I am normally a happy person that likes to think of myself as peaceful and loving with a kind heart and gentle soul.  Alas, current events have me questioning myself, suspecting everyone, and trusting almost no one.  I hate that I am accused of being systemically racist and living a life of white privilege even though nothing could be further from the truth.

There are many elephants in my room.

Sadness, boredom, and even a bit of depression lurk in the recesses of my daily life.  I say this with the knowledge that I was mostly prepared for the multiple SHTF events that have occurred this year.  That said, I was not and am not immune to the long-lasting effect of being locked down in social isolation.

This is not the way I want to live this chapter of my life and I suspect many of you do not as well.

A popular podcaster that I follow likes to remind us that if things are not right in your world, do something.  Don’t sit on your bum fretting, but act.  Talk.  Open yourself to discussion and, like I said, do something. 

And that, my friends, is the topic for today.

Those of you that follow my Strategic Living Facebook page are aware that my former website, Backdoor Survival was recently resold to an entity in the Philippines.  For now, I will refrain from lambasting prepping and survival sites owned by investors and not preppers.  Instead, I wish to publicly make you aware of a grievance I have with the new owners. 

In brief, they are misusing my name and personal story by claiming they belong to the founder, a so-called Mary Johnson. This is a lie.

Because they have failed to respond to my numerous emails and attempts to content them via social media, I will frame this as an “Open Letter” and hope they see it and respond.

What exactly is Independence Day?  Do we even know any more?  Reluctantly, I sat down at my computer yesterday and made a feeble attempt to put some thoughts together on the relevance of Independence Day, then and now.

Let me explain.

As I expressed to my followers on the Strategic Living Facebook page, I have gone underground for a few months, isolating myself from society and COVID-19 while at the same time absorbing the news of the day and trying to make sense of it.

The reality is that as prepared as I was and am with physical products and life-skills, I was not at all mentally prepared for the discourse of 2020:  the impeachment hearings, global pandemic, death of George Floyd, and unmitigated riots and anarchy.  To say that I am in a funk is, to put it mildly. 

When I finally shared this publicly, I heard a collective sigh of relief from others who were either afraid to speak up, or lacking a safe platform in which to do so.

So here we are today, on Independence Day in the United States.  This year it is a day without celebrations, picnics, BBQs, and fireworks. Many of us are self-isolating for fear of getting sick ourselves or infecting others.  Some are afraid to leave their homes lest they get car-jacked or their home is invaded while they are out.  Fear rules the day.

I don’t know about you, but this aging prepper and her husband are frustrated and depressed.  We don’t know what to believe and which expert to listen to.  Freedoms that we have long considered our right as citizens appear anything but.  And sadly, we realize that this may be the last year ever that July 4th will be recognized as the day the Continental Congress formally adopted the Declaration of Independence.

Knowing that this may be the last time we can publicly glorify our independence, I would like to reflect on the unique experiment we call the United States of America.

In late January, life, as we know it today, was quite different.  We were free to come and go as we please, to get a haircut, dine at a local pub, and mingle with our friends.  The news of the day was mostly about politics and as disgusting as that can be at times, it was what it was.  Or was it?

More and more I became enmeshed and outraged by the news of the day and the bias of the mainstream media.  This was nothing new since my disdain for the MSM actually began over ten years ago and was part of the catalyst for becoming a prepper and starting my first website, Backdoor Survival.  But what was happening now was worse – a lot worse.  What was being passed to the unenlightened was opinion disguised as news.  It was disgusting.

As much as I dislike the term “Fake News”, indeed, that is what I was hearing and reading.  Hypocrisy was the rule rather than the exception and I was mad.  Do you remember that line from the movie Network?  “I’m as mad as hell, and I’m not going to take this anymore!”  That is how I felt.

In order to vent, I reached out to my pal George Ure (Urban Survival) to vent a bit.  As some of you know, George spent part of his career as a broadcast journalist and was the news director for a top Seattle radio station.  He was both well respected and well connected in the industry and was nothing if not 100% credible.

What follows is an interview I did with George before COVID-19 dominated the news.  I have sat on it for a few months thinking that in the big picture of things, perhaps it was no longer relevant.  Of course, I was wrong.  Questioning the ethics of journalism now, more than ever, is important.  As our liberty is being challenged and our right to free speech suppressed, what George has to say is timely.

Life as we know it has indeed changed and may never return.  Corrupt politicians and their partners, the lame-stream media, are accelerating changes I thought I would never see in my lifetime.

Enjoy (if you can) my interview with George and let me know what you think.