Dark Days Ahead, American's Are Armed and Ready

By: Andy_Sutton

After spending an hour on Joe Cristiano’s Liberty Talk Radio program the other night, I was filled with an excitement that I haven’t felt since I posted my first ‘Two Cents’ piece back in early 2006. I got to thinking about all the progress that we together have made in the past half dozen years regarding the public’s knowledge of the causes of the financial crisis, to the role of the federal reserve in our economic fate. The great thing is that outside the political realm, this massive outpouring of information and coalescence of support has basically been leaderless, which is exactly what is needed for a meaningful change to be made.

There is no doubt whatsoever in my mind that we are heading towards some very dark days here in America. No, we are not immune. Our sins are many, economic and otherwise, and the day of reckoning is coming. For many, it has already arrived. Every time I read an article about foreclosures, I pinch myself and force myself to remember that we’re not just talking about inanimate objects. We’re talking about real people; our fellow countrymen for whom their own personal great depression has started. And it isn’t just foreclosures. A quick look at the labor market could provide enough stories of personal strife to write a thousand books. And so it goes across the board.

We are truly becoming a country of two classes; the haves and those preyed upon. Please don’t misinterpret what I am saying here; I am a huge advocate of personal responsibility and I know there were scads of people who foolishly embarked on financial paths they had no business being on. They signed the bottom line. But much in the way Greece has become subordinate to the ECB/IMF cartel, many Americans are now indentured to our own banking cabal. The terms are outrageous, but tell that to a father who can’t feed his wife and kids. People are living in their cars. For them, austerity isn’t just a buzzword on some melodramatic television program, rather it is a reality.

However, with all the negatives come some great positives as well. We as a society are empowered with information like never before in history. Can we really wage a war armed only with information? Absolutely. If we choose to ignore the tools at our disposal, then we do ourselves, our families, and our country a great disservice. ‘But the system is too powerful’ many people say. It is my hope that the following resolutions will help guide inclined individuals in initiating a bottom up transformation of this country. Believe me, if you set yourself up and are able to dodge or deflect the economic freight train that is bearing down on all of us, your family, friends, and neighbors WILL pay attention and they’ll want to know how you managed to accomplish it. This is by no means intended to be a complete list, but simply to provide some food for thought.

1) I hereby resolve to disconnect myself from the fiat monetary system to whatever extent I am able. Myself and my family have core competencies, skills, and trades and we need to leverage those in the direct exchange marketplace with like-minded families. There is no law in the United States against direct exchange (bartering) and a group of a half dozen or so families can put a serious dent in everyone’s exposure to the fiat monetary swindle. Why is this important? By the federal reserve’s own admission, the dollar has lost nearly 96% of its purchasing power under its stewardship. This is an institution that simply cannot be trusted. The fed’s pathetic record regarding the value of the dollar (one of its two original mandates was price stability) is proof positive that we need to trim our exposure to the ongoing robbery committed by this institution.

2) I hereby resolve to leave the arena of national politics. The Supreme Court in one of its most misguided decisions ever has declared that a corporation has the same rights as a natural person in terms of its ability to influence elections and candidates. I resolve instead to seek out, support (and run if necessary), and motivate candidates on the local level who understand that the Constitution is the law of the land and is not to be taken piecemeal. In this way, I can promote the concepts of liberty, freedom, and equal protection under the law and have my efforts count for something. The framers of the Constitution gave the states the ultimate power, not the federal government. We need to shore up our states, starting with local school boards, judges, District Attorneys, and Sheriffs.

3) I hereby resolve to be my own best advocate in all areas of my life. Clearly, Two Cents is aimed at financial and economic issues, but ultimately, it is time we as a nation stop this foolish mindset that ‘someone else will take care of me’ or whatever unpleasant situation is going on. If those who came before us had the same attitude we have today as a nation, we wouldn’t have even a fraction of what we do have. I don’t know of any parent who doesn’t want their children to have a better life than they did. I certainly do. Well it isn’t going to happen on its own. Liberty needs to be defended. It is a sacred treasure, and it is slowly being stolen from us in so many areas of life that I could write for a year and probably not cover them all.

4) I hereby resolve to eschew new personal debt in all its forms. Personal debt for the most part is grossly unproductive in that there is no way for most of the things we buy on credit to even begin to pay for themselves. One possible exception is a car loan since it can be used to transport an individual to work. However, we can resolve to be sensible too. We don’t need $50,000 SUVs do we? We don’t need 7 and 8 year car loans when there is a good chance our car won’t even last as long as the payments. The bottom line is we Americans borrow way too much money and pay usurious interest rates for things we don’t even need. Our needs and wants have become so confused by our own greed and avarice. Madison Avenue has been more than willing to help, portraying credit as some utopia where you can have it all. Just be willing to pay several hundred dollars a month for the rest of your life. The big problem here is banks create money from nothing to lend out to you. But you have to struggle – and mightily – to get the dollars to pay the bank back.

5) I hereby resolve to assist others in implementing these (and additional or similar) resolutions. One of the things that made the Continentals such a tough adversary for the British Armed forces was the fact that the Colonists first had a clear vision of what it was they wanted their new land to look like and secondly, they realized they were all in it together – for better and for worse. How many Americans today would be willing to endure a freezing winter in Valley Forge, PA without proper food, clothing or shelter?  Faith is one of the most powerful motivators a person can have and those folks truly believed they had the moral high ground and believed they could win. And guess what? They did win. Somewhere in each and every one of us, there is a patriot. Sure, it might be covered over by layers of complacency, a cushy lifestyle or whatever, but it is there. We need to find it – and quickly. Then we need to help others find it too and instead of throwing up walls between ourselves and our neighbors, we need to be tearing down those walls and working together.

There is no way any of this is going to happen quickly for anyone. It took this country a long time to get to where we are today and it is going to take a long time to change the culture we live in to one that demands liberty rather than a continuation of the status quo. The key in my opinion is to start small, especially if you’re first becoming aware of all the events swirling around you. It is easy to get overwhelmed and just throw in the towel and continue as you were previously. Pick something small, whatever that may be. Make the first ‘battle’ if you will one that you can win easily. Win that battle and then pick another easy one. Win that one too and the next thing you know, confidence has replaced the sense of learned helplessness promulgated by many of our leaders today on a global basis.

I am well aware that much of the writing I do centers around the negative in terms of economic trends, policy decisions, and our own wandering about in the darkness as Americans. However, deep down I really am an optimist and still believe we can have a national revival, both in terms of faith and the temporal issues that we have to deal with on a daily basis. This is a movement that doesn’t need a persona or a leader in the strict sense of the word. We can each be our own leader in terms of how we choose to live our lives. We need to be creative and show our government that it is simply easier to restore that which is guaranteed by the Constitution than to continue to attempt to abrogate and displace its principles.

The time has come America to either put up or shut up. If we choose the latter, history has shown repeatedly that it may well be a long, long time before we experience true freedom again.

By Andy Sutton
http://www.my2centsonline.com

Andy Sutton holds a MBA with Honors in Economics from Moravian College and is a member of Omicron Delta Epsilon International Honor Society in Economics. His firm, Sutton & Associates, LLC currently provides financial planning services to a growing book of clients using a conservative approach aimed at accumulating high quality, income producing assets while providing protection against a falling dollar. For more information visit www.suttonfinance.net

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