By Nathan Barton

In August, I had a two-part commentary featuring a “what-if” scenario for the near future, then talking about preparing for such things.

With the election nearing its end (the casting of votes by the Electoral College on 13 DEC), it appears that (as usual) most of the fears about what might happen are proving to be false. There is no real evidence of a serious coup attempt on the part of the current squatter at 1600 OR a serious attempt by the defeated candidates to cause mischief and create mayhem has appeared. (But don’t hold your breath: the CIA and White House may be involved in one right now, according to several observers. The Russians stole the election for Trump so now the CIA can steal it for Ryan?)

So the fun of various “what-if” scenarios is past, for now. But the need to be prepared is still with us.

Mama’s Note: The “what if” of a hijacked electoral college vote is still a possibility.  It will be really interesting to see what goes on if that actually happens. Don’t see a chance in a billion that Killery would actually wind up as president, but strange things do happen – especially in the political world. I suspect we’ll know by tomorrow.

When we are looking at things that can go wrong, whether we are looking at the next six months or years out, it is important to realize that it is not enough to prepare ourselves, our family, and our close associates. Nor is it enough for that close (and relatively small) group to take action when the balloon goes up. We must see if we can do anything to our community; not out of altruism, but because it is very much in our own self-interest to do so.

Our town, our community will be a much better place in which to not just survive but to thrive, if we encourage some things, and discourage other things. For example, a municipality or a county where the local police and sheriff’s office view their community as the enemy is going to be a very different, and more dangerous place, than one in which the “mundanes” have reached out to the peace officers (viewing them as such, or at least giving them the ideal to strive to is a big part of it) to show the cops that ordinary people CAN and DO have the ability and knowledge and self-discipline to deal with the day to day problems without the intervention of the blue gang.

Continuing from Part 2:

6. Link up: and NOT just on-line. Do it in person. Of course, being religious and a christian myself, I am going to advocate being part of a congregation, provided it is the right sort. (No heirarchies or personality-driven cults, please: local “autonomous” congregations with at least some like-minded people who understand community and “one another.”) But there are many choices. The local grange or even the union local (again, provided it is an old-style and not some leftist nightmare cell) are some. Gun clubs are an obvious choice, but only if they are not fixated on guns and guns only. Even sports groups (like 4-wheelers or even soccer moms) can be one of several ways to establish ties in your community. Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts used to be one way, and in many places probably still are. So is 4-H and FFA, provided you have the right age children OR are willing to pitch in (amazing how many Scouters and 4-H adults had their kids grow up long, long ago).

7. Educate people. Spread the word, not loudly or with huge fanfare but one at a time, in small ways; a comment here and a response there. Sharing a point or article or pamphlet or bumper sticker. Or a few “Simon (Jester) Says” words in the right place. As christians would say, “plant the seed.” Enough will grow to see a big difference in the preparation for the future.

8. Set the example, ESPECIALLY when dealing with people. Don’t “go to law” when there is a problem. Don’t call the cops when there is a raucous party or their dog (or horse!) poops on your lawn or eats part of your garden: seek other ways to resolve the issue. If they won’t talk with you directly, negotiate a solution to the problem, then get someone to go speak for you, or with you. Ask them to find someone to discuss and resolve the issue informally, someone you both can respect and be willing to listen to.

As Mama Liberty always points out, it is too late to do any of these things when everything really goes south. We need to do it now, as preparation and practice.

Mama’s Note: As part of that, I tend to ask questions. “Who owns your life?” is a favorite. “By what legitimate authority does any person or group of people control the lives and property of others, against their will?” I’m sure you can think of others. Don’t TELL people they are wrong… ask them what they think is right, and discuss that. A must better place to start.

John Ringo’s novel The Last Centurion, from several years ago, which COULD have been prophetic, just moved more into the realm of “alternate history” (it featured a ne’er-do-well former First Lady turned President, a really nasty bird-flu pandemic, and global cooling, with a lot of government stupidity), but still has much to teach us about what to prepare for, and how to survive in a topsy-turvey world. In particular, he points out that communities in which there is a fairly high level of voluntary activity and both cooperation and a live-and-let-live attitude are far more resilient than the Tranzi-liberal-diverse communities that are found in Third-world countries and too many American urban areas today. Hate the novel or not, there are some lessons to learn about not just being self-reliant but finding and working with people who have the same mindset.

Be prepared.

Think on these things!