A frequent mistake that many people make when considering the concept of social or economic collapse is to imagine how people and groups will behave tomorrow based on how people behave today. It is, though, extremely difficult to predict human behavior in the face of terminal chaos. What we might expect, or what Hollywood fantasy might showcase for entertainment purposes, may not be what actually happens when society breaks down.
It is also important to note that social and economic destabilization is usually a process, not an immediate event. This actually works in the favor of liberty activists and the preparedness minded. As a system moves through the stages of a breakdown, certain signals in the psychology of the population can be observed, and this gives us a warning as to how far down the rabbit hole we have actually gone.
Except in the case of a nuclear or EMP (electromagnetic pulse) event (which unfortunately are concerns because of the powder keg situation in Syria), vigilant liberty proponents could have considerably more time than the average person to preposition themselves safely. That said, there will be a host of expanding problems of a psychological nature we will have to deal with before, during and after the final leg down in the unfolding mess that internationalists often refer to as the “great global reset.”
The following list is based on social behavior patterns commonly seen during systemic crashes through modern history (the past 100 years). These are some of the stupid things people do as they begin to realize, at least subconsciously, that a SHTF scenario is in progress.
They Do Nothing
It’s sad to say, but the majority of people, regardless of the time or place in history, have a bad habit of ignoring the obvious. They may have an unconscious sense that danger is present, but never underestimate the power of men and women to waterboard their own instincts with a big bucket of intellectual idiocy.
It is not uncommon for large populations to sit calmly and idly, sometimes for weeks, in the midst of an economic or infrastructure crisis. Part of this is due to normalcy bias, of course. There is an immediate assumption amongst first world populations that “help is on the way” in the form of government aid. Faith in this aid can be so deluded that it is not until food and water stores are nearly exhausted that they finally begin to panic, or attempt to help themselves.
This gives the preparedness-minded a week or longer head start on the oblivious masses, but it is still a depressing state of affairs.
They Sabotage Themselves With Paranoia
Even in the early stages of a social breakdown when infrastructure is still operational, paranoia among individuals and groups can spread like a poison. Sometimes this is encouraged by a corrupt government, sometimes it just happens naturally.
The tendency is to begin seeing every other person as a potential competitor or threat rather than a potential ally. They make the assumption that all they need to do is to avoid contact with others and “outlast” most people during the ugliest phase of the breakdown. This assumption is foolish on two fronts. First, a society needs security and production in order to rebuild. If survivors of collapse strictly isolate from each other, practical security is absolutely impossible and thus, production is unlikely. Eventually, they will die along with everyone else.
Second, there are no guarantees whatsoever that our particular process of collapse will develop in a vacuum. That is to say, you might think that one day you will walk out of the hills after the worst of the crisis to a blank slate and rebuild, but certain organizations and systems may still be in place, or even dominate. Rarely in history have governments ever actually “disappeared” during societal collapse. In fact, governments have a habit of becoming even more powerful and despotic during and after large scale implosions of social systems. Survival is simply not enough if you walk out of those mountains alone only to find a totalitarian framework established on top of the ashes of the old world.
Organization with trustworthy people of like mind is essential not only for your survival, but the survival of future generations and the principles which you hold dear. Furthermore, guarded associations with your surrounding community are also necessary. This kind of organization must begin BEFORE the breakdown hits critical mass. It is far easier to organize before a disaster than after a disaster.
They Become Shaky And Unreliable When The Going Gets Tough
This is why early organization is so important; it gives you time to learn the limitations and failings of the people around you before the SHTF. If you have a large family, have lived in the same neighborhood and attended the same clubs and churches for most of your life, then you are probably well aware of who is solid and who will leave you in the dust when times become difficult. Even then, you are liable to discover that some people will disappoint you.
You do what you can with the help you have on hand, but the stresses of economic uncertainty, social unrest, increasingly oppressive government, and the lack of creature comforts can drive seemingly strong and confident people to do stupid and cowardly things.
They may be close friends or family; individuals you care for. Or, they may be newer associates attempting to build a preparedness group from scratch. If you notice a penchant for running from adversity today when standing fast under pressure is necessary, then there is a good chance these same people will crumble when staring down a societal nightmare tomorrow. Always make a point to know which persons you can rely on before you might need them.
They Become Hotheads And Tyrants
On the other side of the coin, there are those individuals who believe that if they can control everything and everyone in their vicinity then this will somehow mitigate the chaos of the world around them. They are people who secretly harbor fantasies of being kings during collapse. These folks are usually not very successful or well-liked in times of stability, and they long for conflict and destruction to make way for their “rebirth” so that they will receive the respect they think they always deserved.
Hotheads are a considerable liability as well, jumping headlong into strategically foolish situations and luring others into a zero-sum game. Their argument is always “If not now, then when!” As if the now and the when of a conflict are irrelevant and the fighting is all that matters. These people are the reverse of the unreliable cowards. They want blood. They want glory. They have something to prove, and they will sacrifice you and others to make this happen if the mood strikes them. Refusing to stand firm when calamity is on the horizon is a failing, but so is creating calamity because of a lack of intelligent planning. Finding people who understand the middle ground between these extremes will be a vital task for those who wish to survive and thrive during upheaval.
They Become Political Extremists
Throughout most modern collapses, two politically extreme ideologies tend to bubble to the surface — communism and fascism. Both come from the same root psychosis, the psychosis of collectivism. However, they are expressed is somewhat different ways.
To summarize down to very simple socio-psychological terms, communism is collectivism based on the demonization of individual merit and the demonization of production based on individual gain. Communism sees individualists as anomalies that threaten the greater good of the greater number. They usually seek to remove or eliminate individualists and individualist philosophies so that the collective may succeed as a single homogenized unit. Communists steal from the strong to artificially support the weak until the strong no longer exist.
Fascism is collectivism based on the idea that the strong prevail over the weak and that the weak survive only by the good graces of the strong. While communism demands forced charity to “harmonize” the unsuccessful with the successful until they are indistinguishable, fascism demands that the unsuccessful be erased so that there is no need to harmonize. It should also be noted that fascists see those who disagree with them as a “weakness” within their master collective that must also be eliminated.
Communism and fascism have a kind escalating and abusive love affair. The more insane and pervasive communists become with their attempts to dominate language and thought, the more communists use organized mobs to control public discourse, the more other people see fascist solutions as a viable way to deal with them. Brownshirt gangs beating communists (along with many others) to death in the streets is usually one of these solutions. This is exactly what took place in Europe during the Great Depression, and it could very well happen again throughout the West.
Both ends of the spectrum make it their top priority to gain control of government so they can use it as a weapon against the other side. The reality is, behind the curtain elitists are playing both sides, encouraging the public in the delusion that they can only choose between one or the other; between communism and fascism.
Ironically, as people flock to these extremist political views, they will invariably accuse fair minded liberty activists of being the “vicious extremists.” The best liberty activists can do is to not fall into the trap of the false paradigm as well, and to fight smarter than either the communists or the fascists are capable.
They Become Religious Zealots
Extreme political views are not the only siren song during societal breakdown. Religious zealotry is readily abundant during crisis. Zealotry is essentially fanaticism to the point of complete moral ambiguity. Everyone who does not believe the way the zealot believes is the “other,” and the other is an enemy that must be annihilated. In the realm of the zealot there is no such thing as “live and let live.” Their ideology must reign supreme without question or opposition.
Zealotry is also not limited to major religions; it is also common in the cultism of ideologies. Cultural Marxism (groups like "Black Lives Matter" and third wave feminism), for example, are perfect examples of a different brand of religious zealotry. There is no logic or reason behind their beliefs or worldview, and no room for dissent. They have their own taboos and their own dogma, their own high priests and their own gods (government, mother earth, etc.) Their directive is to eradicate other beliefs and ways of viewing the world as “heretical” while rationalizing what they do using their own broad interpretations of their own “religious texts.”
The ultimate goal of any zealot is to establish a theocracy, in which their belief system becomes the only known system. All other belief systems are forcibly buried and forgotten along with any people who get in the way.
They Abandon Their Moral Compass
Hollywood it seems has half the world convinced that in times of great distress, only the amoral will survive. Morally relative characters are painted as “heroic” leaders that are willing to “do what is necessary,” while people with moral foundations who do not bend the rules of conscience or natural law in spite of terrible times are painted as weak or stupid, dying in horrible ways because they refused to adopt an “every man for himself” attitude.
The truth is the complete opposite. Morally relative people when discovered are usually the first to be routed out or the first to die in survival situations because they cannot be trusted. No one wants to cooperate with them except perhaps other morally relative people. Such congregations of evil do collaborate successfully for a time based on the concept of mutual criminality for mutual gain, but eventually, they will be hunted down by those they have wronged and wiped out.
Regardless of how they rationalize their activities or the short term gains they enjoy at the onset of collapse, moral relativists have the odds stacked against them in the long run.
Fear and instability are like a radioactive stew, a Chernobyl effect that breeds strange creatures in men. We look back at our history and think that we know and understand what we are capable of, or that such tragedies could never happen again. But chaos rises anew and the shadow side of each and every human being is put to the test. In most cases, it is self-ignorance in the individual that opens the door to collective demons. That said, the conditions of collapse that triggered societal fear in the first place are many times engineered by elitist interests for the very reason that in this way the masses can be made monstrous.
We make the defeat of such elitists more possible every time we avoid the stupidity of the choices above and continue down the path of conscience, courage, truth and wisdom. When fear is made inconsequential, we cannot be manipulated. And if we cannot be manipulated into fighting shadows, or fighting each other, then the only people left to fight are the very people that originally sought to divide us.
If you would like to support the publishing of articles like the one you have just read, visit our donations page here. We greatly appreciate your patronage.
You can contact Brandon Smith at:
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
written by SWIFT , March 02, 2016
There is no doubt that the article is correct about the majority of all people. For starters, it is important to prep. As a matter of conscience, decide who you will help and those that you will not. Then, develop a mindset to be cold and ruthless against all enemies, real or perceived. Be sure to have the assets on hand to deal with your enemies.
written by Brandon Smith , March 02, 2016
@SWIFT
Just make sure that your "enemies" are actually enemies, and avoid alienating potential allies whenever possible.
written by Marie Marie , March 02, 2016
"...[T]he more communists use organized mobs to control public discourse, the more other people see fascist solutions as a viable way to deal with them."
Thank you, this is the most intelligent assessment of what's to come that I've seen in a long time. I'm convinced that the current surreal insistence on the West opening its borders to obvious terrorists will give way politically to extreme nationalism--and this is all being done by design. The sheeple will be happy to live in a police state when they feel that at least it restores law and order...
written by richard from willow springs , March 02, 2016
the greatest crisis that our clueless and pampered population has ever faced is when their cable went out. they will become a crying and clinging group willing to betray anyone and trade anything for their next bowl of soup. sad.
written by justanobserver , March 02, 2016
Brandon,
I think "they do nothing" is where the majority of Americans stand.
They believe their flavor of POS politician or their interpretation of the facts (spoon-fed by Wall Street, ol' foggy bottom, Hollywood, or their priest, minister, rabbi, etc.) makes them well enough informed to deal with whatever comes their way.
At least our collective doom is proceeding incrementally-
until it isn't.
written by justanobserver , March 02, 2016
Arizona,
As for the Lord, maybe he can stop by his Church and introduce the pedophile Satanists to the one they truly serve.
In the meantime, fire has been a faithful servant of man for millennia.
written by Gladstone , March 02, 2016
The Liberty Movement is of general interest because
therein men of good will promote and defend
the common good. It would appear that no small number of the Movement's proponents worship Christ, King of the Universe, and all men.
However, a concern arises over what could cause not
only a fissure as pertains to the Liberty movement, but that which also could portend its ultimate defeat. At the root of this concern lie what I believe to be its faulty philosophical underpinnings.
Does such a seemingly academic topic even matter given the exigent circumstances surrounding us all? Yes, especially now; it is absolutely certain. Faulty philosophical foundations deviate from the truth, a.k.a. objective reality. Sooner, rather than later, departing from what is objectively true on an intellectual level will translate into factual, material defeat.
Frankly speaking, if I did not hold this movement in high esteem, I'd remain silent. If each person in the movement (the vast majority personally unknown to me) were not rightful heirs to a truly glorious destiny, I'd say nothing.
The Movement has much vital wisdom to impart as pertains to leadership, as well as practical concerns in the domains of self-sufficiency, tactical response to aggression, field-craft and even intangibles like plain old dogged tenacity to win the fight.
But objective truth must never be subordinated to material considerations, no matter the need for an expedient. Neither can truth be equivocated. After all, if truth were rightly to play second fiddle to exigent circumstances, then collectivism and tyranny would be the answers.
To clarify, I suspect the Liberty Movement rests on bad philosophy, and foresee incalculable (and avoidable) costs due thereto. I nonetheless see enormous potential in the Movement. Therefore I propose to open a discussion. I'll explain where I'm coming from, if the the Movement can do the same for me. So now, with respect, I ask Brandon Smith, will you offer your comments on the above?
written by Brandon Smith , March 02, 2016
@Gladstone
No offense, but I'm not really sure you have said much to comment on. If you believe the Liberty Movement is based on "bad philosophy", then your are going to have to specify more clearly what you mean, including real life examples. Otherwise, all you've done is ask me to comment on your unbacked opinion, which I am not really interested in.
written by ThoughtForm , March 03, 2016
....just a cusious question Brandon(no offence)....considering the value and impact of your writings, it's little bit surprising that your website is still online or is not messed with...like I am still able to read your stuff...so no holonet there for sure. This is in contrast with the hardship other alt-authors faced (like late steven j smith, jim stone (though I suspect he has been compromised for a year now), bill cooper, joe vialls etc.). How come Feds are not after you since you have the power to inspire people and have courage to tell the truth.
written by Brandon Smith , March 03, 2016
@thoughtform
Well, I don't know how many people I have inspired, but there are literally hundreds of liberty minded sites out there. I don't see it being very practical for the establishment to try to silence them all, or even a percentage of them. Attempting to shut us down or "eliminate us" would only vindicate our position.
They'll wait until the SHTF economically or politically, providing cover for a crackdown on anti-globalist news outlets.
written by Brenadeer , March 03, 2016
Gladstone, are you for real?
I never heard such a bunch of nothing so eloquently said before. I think you may be the one category Brandon didn.t mention,.. "The moral confusionist". That is, the person so lost that they question everyone, and everything just for argument sake. No doubt you are intelligent, but I think you may have been betrayed by someone you trusted wholly in the past, and now it makes you question if there are any heros left in this world. Let me just say, when SHTF you will see the best/worst of humanity come out and good men/women will become obvious. You my friend, will come under fire at some point, and we will see who you really are, I just hope you don't get your friends hurt in the process. People like you scare me cause I would never be able to trust your "moral compass" in a life or death situation.
Good luck to you,
written by jeff s , March 03, 2016
I think of our predicament and I think of Shay's Rebellion. The state in that instance wanted to unfairly tax Western Massachusetts citizens but without the support of local mayors, law enforcement and elected officials it was doomed. If we don't somehow organize, I don't see our fate any better. If we can't get involved in our local townships and counties on a political level, the powers that be (fed's), always dictate policy, and control all law enforcement and policy to their advantage. Our people are so unskilled, uneducated and dependent on everything around them that will tripping over themselves to believe whatever charismatic zealot will spew out to the masses.
written by Brandon Smith , March 03, 2016
@Jeff
I think we are far beyond political solutions having any effect whatsoever as far as a societal breakdown. Shay's Rebellion is not really a practical comparison to an entire nation facing economic and social crisis, but I agree that local organization is a necessity.
written by Country boy will survive , March 03, 2016
I truly loved this very thought-provoking article. It is perfectly written through the lens of human history, but that could make it a little unreliable. However, as the author immediately pronounces, we cannot know how things are actually going to transpire.
We have progressed too far at this point to look back. City people can't just go back to "the family farm" for a spell. There is also no wilderness left that is ever going to sustain the humongous groups of people that we have living in the cities now. So, how do these cults of personalities play out with the most likely endstate of short to medium term cannibalism as a widespread and systematic fact of life? I'll tell you.
When the factory farms shut down, and "farmers" don't know Monsanto from Dow, it's going to be the Morally relative people that survive on the backs (tenderloins) of the rest when the trucks quit running. That's just the way it's going to be in the cities - Houston, Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami. City folks already have moral relativism though, so it's not going to be a change for them. They'll just embrace their Paleo-diets. Country folks are going to need to be on their guard, but we already do that anyway, don't we? If you live out in the country already, better expect the worst that humanity has to offer coming from the cities - won't be fascists or communists neither - they'll be even scarier monsters.
written by Smedley Butler , March 03, 2016
In Marc Faber's book "Tomorrows Gold", he covers the entire history of world societal collapse.
He points out correctly that in all civil-wars there is only ones safe place to be, and that is to not be there.
Smart Jews bailed Germany pre 1938, those that deferred or ignored the writing on the walls ... perished.
Deagle Report ( google 80% USA population reduction by 2025 ) clearly say's that USA population will drop from 320Mil to 68Mil by 2025. Where did they go? Die? Holocaust? IMHO I think the ones that could simply moved on and started their lives anew elsewhere.
Deagle was a a major brain of Rockefeller Foundation back in 1960's, and note all this has been well planned ( NWO ).
In summary I see a lot of analysis of decay and divide&conquer, but little about real survival.
The trick is to survive for real, and then come back after the civil war, and start over anew after the carnage has ended.
I know many don't have the means to escape, but then they certainly have the means to go into debt and have a house, and new car, and trappings of financial slavery.
The future of the USA is clear, those that don't bail early will die.
written by Brandon Smith , March 03, 2016
@Smedley
There is a time to keep one's head down and a time to fight. Running and hiding is not always the answer, as the founding fathers showed us. As I state in the article, those that run and hide may survive for a time only to walk out of their bunker to a totalitarian state. This is about more than our personal survival. It is about the survival of our principles and liberties, and the right of future generations to be free.
written by shutupnsing , March 04, 2016
To understand where we are as Americans today, I believe you need to first understand who we’ve become…to a man. Look a courageous man (if you can find one) in the eye, and then look a coward in the eye, if he can hold your gaze long enough. Among other things, you will see self-respect in the former, and self-loathing in the latter. The eyes are indeed the window to the soul. Just the other day we happened to have CBS on in the morning, and I had to freeze the shot of Charlie Rose after noticing how absolutely stone dead his eyes are…
I’d like you to think about something for a moment. My wife and I were discussing movies we wanted to see. “Spotlight” was at the top of both our lists. Surprised, she said to me, “You do know what that is about don’t you?” And I said, “The truth is the truth.” But our exchange made me think…
It forced me to ask myself the following question. What kind of society holds the Catholic religion fully responsible and accountable for the actions of those who violate the tenets of their faith by sexually abusing children…while refusing to hold Islam fully responsible and accountable for the actions of those who sexually abuse children, rape women, and murder unbelievers in the name of their Allah each and every day? Answer ~ A Self-Loathing Society!
And then I thought about Europe, where women are told to stop being so attractive in response to Muslim rape gangs; and Jews are advised to stop wearing yamakas in response to their being attacked by the same invading hoards for being Jewish…and I realized European Society has moved from self-loathing to suicidal!
Think of this insane chain of “Religion of Peace-Related” events in just one week:
•Germany loses track of 130,000 refugees. ~ Ruh Roh!
•The top U.S. military commander in Europe told lawmakers Tuesday that the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS/ISIL) is infiltrating the ranks of refugees entering Europe, and that terrorists, returning foreign fighters and criminals are now part of the “daily” flow. (CNS) ~ OMG!
•Candidates Speak Somali Only at Minnesota Caucus! When in Mecca!
•FBI Caves to CAIR Demands, Scrubs ALL Reference to Islam & Jihad on New Anti-Terror Website! ~ Fool Me Three Times!
•Obama Orders Terrorist Watch List Scrubbed to Protect Terrorists Civil Rights! ~ We're Screwed!
No Self-Respecting Society(s) is capable of such mind-numbing madness. Those who come the closest to identifying as real MEN are too busy clutching their pensions to “get involved” or stand up and speak out…as they slowly, subtly, softly and stealthily cull the mavericks from the herd.
It occurs to me in this eleventh hour, in the waning moments of Western Civilization that the greatest enemy of mankind…of peace…of virtue…of our own precious freedoms and liberties isn’t the followers of Islam, as any rational mind would want to believe. They are only pawns just like the rest of us. The Establishment has brought this all on, deliberately and intentionally, to feed its own insatiable lust for power and control. If it is ever to be stopped, the time is now! Every single man, woman and child reading these words has a part to play at this moment in time. Self-Loathing or Self-Respect? It is ALL up to us!
written by smedley butler , March 04, 2016
@Brandon
The only rhetorical argument I hear for not running prior to the coming 'civil war' ( genocide ) is that IF U bail, they'll come after your family.
Well in my own 'family' in the last 40+ years, I can say that +50% of the family did bail the USA, the ones with assets, and brains, and skills.
The only members of my family that still remain in USA, are 100% members of the FSA ( free shit army ), so thus IMHO almost all of us 'producers' will do a "Galt", so who remains? Only the sheep.
I really think that given the facts there is no reason to stay and fight, especially that all that remains is FSA parasites and GOV nazi's sympathizers.
They will all go down in the coming economic collapse, and then post colllapse us GALTS can & will return to rebuild the USA.
The USA is a nation of sheep, ruled by wolves ( cops & mil ) and owned by PIGS ( NEO-CON/LIB anglo zionism ). Those that stay and feed the system, only continue to keep the parasite alive.
written by Brandon Smith , March 04, 2016
@smedley
I guess I don't really share in your nihilism. Beyond that, you ignored my main point, which is that it is not practical to assume that there will be a blank slate world to come back to and "rebuild". If all the good people run, then yes, all the bad people will be left behind to make the U.S. into whatever they wish, including a long lasting tyranny. Coming out of your hidey-hole to a New World Order is not really survival in the long run.
Also, you are assuming there is somewhere to run to. They call themselves globalists for a reason; they want to control the entire globe. There is no nation or place that will necessarily be any safer than any other. All you will be doing is perhaps delaying the fight that you will inevitably have to face.
Frankly, I am not one to run from a fight. That said, even if I did want to run, I have to accept the hard reality that this is not a fight that can be escaped. Sorry, but I think you were born in the wrong time if you were hoping for a traditional SHTF scenario that you could simply weather in comfort, because that is not what we are looking at here. In this case, either you fight, or you are enslaved. Period.
written by Just John , March 04, 2016
Brandon:
I strongly suggest that you write a book, if you haven't already started. Offer up more specific tactical problems and solutions. Offer up social and political pitfalls to avoid after things fall apart. There are a lot of "potential" Liberty Movement people out there that will need this information IF they survive. Just because someone did not adequately prepare ahead of time does not mean that they could be a strong ally in the future. IF they survive, they will realize that they have been bitch slapped by reality and they will be angry at themselves and at TPTB and ready to fight.
Those of us who have prepared should guardedly welcome them into our circle IF they are truly worthy. The more we band together the better chance we have in
surviving and retaking our country. WE can't do it alone.
written by Just John , March 04, 2016
Just because someone did not adequately prepare ahead of time does not mean that they could be a strong ally in the future.
Should read "that they could NOT be a strong ally in the future."
written by Gladstone , March 04, 2016
Brandon, the problem is the Movement's foundation in philosophical naturalism, which denies Divine Revelation, and its subsequent blindness to objective truth. (philosophy specified, per your request)
One manifestation is known as relativism, in which nothing is absolute, including concepts of right and wrong.
Practical examples abound in modern life, wherein the attitude of live-and-let-live is co-opted away from men of good will into the hands of a tyrannical and willful few. We've seen this principle in operation throughout the 20th Century (and into the 21st). Real world examples include laws that enshrine intrinsic evils as a public good, like abortion, fiat currency/usurious central banks and various attempts at gun confiscation.
Now let me ask you this: what is the Movement fighting for?
written by Brandon Smith , March 04, 2016
@Gladstone
We fight for individual liberty and the non aggression principle, this ostensibly includes the right to religious expression and the individual rights of the unborn, though I'm sure some people might question certain areas of both. No one in the movement claims to fight for "philosophical naturalism" that I know of, and not all of us have the same religious orientation. But that is not really relevant.
I have written extensively on the reality of inherent conscience, the inherent archetypal duality of good and evil, as well as the weaknesses and strengths of religious conviction. Though there is scientific evidence of moral compass and conscience from birth, people experience many truths of these things subjectively, not objectively. Only god could claim to have objective truth of spiritual life.
I asked for specific real life examples of how the LIBERTY MOVEMENT is based on "bad philosophy". Yet again, all you've provided is opinion unbacked by specific examples.
written by justanobserver , March 04, 2016
Gladstone,
The natural law crowd that founded America understood the corruption of divine revelation so well (they lived with the divine right of kings George II and George III) that they rightly stood up, grabbed their mid 1700's version of a battle rifle and put an end to the divine revelation of fools from Britain.
The objective truth is that freedom and liberty from all the centuries of horseshit handed out by prelates and priests is far better than bending the knee to those self-aggrandizing sons of whores who throw out their spin of what is divinely revealed and say they are his voice on this Earth.
written by Gerg B. , March 04, 2016
Do you think there's any way of knowing when the final stages of the collapse are going to hit or how close we are to it?
written by Brandon Smith , March 04, 2016
@Greg B
By "collapse" I'm assuming you mean total breakdown, because technically we are in the middle of collapse right now according to all fundamental economic indicators.
As far as total breakdown goes, I am relatively certain that the ECB will disappoint the markets on the 10th, and that the fed will announce another rate hike either this month or in June. After that, expect markets to lose ALL the gains made in the past two weeks and then some.
From that point, any number of trigger events could occur. I believe the economic crisis will be obvious before or just after the elections in November. Near-total breakdown before the end of 2017 with a lot of pain in the meantime.
written by Malcolm Reynolds , March 04, 2016
@Brenadeer
"I never heard such a bunch of nothing so eloquently said before."
LOL! Very well said.
@Gladstone
"the problem is the Movement's foundation in philosophical naturalism, which denies Divine Revelation"
Ummm, no it doesn't. The Founders understood well the kind of religious zealotry (Oh look, Brandon covered that well in THIS article) you're promoting is NOT benign.
written by Cracker , March 05, 2016
Brandon, a thought provoking article. Many points made about human behavior that I have not taken into consideration. But, I guess I do nat have the intellect of Gladstone. I also do not live with my parents and am not in my 16th year of higher education.
written by PT Barnumski , March 05, 2016
Alt has many meanings.
One good observation about 'alt' is to consider the viewpoint of the victim of Uncle Sam's war in Syria, Ukraine, and Libya.
http://syrianperspective.com/
Greater Israel is the goal of NEO-Con/Lib Satan, living is the goal of the victim's.
USA ( Mil Merc - Infinite Free Fiat ) has raped, robbed, and murdered the world, the chickens are coming home to roost.
written by Brandon Smith , March 05, 2016
@PT
I would only correct you in that the Syrian crisis is not "Uncle Sams war", it is a globalist engineered war. And while it is important to take into account the damage that globalists are doing in our name, that does not mean the American people deserve some kind of blowback. The US government is only part of the problem, the globalists are at the root, they operate in almost every nation on the globe (including Russia and China) and they are not looking for a "Greater Israel", they are looking for a New World Order.
written by shutupnsing , March 06, 2016
There's a link (Just When You Think) at the bottom of todays Tune-up which was written for every man, woman & child in the Liberty Movement...Keep the faith brothers and sisters! https://shutupnsing.wordpress.com/2016/03/06/the-sunday-morning-tune-up-self-respect-or-self-loathing/
written by Tigelowe , March 06, 2016
It appears there is a widening gap, and animosity, between many State governments and the Feds. The Feds(the big black box) have gone global and are trying to push that as a religion down to the States (the little black box). I don't yet see most States accepting or pushing that down to the local governments (real people).
I keep a friendly dialog with my local government entities. Often they will know what's coming down before anyone else. Those local government employees may well be the ones who will bring sanity out of chaos, and already have the mandate and authority to do so.
written by Makin Bacon , March 07, 2016
Please Brandon deal with reality, NEO-CON Hillary Clinton the next USA president, has already promised to hand the key's to USA over to Netanyahu when she takes office next year.
Neo-Con and/or Neo-Liberal is just a front for AIPAC,
"Greater Israel" ( NEO Anglo Zionism ) is not just MENA ( middle east & north africa ), its the entire world.
The USA PPL have gone along with world genocide and plunder since AIPAC ( Israel Affairs ) murdered JFK in 1963, all world blood is on the hands of all USA PPL. All in the name of "Israel First".
written by Malcolm Reynolds , March 07, 2016
@Makin Bacon @PT Barnumski
You anti-Semites are so tiresome.
written by Brandon Smith , March 08, 2016
@makin bacon
I don't care for the Israeli government, but I'm sorry to tell you that your worldview is overly simplistic. It does not matter who wins or who loses this next election, nor have elections mattered for a very long time. The international financiers are the primary threat, and they exploit various groups and governments. They could care less about the success of Israel in the long run, or any other nation state for that matter. They have their eyes on the prize of global government and are willing to sacrifice any nation or sovereign government if it will further their goal.
You are looking at the world through biased blinders, and this is keeping you from seeing reality.
