article 2 of 2 today
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Alternative Communities
Tribal affiliations is a
topic that seems to come up a lot at survival forums. For many years now,
I have been so disgusted at what has become of modern western
societies, that I have often thought of joining or forming an
alternative community. These thoughts became intensified after seeing
the M. Night Shyamalan film, The Village. When the topic of
alternative communities comes up, generally the first thought that comes
to mind is the hippy communes of the 1960’s, which is quite the
opposite of what I’m about to discuss here. Not being a
religious person, existing communities based on religion would not work for
me, so I had something a little different in mind. Any
such community that I would be involved in would be based on the common
sense values of yesteryear, and void of destructive and anti-nature
agendas (i.e, the gay, feminist, and multicultural, agendas). Though
religion would be welcome, the values of the community would be based more on
shared common values.
I suppose that before we get
too far into this subject, I should state that I have spent many
hours pondering on this, and it seems that any attempts at such a
community would be challenging at best. There’s also the problem of our
government, which doesn’t seem to be too keen on folks wanting to live out in
the middle of no where, free of “benevolent bureaucracy”. Sure,
there’s the Amish. But the Amish are pacifists, and carry no arms. The Amish
also live in close proximity to the “English”, so it’s easy to keep a watch
over them should they ever decide to get “uppity” at some point down
the road. But otherwise, you can fully expect the “Anonymous call” to the
local authorities, “that those right wing nut jobs in that
prepper community are diddling little kids” (This seems to be the standby
excuse most commonly used to justify being torched out, with cigar chomping
bull dyke's at the helm of one’s incineration. More on this later).
Possible settings for
such a community could be an abandoned mining or lumber camp, or possibly even
a ghost town. Inevitably, there would be a few within
the community that will decide that such a life is not for them after
all, and would want out at a later date. One possible solution to
this scenario would be to keep the initial investment to a
minimum, and then the situation becomes less complicated if/when,
someone later decides that such a life is not for them. In this scenario,
the remaining community members can buy them out, or perhaps with a
low enough investment, they might simply walk away, and the property would
revert back to the community.
The goal of such a
community would to be as self sustaining as possible. There
would be a blacksmith, Millwright, Loom operators,
Shepherds (wool) seamstresses, Taylors, Wheelwrights, Horse
wranglers, Farmers, Carpenters, a medical practitioner,
etc. You get the idea. There would be occasions when dealing with the
outside world would be necessary. You could have an individual or two, assigned
to conduct such business for the community.
Other considerations are
what would be allowed and not allowed? What kind of technology would
be permitted? Generally, it seems that most forms of media (the
internet included) are destructive tools of propaganda. How
would one raise a generation of children to be free of such
modern and destructive notions? And the biggest
problem of all; where to go? What about
expansion, as the community grows? I honestly feel that such
attempts are best tried in countries that have better things to worry
about. Even Mexico would probably be a better choice than the US for
such a strategy, and it’s sad to even have to say this. Otherwise, you’d
better plan on being way off the beaten path, and ideally, out of sight from
the eyes in the sky.
As with most social
experiments, it’s probably best to start off small;
say around 4 or so families. This
should hopefully provide for enough genetic diversity so that your
grandkids don’t come out looking like the kids from The Hills Have Eyes :D
In closing, the
challenges facing such a community would be numerous. But if you could pull it
off with a group of like minded folks, you would have a community that
you could take pride in, and have a chance at raising a generation of
children free of perversions, and with practical and self sustaining values.
Go Galt!
ReplyDeleteOne of the first problems would be in the unavoidable connection to the gov't - property taxes. That would lead to other gov't infringements, schooling for the kids, licenses for the "business owners", and qualifications for the "professionals", the doctor.
Also, the temptation to fall back on gov't supplied services would be troublesome. Say one of the members does something that (un)intentionally violates the presumed natural rights of another member, they would be want to reach out to the gov't legal body for recourse.
Probably one of the best things to consider, right up front, is the location of such a compound. It would need to be as far away from existing tyranny as possible. More than 50 miles from any metropolis, or, beyond walking distance if push came to shove.
A means of extracting members peacefully and without prejudice. People being what they are, this may not be possible in all instances. Retaliation, and jealousy have deep tendrils - more so now than in decades past.
My only other tribe member purchased a 90 acre farm in seclusion last week. It has a large barn that is liveable and several smaller out buildings, 2 large stream fed ponds, and is pretty isolated. Oh yeah, 90% dense forest. Cost? $700k, cash. He's wealthy. And he's unlike most other wealthy people. He just wants to be left alone. I'm a little excited in how this will progress. Hope others will chip in on this thread.
I like the idea, it is doable, but I see the most difficult issue is the vetting of the future residents.
ReplyDeleteI'd be all over an idea like that.
ReplyDeleteHowever as GS pointed out government will be a hindrance. Always wanting their pieces of silver.
Intentional communities are popular ideas but they always seem to fall apart. Yeah, that's not helpful I know.
Thanks Dingo. Any constructive input is always appreciated.
DeleteThanks for the comment mike!
ReplyDelete@GS, thanks. You bring up some important points that I have often considered to be the most difficult to get around. Legal matters, and extraction of members, should it come down to this. As much as I hate rules, such a community would need a few iron clad one’s in place, to prevent a few, from ruining it for the rest. The more that I consider it, the more I’m thinking that this concept would be nearly impossible to pull off in the US. I know of some religious groups that have left the US for this very reason, and am aware of the existence of Mormon and Mennonite groups in central/south America, as well as the Confederados (former members of the Confederate states that left the US following the civil war).
I was informed once that one can walk into a pharmacy in Mexico, and purchase any medication over the counter. Funny, considering that a place such as Mexico is actually more libertarian, and has far less red tape, than the land of the free...
Not a bad thought at all.
ReplyDeleteWhen driving to distant property, we pass an old homestead we are familiar with owner. They have lived there for at least 20 years. As time has gone by, their children and/or relatives have been allowed to construct their homes nearby, so that by now there are at least eight homes sitting on several acres. Plenty of privacy compared to a neighborhood, but still there to help with an automotive or personal emergency. If they have to shop, I'm sure they probably shop for the group, saving a lot of gasoline compared to individual properties. There is always somebody to provide property security. And I'm sure holidays are spent with each other. They can share work responsbilities in regard to the property as well.
Not bad - not bad at all. Thank you for the post.
Thanks! That’s not a half bad idea. Start with like minded family members, and then bring in like minded in-laws. At some point, you would like to bring in close family friends if possible, for the previously mentioned genetic diversity, but good suggestion.
Delete