Philosophy
Introduction
On this page, we will introduce you to our overall philosophy and some of the truths we hold dear.
What Are Your Sources?
Meaning, where do you get your information? Many people rely on their cell phones and their social media accounts to stay in touch with the world. Although social media may report a fallen tree on a state highway faster than the local news station, I still must ask: Is it wise to have social media as your only source? Do you lean left or right?
Regardless of where you find your information, you should always consider the source’s bias. Everyone’s biased; it’s in our nature!
Bias
Bias is the thing that overrides our steadfast logical thought processes. Consider a family deciding to flee their home land, a war torn country, in the midst of a civil war. Bias will keep them from making a timely decision. You’ll hear expressions like, “I can’t leave this place; everything I love is here” or “Where will I go?; What will I do?” and these very thoughts keep us from making sound, timely, and logical decisions. If things get bad enough, do you have a plan to “bug out”? Do you have a valid passport that is not a few months from expiration?
Whose responsibility is it to take care of your family, animals, or home? Much of society relies too much on Government and this institution must take care of some 400 million people. Is the government really equipped to respond to large scale natural disasters, fire, famine, conflict?
We made a conscious choice to reorganize our lives so as to not rely or depend on the government. The goal is lofty and really unachievable; after all, who provides the roadways, airports, fire and police services? We are in no way anti-government – we all need a government for basic services. However, why can’t we and why shouldn’t we reorganize our life, money, priorities, and skills to live differently and become more self-reliant. With today’s technology, we can learn to grow our own food, make our own electricity, get water from a well, heat from firewood, and secure ourselves and property. As a side note, I have not figured out how to connect to the Internet on my own accord, but do have multiple Internet Service Providers for redundancy.
Society Gets It Wrong
Over my life’s travels, I’ve come to realize that society, as a whole, is often wrong. Having visited several other countries and interacted with their cultures, I’ve come to realize what we hold important is influenced by our circumstance. I remember driving in the Saudi Arabian desert, dozens of miles from anything other than sand, and I came across a bedouin walking his sheep from where to where, I couldn’t begin to guess. This guy had the clothes on his back and a staff, and it was over 100 degrees Fahrenheit that day. I was in an air-conditioned jeep with cases of water, cell phone, two way FM radio, pager, and a rudimentary survival kit.
What are the sheep herder’s values? What’s important to him? What does his society tell him? I’ll guarantee his next meal won’t come from McDonalds!
Energy Independence
Is it possible to truly be energy independent? Wood heat, well water, solar panels, wood gasifier vehicle, and some other changes get you well underway. Several years ago, we went to our local Sams Club, bought a buggy full of LED bulbs and installed them that same evening, replacing every single incandescent bulb except the oven light. Next month, we cut our power bill in half, and over the next couple of months, we paid back the cost of the bulbs. Pardon the pun, but the light bulb came on! What else could we do to keep money in our pocket instead of giving it to the power company?
Food Independence
Do you know how to hunt and fish? Can you butcher a deer, rabbit, chicken, or trout? Does your pantry have a canner and do you know how to preserve food by canning, smoking, or dehydrating? Society says butchering is messy and I say we should have these skills and then choose not to use them.
Critical Thinking
We will develop this concept more fully in the blog, but on the surface, what is critical thinking? Take a class sometime, and learn to identify logical arguments and their fallacies. Why do you think the way you think? Why do you feel the way you feel? Why do you hold a belief? Because you grew up this way? Because you were raised “Catholic” or whatever? What makes your parents, upbringing, school, authorities, government, or anything correct? In medicine, the doctor is always boss. In the military, higher rank is always boss. However, stripes and titles do not automatically make someone correct (remember bias?) or the absolute authority. I’m not advocating anarchy, but have you ever heard of a second opinion?
If you live in an all electric home without a fossil fuel generator or other alternative energy source, and the power fails, well, this is not good! We always carry a tree limb saw and often carry a chain saw in the car because trees don’t fall in nice neat stacks and in the rural mountain country, a detour can cost you several hours of time.
Money
In this site, we’ll talk about money, although none of what we say is financial advice. There’s tons of excellent money advice out there: books, podcasts, webinars and more. They have several common threads, and we’ve found those commonalities to be true.
Deity, Divinity, God
God is real and everyone will learn this truth, in this life or the next. It’s funny how it truly takes more faith to be an unbeliever! Really! Some dust became an amoeba, which over time grew feet, lungs, complex DNA, and stood upright?
Micro evolution, sure: an animal grows thicker fur in colder environments. Macro evolution is fantasy; when has all of recorded history ever found a bird becoming a dog?
Views: 70