What exactly is Independence Day? Do we even know any more? Reluctantly, I sat down at my computer 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.
A Rags to Riches Nation
Some call it the American Dream while others will simply embrace the concept of rags to riches. For sure, many of us have relatives and friends that started life with nothing and ended up with a nice home, perhaps their own business, and a nest egg to carry them through retirement.
I know about this first hand. I was one of those persons.
This United States of America is a nation where an individual can work hard and invest the time needed to achieve a vision or a goal. Indeed, there may be some luck involved, but for the most part, success is right around the corner to a hard-working American. Think about it. To this day, immigrants from around the world are willing to risk everything to have a chance to start a family, earn a living, and succeed in a life free of oppression and government intervention. They want to become Americans.
How did this come to pass?
The Declaration of Independence
In 1776, fifty-six men signed a document called the Declaration of Independence, officially breaking away from England, who, at the time, was the strongest nation in the world. It was Benjamin Franklin who prophetically said “We must indeed all hang together or most assuredly we shall all hang separately.” In this statement, he was referring to the need for the signers, and colonies they represented to stick together and stay strong in their opposition against their common enemy.
With this common goal, it took eight long years before our fledgling nation was truly independent. During that time, citizen-soldiers who took up arms and became the continental army under the leadership of George Washington and many other patriots. They fought the Revolutionary War, also known as the American War of Independence, and many died for the freedoms we now embrace but are at risk of losing.
These brave men, true warriors, were fighting for a separate and sovereign nation and the freedom from excessive taxation and the lack of representation on matters of governance. They were also fighting for the American Dream, self-governance, private land ownership, and a life where individual liberties and freedoms would be the norm.
To summarize, they were seeking freedom from tyranny and willing to risk everything to get it.
The Preamble Says It All
The Preamble to the Declaration of Independence states:
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”
With the challenges we are facing today, these words are more important than ever. Although we are a self-governing people, with a representative government supposedly determined by the ballot box, our system of governance is being torn apart by radical ideologists. We are surrounded by media disinformation, lies, deceit, and fraud.
Right now, at this moment, we are failing at freedom on a number of fronts. There are those that want to erase our history and destroy our symbols. They want to take away the fruits of our hard work and toil so that they can tell us what to do and when. If we are too old, the wrong religion, the wrong political party, or the wrong color, we are to be belittled and dismissed as irrelevant. We are told “OK Boomer”, or accused of being a “Karen”. It is disgusting, it is disturbing, and it is wrong.
Why This? Why Now?
Lest I be accused of going off the deep end, please understand that I am writing this for one simple reason: to tell you that you are not alone.
Although you may be too afraid to speak up publicly, there is a silent army of patriots just like you that are starting to prepare for a life of self-reliance and social isolation. Do not give up and if necessary, let me become your cheerleader. Inventory your essential supplies and polish up on skills that you may need down the road to survive. Become a maker, not a user. Learn self-defense, accumulate cash, and learn to live frugally.
A Word About Social Media
I abandoned my personal Facebook feed at the end of 2019. Furthermore, I never embraced Twitter or Instagram. That said, I still post to the Strategic Living Facebook Page on a semi-regular basis. As much as you may hate Facebook, this page is still a good place to pow-wow and share thoughts with like-minded folks. I encourage you to join us.
In addition, you may have heard the recent fanfare about a new social media site, Parler. I joined in March and got verified as @gayelevy. Parler promotes freedom of speech and does not censor like Facebook censored an article of mine that was posted a year ago. Can you believe this was censored? Really? Is American Freedom Under Siege?
Summing It All Up
Our freedom loving country is currently under siege by spoiled brats and hoodlums who have been radicalized by liberal colleges and socialist-leaning educators. It is also under siege by foreign actors that want to destroy us. Do not let them win. Call or write your elected representatives and tell how you feel. Giving up is not an option.
In closing, please remember we are still protected by three momentous documents, the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights. Let us take responsibility for the freedom we were granted and let out elected leaders know that we will not go down quietly.
May God help us all.
Yours for a Joyful Life,
Gaye
Strategic Haul
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Thanks for this article, Gaye. From her I just ‘liked’ the Strategic Living FB page. Keep up the good work, and keep your powder dry . . .
Thanks Gaye! I’ve missed you but I completely understand the turmoil going on in our country right now. From the day of the 2016 election, I’ve been preparing like crazy! Even though I m an experienced gardener, I’m very thankful I’ve been trying to up my game because I moved to AZ in 2015 as a way to escape the city, the snow, and a red state. I had great success with my raised bed garden the first year. The second year, I didn’t. The fourth yearI didn’t garden at all as I focused on my sustainable infrastructure. This year I was late getting started in the raised beds, but put in a 40×18 in ground garden only to discover the soil needs lots of amendments and nitrogen fixing. As I work on that, I learned to compost, got 10 chickens, started dehydration and preserving store bought food and I’m converting a room inside to a year round growing/potting area. I’m convinced preparing early, developing more skills, getting reference hard cover books, as much medicine and food supply for at least 5 years and continuing to be aware are vital! Now if I could just stop the nightmares and sleep without going over and over what I still need to do…
I believe that we need to prepare as the Bible says : A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself; but the simple pass on, and are punished. (Proverbs 27:12 KJV). But God also says: For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. (2 Timothy 1:7). As someone who has a little bit of experience with this living in a repressive Communist nation for years I will admit that you will miss the opportunities that you could have had by living locked up by fear. Jesus alone saves. John 3:16. God loves you all and wants the best for you all. Jeremiah 29:11 says For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.
Very good advice, it reminds me of my new favorite verse “Therefore let us not sleep as others do but watch and be sober” – 1 Thessalonians 5:6
Thank you…thank you for sharing your thoughts today. As strong as we like to think we are, these last few months have certainly been trying. The thought of loosing not just our history, but our future liberties, can be overwhelming. It’s comforting to know…we are not alone.
God Bless America…the land of the free, because of the brave.
I joined Parler to try it out
Thank you! Well said
Thank you for expressing your heart-felt thoughts. We, also, are so concerned about our country, this wonderful United States of America! It is heart-wrenching to watch demonstrators and rioters rip apart our cities, murder those in their way, and scream to defund law and order! As older citizens who pay attention, we see this is a well organized and funded effort to destroy our country and make us a socialist dictatorship by the Left!
I worry about the younger generation who show not destruction, but apathy of not wanting to watch and listen to all the horrors and so tune it all out and instead watch their favorite tv shows! This, in my opinion, can be as bad! We must be alert and informed and express our horror in as many comment sections and publications as we possibly can! I highly recommend watching “Life, Liberty, and Levin” on Sunday nights at 6 PM MDT on FOX. You’ll learn a lot about what’s really going on in this country!
This Constitution that we hold so dear was written by righteous men who made the American Covenant to be God-fearing and protect our land. We cannot fall into the Left and the media’s trap who support these radical movements and do nothing to stop them. I support our President and will do everything I can in my small way to help him to value and keep this Constitutional Republic! God bless America!
I’ve debated how best to respond, and I think I need to start by asking some questions:
What history is being erased and what symbols are being destroyed? Is this a reference to angry mobs tearing down statues? Maybe you’re talking about the Stars and Bars being banned at NASCAR and removed from the Mississippi state flag? Or is there something else going on that I’ve missed with all the other important news going on these days?
I find it fascinating how many folks want to glorify a bunch of folks who took arms up against the USA to preserve the right to own other people who just happened to have a different skin color.
To Dmwalsh: Clearly you are still attached to the mainstream media narrative. They are distorting, manipulating, and withholding information from you. Best to look around or one day, you may kick yourself and despair that you just didn’t know.
Ok, I’ll bite. What media channels should I be reading and/or listening to in order to get a wider picture?
FYI, I visit CNN, Fox News, BBC, CNBC, and Al-Jazeera websites to try to get a few differing views of the events of the day.
I notice that the media channels you listed are predominately those which express a far-left agenda. By that I mean that they do not give a balanced approach to anything related to politics on a national or local level. Notice as you are watching how many times these networks discredit or bring down President Trump and anything/anyone connected to him. Notice also if they ever give him any credit for ANY good things he does. If you do not, you are experiencing “media bias” and one-sided opinion politics which is trying to damage or destroy our Constitutional Republic! I, personally, stay away from that ideology at all cost! It is usually hate-filled! Be careful what you allow yourself to watch. It doesn’t take much to “poison the well of the mind.”
There are several moderators on FOX news and FOX Business News who give a more balanced approach. As I mentioned before, I really like the no-nonsense approach of FOX’s Sunday night show of Mark Levin on “Life, Liberty, and Levin.” He has very credible guests, and they exchanges one on one dialogue for a meaningful and thoughtful exchange without interrupting and arguing. Others on FOX I find credible include Tucker Carlson, Lou Dobbs, Sean Hannity, Steve Hilton, Jesse Watters, and Laura Ingraham.
I watch VERY little television news, only local Boston channels and skip any national news segments (DVRs are a wonderful tool.) I get most of my national and world news online from those sites I mentioned, plus an app called SmartNews which aggregates stories from a number of sources.
Though, I do have to say if you think BBC and Al-Jezeera are far left channels, then you and I have very different definitions of right and left.
Dmwalsh: As you continue your search for truth, especially take note: This is NOT about race. Look up BLM and what their leaders say about their goals, what type of training do they say they have? (hint: Marxist), have they refrained from destroying black and minority owned businesses? Have blacks been off limits for attacks and killing by these “protesters” (marauders may be a better word).
Do not be fooled. This is a MUCH bigger agenda and it is complex and it involves many facets and ultimately much of the false narratives we have been subjected to have been in order to allow the “powers that be” (not the current President), to continue as they have on a path far from who and what the United States was, is and strives to become.
Let’s quickly go over some of the attacks designed to remove a duly elected president and convince the people that Libs/Dems are good and Reps/Pres is bad (oh dear, the U.S. can’t make a decision on their own and have unwittingly elected a “bad man”- (actually that may well be true for a prior Pres. or two but it was largely because the American people are good and hopeful and NOT systemically racist)
1. Russia, Russia, Russia – started with a report paid for by the DNC in order to give cause to spy on incoming President and used to railroad a 3 star general into admitting crimes he was not guilty of – known to be NOT guilty – think coercion and threats.
2. Quid Pro Quo – Biden on record admitting to forcing the firing of an investigator in Ukraine if Ukraine wanted funding. Trump – proven NOT to have done this.
3. Pandemic of curious origins, with Dems front and center saying – it’s no problem – go out have fun. Remember Pelosi in Chinatown? That was in late February. Trump stopped incoming travel from China in January shortly after we all realized something was up with a virus. He was called a Xenophobe by the Dems and villainized in the media.
There is so much more: we can start next with some things that the existing President has done to improve our standing in the world, our ability to thrive and succeed at home and to preserve our constitutional rights.
You may say, “well – he’s letting our cities be destroyed”. No, it is the Democratic governors and mayors doing that – it is their job to protect the citizens of their states and if they need help all they have to do is ask. They refuse and in fact join in with the far left (NOT protesters against racism but protesters against the United States and our constitution). I would bet that the hope was that Trump would rush in a take over and then the narrative could be “Look, he’s a dictator. The States are supposed to be in charge of protecting their citizens and businesses.”
Back to the point:
a. Ever hear of “Opportunity Zones” – Trumps idea and project which helps minority and black communities.
b. How about the recent contract for ships in Wisconsin? Lots of jobs for a failing area.
c. How have you enjoyed the ACA? Did you keep your Dr.? Did your premiums decline or like so many others, did they double? And if you did not comply, did you enjoy being penalized? I didn’t – have had health insurance all of my life until the ACA – now I pay out of pocket (healthy so far), and it was appalling to pay for others to have 100% coverage when one big event would wipe me out. Trump got rid of the penalty – it’s a start.
d. How about the tax cuts? I saw a report that showed how all groups benefit and the middle and lower do in fact benefit more. But I will let you investigate that lest I report something incorrectly.
e. Trump called out other countries who have enjoyed our protection and aid without paying their fare share for the costs of our readiness. No wonder we have such a deficit. He is the first President in a long time to put the interests of our country first.
f. The previous administration left our stores of respirators etc. depleted. Trump immediately found ways to get respirators and masks and even temporary hospitals to those in our country, and other countries, who needed them.
g. Despite having two “hospital” ships in port, Cuomo still chose to send Covid positive Elderly (vulnerable and sick) patients into nursing homes where others were infected and many died. (some parents of politicians were surreptitiously removed before this happened – hmmm.)
h. Trump is bringing manufacturing of essential goods and services back to the U.S. so that no other country can hold us hostage. Think medicines manufactured in China.
I. Trump called out the World Health Organization who also came out at first with denials of the potential harm caused by this virus. They said, don’t worry no human to human transmission. Then it became a Pandemic? Why?
j. There has been a clear push to take away individual rights including right to communicate freely with others and to assemble. Think of all of the censorship that has occurred. e.g. removal of reports for Doctors saying the virus is bad if you get it but more like a super flu and the elderly and immunocompromised are most at risk – No need to close the entire economy.
k. Closing the economy likely occurred once it was realized that “Hey, we can say this is a pandemic”, scare the hell out of people, and ruin the economy. Then people will blame Trump and we can say “don’t worry, we will save you, just get this vaccine (likely courtesy of the Gates Foundation which Dr. Fauci and Dr. Birx are associated with), and consent to more surveillance, give up your rights and especially give up your guns (how convenient since now they want us without the protection of law enforcement).
l. There is so much more….let’s wait to see who all is involved with the whole Epstein-Maxwell operation.
As to media: Watch some of the memes that show how EVERY liberal outlet repeats the same talking point – often verbatim. They are being told what to say, there is not any journalism or investigation occurring on many of these “news sites”
There are lots of reasons for the “powers that be” to want to silence the President and you and me. As I said, this is NOT about racism – that is a tool. As the President says “In reality, they’re not after me, they’re after you – I’m just in the way”.
Kay, May I say: SPOT ON!! Very well said!
I applaud your perfect, spot-on response Kay!
You hit on so many of the major points. The media ignores every accomplishment of the current administration, then actively searches for the next issue to exploit.
What is happening today is not about racism. The current conflict began with Mr. Floyd in Minneapolis. While what happened to him was awful…no one has yet to give proof to it being an act of racism. However, the Left and MSM (which is predominantly Left-leaning) declare it racist…therefore all cops are racist now, right along with any one who disagrees with the Left’s agenda.
The goal is to abolish all police and to create the NWO via the UN.
Note: In the last couple of days stores have been posting signs they have no change (coins) to give customers and many stores will only accept credit payments. There’s no shortage of paper bills or coins…it’s the next step to a “cashless society”…to require everyone to pay for purchases electronically that can be monitored and tracked. (Big Brother at it’s finest.)
MSNBC
Thank you Carol Ann and Tina, I am grateful that more people see the truth. Tina, you brought up another facet which is very important-the money and the control associated with being able to a. monitor all spending and b. remove the access of those who are not compliant to even that which is theirs.
As I said there is so much more. We all need to resist in the ways we can and speak out where we can. My best to you both we are like the pebbles tossed into a pool, hopefully the small waves we make will intersect and others will begin tossing pebbles as well. The power of one becomes the power of two and then three…
Maury, are acknowledging MSNBC as one of the culprits? Perhaps a particularly significant culprit?