I’d rather look around me,
Ian Anderson, “Wind Up”
compose a better song,
’cause that’s the honest measure of my worth.
You were born free — that’s true no matter who you are or where you are. It’s your choice whether or not to exercise the Liberty granted to you at birth. And yes, because few places remain where Natural Law is observed, often there are consequences.
At the Texas border with Mexico, the standoff (for lack of a better label) continues. As I write this, a large (reportedly) “trucker convoy” is making its way toward Eagle Pass to show solidarity with the state of Texas and protest the feds’ open-borders policy. Bikers (so-called) and other citizens are said to be joining the demonstration.
That’s great, of course, as far as it goes. These folks are exercising birthrights guaranteed by the US Constitution. It might be wise, however, to pause and consider what else is (or may be) going on here.
Obviously, mainstream media are not on the side of the protesters. No “good press” will come out of this, save from ideologically sympathetic and niche outlets. And if there’s the slightest hint of violence or even volatility, reporting will be universally negative.
Nothing can change that. Don’t be naive about it.
Second, we need to recognize that the protest is purely symbolic — period. It’ll accomplish absolutely nothing. As Zac Bauer of An American Homestead regularly reminds his viewers, we won’t effect real change in this country until we break out “torches and pitchforks.”
(I’ll leave it to you to make the proper inference from that metaphor.)
Finally, and most important, we ought to show that we’ve learned something in the three years since January 6th, 2021. We now know that the feds infiltrated (and not in a small way) the numbers present in DC that day. We’ve watched The Surveillance State flex, tracking down and persecuting Americans guilty of no crime. We’ve seen that The Ruling Elite will stop at nothing to keep its grip on power.
Ask yourself — is it really so far-fetched to suspect that Eagle Pass is another trap? Are these protesters simply waltzing into a corral for the State’s convenience?
None of this suggests that principled Americans shouldn’t make the trek to Texas and protest at the top of their lungs. Standing up and speaking out is essential to preserving Liberty and sovereignty. But there may be consequences.
We’ve seen this movie before.
Deb had today off. We went back and forth about what kind of work we might want to get done together on The Mountain today, deciding ultimately that clearing the woods off the north end of the driveway best suited our interest and our mood.
I won’t go into a minute-by-minute account of what we did, but I will tell you that we busted our asses for five hours. The weather was perfect — clear, mid-50s — and Deb’s help was invaluable.
This particular patch of woods had been thoroughly taken over by vines — not just the greenbrier we’ve come to loathe, but also grapevines (at least that’s what we’re calling them), some as big as my wrist. They were choking the trees all the way to the canopy. Two had succumbed to the invasive overgrowth and had to be felled.
Our two-stroke Stihl did the heavy lifting today and bulk of the cutting, with assists from our 20V DeWalt chainsaw and long-reach hedge clippers. We removed two truckloads of brush and harvested some quality firewood — hickory and black locust, all standing dead when I dropped them.
Tomorrow I’ll collect and stack the wood I bucked, and I’ll move the last of the rocks.
A very satisfying day.
Take care of yourselves, Patriots. Stay calm. Stay sharp. Stay free.
#WiseUp #LibertyOrDeath #Ungovernable
#LetsGoBrandon #FJB