I quoted your rendering in an article I entitled “Corrupt Worldly Power is an Illusion, a Fleeting Pleasure, a False Premise, a Broken Promise”, thusly:
Then, later, another rephrasing of the quote appeared on the digital pages of TBP as follows (which you may have posted in one of your articles?):
I didn’t find the source at first, but, once you mentioned the Durants, I also found the quote that I posted in my above comment – which is from Durant’s “Story of Civilization” – volume 1 (1935) = “Our Oriental Heritage”
In the end, though, I was able to find the original quote that you first paraphrased so long ago. It’s actually all over the internet and attributed to the “Story of Civilization” but, so far, I’ve not seen from which of the 11 volumes is it written (admittedly, I haven’t put a whole lot of time into it either).
Anyway, here is the actual quote:
A.O. C. is correct: “Everything is so inter-connected, so multi-dimensional.” Ripples in the pond.
That may have been one of the kindest things anyone has ever done for me. That has been in my head since I first read it- my paraphrase was always a disappointment- but it is so good to know that it was there. I have lived my entire life trying to stay on those banks.
Thank you very much.
oh boy, will durant… a brilliant mind who could see into the soul of society and civilization. i doubt many of the younger generation has even heard of him. he might have been pooh-poohed by the hard core ‘academics’ as having written for a non-specialized audience, but those people entirely miss the point durant was making (actually was it not will and ariel together, he and his wife?)
one more sign of decline when we no longer listen to those who throw up the mirror to ourselves.
A wonderful idea. If I was 35 instead of 56….*sigh*…ah well!
Honestly, you have no idea how vicariously I live through you. The Rockwellian pictures you paint with your words is heart warming and hopeful. I pray for the best for you and your family, Farmer, and thank you for your contributions here.
I have been a farmer my whole life, a third generation farmer in the US, and my ancestors in Europe peasant farmers back to the 16th century.
I have followed your writings for some time. Your ideas of farming are somewhat different from mine. To make your progeny more independent and self sufficient, I think one should think of increasing ones land and production, not decreasing it. It is good to have good friends and neighbors. but to become more self sufficient and independent, one needs to produce more that one consumes.
My intuition says this would not be what I would do. Take it for what it is worth.
Point taken.
Were I young-er and well-er, I would be there giving it my best in a heartbeat. AS I am neither, I shall simply sit and lament, occasionally shedding a tear, about wrong decisions made in the past when I was both. But I will resist, as much as humanly possible…
[oh, btw…as I understand it, thoreau wasnt nearly as existential nor woodsy as He writes/claims. In fact, a bit of a fraud, very much UNLIKE our dear author of todays post.]
100!
No waiting.
I think this goes with your essay. My son’s latest release:
I wasn’t expecting that. Great song!
Just read all this thread!
Ahhh…this was so worth the time. Had company…been saving it!
What a strong compilation of worthy thoughts, opinions, and intellects.
I have long felt ‘if I live long enough’ I will end up one of those under the alter demanding revenge for my blood…at about the 5th Seal. If so I hope I can stand that persecution test and face the end of the beginning with courage…earning that white robe. Just my 2 cents.
My flesh wants to be expensive…my spirit wants to be obedient. I have always leaned toward the former not the latter…but I seem to be improving with age.
Filled three more buckets with food yesterday. Took delivery of an entire new well system as a backup, including a well bucket for my new well. Bought yet another blue can for the winter kerosene storage I will be stockpiling and hiding in my woods soon. Waiting on my latest PM order to arrive. Magazines all oiled and rotated out of the weapons. New camera system going in soon. Prep goes on day by day…week by week…month by quarter by year.
Like the dog said when they cut his tail off…it won’t be long now.
There are many sharper knives in this drawer than me…love taking the bits and pieces from those I agree with…and learn from…who are many.
ha ha, you said globe.
per your essay, i thought the same idea just the other day and daydreamed a bit of a life in NH. it was good.
You were the first to find that Easter egg, carefully hidden.
HSF
Surely a great idea you have, no doubt it will bring many blessings.
Kind of reminds me of Franklin Sanders, he had something similar a few years back, some adjoining land was needing a resident, and he was kind of encouraging like minded people to consider moving there and joining their community.
We are quite rural, but it is mostly our Amish friends who approach self sufficiency. Unfortunately the vast majority of those in our county do not even garden, and those who farm are mostly “big ag” or cash grain.
A community like you are planning has the potential to be terrific for what comes next.
We left all of our military dogs over there to be skinned and eaten by savages…May they get a place in hell where hot mop buckets of tar are shoved up their asses for eternity…Fuck Allah..the stupid sand nigger..
here here, the mother fuckers. God spare me! There is so much a human can take, but doing that to dogs is just too much! They have and haven’t any choice. They are just loyal. It makes me want to puke!
The Controllers will not let you live peacefully on a farm. Or maybe they will (if they are so inclined). But do not fool yourself thinking that you can reside in this country and yet somehow be outside of the coming new “system”.
It’s a careless fantasy. Preparing as best we can and thinking we will be passed by are entirely different things. From 65 to present we have practiced and perfected finding and eliminating resisters in the country and city alike. Whats different now is there will be no cameras to show the hellfire strike or the cyanide poisoning or the goon squad starving people out.
There are different levels of being in or out of the system. It will probably be vastly better to be even MOSTLY out of the system.
My Dad, born in 1939 in a medium sized town in Germany, spent many nights of his childhood scared for his life in the basement of his house. There was no school. Children played with spent ammo casings. Still, it was much better than in Dresden or Berlin.
My Mom was born in 1941 in rural Germany, in a farming village of maybe 100 people. She never even saw or heard one airplane and would not even have known that a war was happening if it wasn’t for the farmer’s sons all having been drafted.
Yes, I know, this is different, but we all have to make the best choice today and then hope and pray for the best.
And there it is, the simple truth of life itself.
My father was likewise born in 1939- on the first day of the the German invasion of Poland that kicked it all off. He was fortunate enough to live thousands of miles away from the conflict, but it still took his only uncle a year and half later in some nameless wadi in Tunisia.
Some of us fall and some of us remain, but giving up is simply inconceivable.
Rage against the dying of the light.
Another great read that reflects my thoughts, thankyou. I grew up on the land but left to get an engineering degree and then joined the RAAF for a period as a pilot. But, we bought land near my home and moved back there when we had had enough, and started a family. That was 23 years ago. All that you write we can relate to, especially the unplanned niggling prescience – most of my cohort went on to the airlines. Being independent and in touch with the earth, reality, death is a part of life outlook, gives mental confidence and toughness. But, the risks I see now are more personal than safely watching a slow motion train wreck from afar. “My Side of the Mountain’ and ‘On the Oregon Trail’ were from a simpler time, as was Thoreau. This isn’t just an organic structural collapse of a moribund system – within it is a controlled demolition. As in boxing, they don’t just throw one punch, but a combination. CV was the first punch, the jab the second, and another NBC release may well be the third. The first you block or it doesn’t hit hard, and then you evade the second. But the third blow comes in and hits you while ducking. i.e. All the vaxxed may have some protection against the third blow, but the unvaxxed may not. Your choice is die or be a vaxxed drone for the psychopathic elite. That is worst case, I hope. Best case is it is simply a big pharma shakedown of every country in the world.
If circumstances were different I might interested in a move but alas I can accomplish same sort thing here where I live. My wife and I are planning our Doomstead. We will be moving next year. There are days I wonder if it is a good idea but when read what you wrote here I am reassured that we are making the right decision. It will be close to a community with real connections like you have in New Hampshire and the hope is that it will bring some order out of the chaos we are living in now.
I would like though to drop by your farm someday to give a helping hand in building a barn or an outbuilding. And of course someday I would like to be in attendance for the July 4th shindig with all the other shit monkeys that live with me here in TBP.
Grew up on a ranch in Texas with the closest town being 700 people. As a teenager I hated it and longed for the bright lights and action of the big city. College, grad and medical school gave me a bit of free time to experience that.
A successful ortho practice allowed my wife, also a small town ranch girl, and I to squirrel away all our money to buy and build a ranch- thus returning to where we started. We are blessed.
It seems like eons ago that I suggested this…wait, it was eons ago. If you have decided to move somewhere safe (safer?) try a small town in rural America. Population of 150 to 1000. Northern corn belt where is gets cold. Houses with large lots for under 100k. Mild mannered people with a work ethic. Raise a huge garden, chickens, rabbits, fruit trees. Buy your meat by the half and have it butchered at the locker plant or frozen chicken from the local German colony. Get to know the Mayor and the city council members. Shovel the snow for the old lady next door, go to the Thanksgiving meal at the community center and meet your neighbors. Don’t make it so figgin difficult.
Yes……
I’m with you BOW WOWo…Arf…Arf!!
But for some (like me) it has to be well south of the Mason Dixon line…
Where we are today and what is required now is happening in Australia
From the article
In a 1787 Thomas Jefferson wrote a letter to William Stephens Smith, who was the son-in-law of John Adams. It was in this famous letter where Thomas Jefferson used the phrase “tree of liberty.”
Providence steps in when I least expect it! I tuned in to TBP at just the right time. HSF, this is a FANTASTIC idea, solution, proposal. I’ll be in touch. And will plan a trip to visit and explore. Say Ciao to the Family….
Marc, simpatico brother, simply simpatico.
I’ve been hoping you’d show up.
Come on up anytime, there’s always a place at our table for you.
TY M&M. Making plans for October. Anxious, excited, curious, anticipatory, grateful.
SeeBee
Love my SeeBee
HSF,
I appreciate that you always share from the heart and speak plainly about your endeavors. Farming and living off the land do bring you close the rhythm of life and you have walked a path that few of us would have had to courage to walk. I think your plan is very solid and, like others, believe you should consider a set of covenants on the apportioned land that does not impede freedom, but rather establishes the basis of a community. I would hesitate to push the idea of dictating how your new neighbors might live, but there should be an expectation of cohesion and collaboration. Everyone, including myself, would be interested has a deep seated sense of freedom and independence, but would understand the need for there to be elements of commonality and neighborly bonds. In a nutshell, it will require a willingness to be part of a community and desire to help neighbors & friends. I would also suggest that you should try to attract a group of people at various life stages or you could quickly end up with a retirement community. Depending on the amount of land you are talking about, you could have 5 acre and 2 acre parcels to create different price and entry points.
I wish you a heartfelt ” best wishes” in the endeavor, HSF
I get where the author is coming from and really admire the choice of how to live your life. I also really love the time spent with your son and the conversations you are having. This is real and so much better than sending your child to a public school (and I am a public school teacher).
Thing is, you are thinking totally in a five senses world; makes sense since this is where we are at (temporarily).
For those not of a spiritual inclination, this truth will be unknowable. For others, it may be kind of, sort of understandable. After all, one can only go so far based on the understanding of the knowledge you have based on the source of that knowledge.
There is a Book written that tells the tale of what is going on now and what the result will be. For those who understand the Book, it is Good News. For those that don’t, it will be a very scary time and place to be, on this earth.
Time to get your spiritual house in order . . .
One does not exclude the other.
Interesting observation.
When I was living the American Dream- big house with a white picket fence, new cars, high paying career, church deacon, etc.- one could easily have mistaken me for someone who had my house in order.
I had the respect of my community, all the bells and whistles that come from the consumerist lifestyle, a busy social life, involvement with the church, political position at the town level, civic organizations, etc. But there was something missing, a gaping hole where my conscience should have been. In order to live that kind of life, which in reflection was parasitic and shallow, I had to shut up the voice inside my head that told me the difference between right and wrong, valuable and trivial, eternal and temporal.
Had we not come to some kind of realization and acted in a moment of family tragedy when we followed our instincts I never would have escaped a fate far worse than physical death.
By doing this, even though we fought against it for years after we came up here, something happened, let’s say that the Spirit descended on us and gave us a revelation about our true purpose. And as we listened to that calling we moved towards a deeper understanding of the fleeting nature of our physical existence and a love for the nature of our destiny. Never in all the thousands of hours that I sat in the pews of our church did I ever experience the connection with my Creator as I do in a single moment feeding the lambs or watching the leaves drop from the trees in the autumn dusk.
Rarely do I find a way to express the connection I have with the higher power that guides my every action because it is ineffable.
Forgive me.
Marc, to say that I understand you would be an understatement. I never would’ve guessed any of that about you.
One day we need to meet so that I can walk you through my life the way you just did yours. Hard to explain those moments of clarity, isn’t it? Every little decision I’ve made over the last 5 years has been guided. I mean it. From which varieties of chickens to conserve to how to kill the Bermuda. And in doing so, you sort of become immersed in the flow. Call it the oscillations of life if you will.
The Gnostics believed that the Lord’s mission began in the Jordan River. That He was human who became divine via the Christ soul, which is not what the orthodoxy of today teaches. When He told his followers to leave everything and follow Him, it didn’t really click with me until last year. Gnosticism inculcates in one the knowledge that this world is for us to use to constantly improve our souls.
Thank you for that. It was a bit surprising to read, but refreshing nevertheless.
Farmer…we have similar punch lines.
That is the best thing you ever wrote.
Update from reading so many comments.
Scrabble, avoid allowing a church to built.
The farms hallowed enough.
Excellent idea, best of luck to you.
Maybe you can structure it as a cooperative? Or like a mutual insurance company, where the company is owned by the policy owners and everyone is incentivized to limit claims, expenses and get a dividend every year?
Or, with a view toward a longer-term outlook for would-be buyers by putting deed restrictions on the parcels you offer?
Perhaps there is a way to set it up in a tax advantaged way? Would you trade a lot for a Case IH combine and $10, for instance? Something like that where you can convey the land for a nominal fee and something else of value?
Food for thought but great idea. Make it happen.
To me, at least, that all sounds way too complicated and involved. But I think brainstorming ideas about how to set expectations up front is a good thing. It all comes down to what someone wrote above, regarding fences making good neighbors. But the fences should have gates so that people can visit freely (or choose to keep to themselves at times) to help each other.
I think you came up with an excellent idea for your self and family. Hope you get the results you’re after.
If I had more than five acres I would do the same thing. I often think of inviting other Arizonans down here. We used to have a lively horseshoe league until most of the pitchers passed on.
I have considered starting a neighborhood safety committee where anyone who wants can show up at the park, share a drink, and maybe toss around some ideas. Thought I might post an ad at the general store bulletin board. What do you think? Maybe say free beer, so as to attract the right king of people. Pretty sure at least 4 or 5 TBPers live nearby. So might not be bad.
Still hoping to come visit your farm some day HSF. Anyhow good luck on your idea. I wish you much success.
Marc,
creative, thoughtful and a good place to start discussions.
As an aid what do you anticipate the rough sizes of these subdivided lots might be?
My memory from my visit to your farm in 2020 is that your land is off of a driveway shared by others. Any thoughts on how that issue would be solved.
Anyway, forward thinking is clutch in here right now.
I have an interest,
Chipon1
We’re going to build a new entrance and road at the far end of the property.
5 Acres and Independence was the book that set us on this path and it seems like a natural choice for the number of sites and neighbors we’d like to see on that part of the land.
But as you said, we’re just starting the discussion.
Feel free to contact us if you’ve got any questions.