Revolutionary behavior

We're experiencing hot weather here – no surprise, it's July – but in the mornings when it's cool, Don is hard at work building more garden beds.

Currently we have ten beds in place and ready to plant, though they'll stay dormant until later this summer or early fall when I'll transplant some of the strawberries I'm potting from runners, as well as plant garlic. By next spring, however, we'll be able to start growing a whole lot more. Little by little, we're moving toward self-sufficiency here in our new (to us) home.

But rather than talk about the garden or planting garlic or potting strawberries at the moment, let's take a look at a wider issue: the desire for independence. Ultimately that's why we like having a self-sufficient farm, because we like the feeling of providing for our needs with our own labor.

And this segues into a piece written by Daisy Luther on The Organic Prepper from July 4: "Independence Is Still a Revolutionary Act."

She talks about the need to become producers, not consumers. She discusses what happens when we depend on others for our food, water, utilities, education, medical care, and other necessities.

This can only be taken so far – I doubt we'll ever be "independent" when it comes to something like brain surgery – but we've tried (or are trying) to embrace many of our necessities and bring them under our control.

More importantly, we see the handwriting on the wall when it comes to a loss of true Rights (derived from God) and an enormously unconstitutional government doing everything in its power to eradicate the limitations outlined in the Constitution and trample the Bill of Rights.

"Somehow, this land of rugged individuals has become largely populated with scared children who expect to be cared for, fed, protected, and made to feel good about themselves, all by government mandate," Daisy writes. "Many people seem to have no desire whatsoever to earn their keep, provide for their families, or take responsibility for their own safety. They expect the workplace to be one of sunshine and lollipops, with ample time off, equal pay for all, and., don’t forget, yoga with baby goats and lots of kind words for everyone. Our culture is just so incredibly dependent. And to some extent, we, the rugged independents who are left, have let this happen because the dependents are louder than us."

It's not just that dependent people are louder, it's also easier to follow the path of least resistance. Let's face it, independence is hard work. Dependency is easy.

And then Daisy wrote something very interesting:

"The most important thing is to begin to recognize the chains that are on you so that you can begin, link by link, to break them. How do you break free of the life that nearly every single person around you lives? It’s simple, yet so complicated. Here it is, the ultimate act of revolution. It is so very simple. You have to need less. When you need less, you have less to fear."

This reminds me of an anecdote from the stoic Greek philosopher Diogenes (412-323 BC) I read in "The Little, Brown book of Anecdotes": "By assiduous flattery, the hedonistic philosopher Aristippus had won himself a comfortable sinecure at the court of Dionysius, tyrant of Syracuse. One day, observing Diogenes preparing some lentils for a meager meal, Aristippus offered some worldly wisdom to his fellow sage: 'If you would only learn to compliment Dionysius, you wouldn't have to live on lentils.' Diogenes retorted, 'And if you would only learn to live on lentils, you wouldn't have to flatter Dionysius.'"

Thoreau said it more succinctly: "A man is rich in proportion to the number of things which he can afford to let alone."

So I see this whole issue of independence as a two-pronged approach: Learning to produce more, and living on less.

"Real liberty is up to you," Daisy writes. "Use it or lose it."

Apparently this is "revolutionary behavior." What do you think?