For the past year, I have been in a funk.  Undoubtedly being my own worst enemy, and with time on my hands, I devour the news with disbelief at how bad the United States has descended into tyranny.

This is something I wrote about often at the now, apparently defunct, Backdoor Survival.  At the time, I spoke of the erosion of civil rights and the perfect storm for economic and political collapse.  My timing was off but as many in the survivalist prepper community have predicted, things are now happening on the public stage that are far worse than we imagined.

All that being said, for Independence Day, I wish to share the following tome with you.  Although I have made slight changes, it was originally was shared over a year ago by a member of my community and is a reminder that as far as I am concerned, we live in the greatest country in the world, warts and all. 

It is a quick read, but well worth it.

There was a time about nine years ago where I came to accept that I may be on an active prepper list being compiled by the US government.  Although I may sound a bit paranoid, to this day I still feel such a list consists and that a time may come when the PTB will come after preppers and confiscate our stuff.  They definitely plan to do that with our firearms.

With that out of the way, let us move on to the present.

Lists are being compiled.  Broad segments of our population are being publicly canceled and the media is telling anyone who will listen that 74 million citizens need to be cleansed of our ideology. 

Politics aside, this is just plain wrong.  It is Totalitarianism relabeled as “Cancel Culture”.  What happens next is downright scary. Who will they come after next in a world turned upside down from the angst created by a global pandemic and political strife? 

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.