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.

There was a time in the not so recent past when I had a lot of angst.  I wrote about the need for personal independence and the protection of individual rights under what I perceived as big government and tyranny.  It may surprise you to learn that those thoughts have not changed and if anything, have accelerated in light of our current divisive political climate.

Today I feel I can no longer remain quiet.  This week is Independence Day in the United States and I for one, am fearful of what we may become.  I am full of angst.

Let me explain.

Since I began blogging in 2010, I have championed our right to freedom, free speech, and independence from cruel, unreasonable, or arbitrary use of power or control.  That is, by the way, the definition of tyranny.  In support of that,  I have done my best to stay focused on what we as individuals can do on our own to become self-reliant and prepared for the uncertain times that we face. 

There have been the expected bumps along the way, including a change in my perspective on certain aspects of prepping that no longer seem relevant.  Likewise, there have been the ebbs and tides of the risks inherent in my personal situation.

All that being said, one risk I have personally prepared for is the dismantling of one of the basic tenants upon which our nation was formed, namely the Declaration of Independence. That brings me around to Independence Day and the 4th of July. 

I have shared Independence Day sentiments in the past and quite honestly, nothing much has changed since my first Independence Day article in 2011.  The bag of woes we face as a nation still weighs a ton with the only difference being the contents of that bag.