Are We Still Already There?
Securing freedom is a matter of course correction
Where’s Muh Freedom?
That’s October’s inner growth theme here at Extremists Being Awesome.
In the liberty community, just as in other philosophical circles and movements for socio-political change, the elusive prize often overshadows the journey that gets us there. Freedom is our ever-present desire, our goal, our rallying cry, but when it comes right down to it, are we behaving like free people, here and now? Are we using our inherent freedom to the utmost? Are we journeying to the destination, or sitting still and demanding that life, or “democracy”, or “society,” deliver us our cherished prize? Those are all questions to consider on an individual basis, and that’s the gist of this month’s theme.
I invited EBA members to submit guest posts about the theme, and Bretigne Shaffer came through with this practical, nuts-and-bolts exploration of the current freedom landscape and the opportunities it offers. Bretigne is a writer, podcaster, health freedom advocate, and mom in Kentucky. You can find more of her work and learn about her online courses on her Substack, On the Banks. And be sure to check out the interview I did with her last week, about these same topics.
Take it away, Bretigne!
-Starr
Just about a year ago, I wrote an article for the Freedom's Phoenix Newspaper, titled "We're Already There."
It was all about how those of us who desire a free society don't actually need to abandon the society around us and go live in isolated communities with like-minded people. I wrote that we already have the tools we need to build our free communities right where we are, and I talked about some of those tools, and what that kind of community building might look like.
Little did I know that only a few months later my own family would be pulling up roots and moving across the country to get away from what can only be described as the despotism of California Governor Gavin Newsom.
Sometimes you do need to get away.
But does that mean that we're not "already there"? That we don't really have the tools we need to build the society we desire right in front of us? That maybe we do need to just buy a giant ranch with a bunch of other freedom-minded-folks and build from scratch? (Not that there's anything wrong with that.) No, I don't think so.
The tools I talked about in my article: Common-law principles and strategies, parallel institutions, and digital means of helping people to connect locally – these are just as valuable, and I believe just as much the keys to our success as they were when I wrote about them a year ago. (Even in California!)
In fact, my confidence in these tools has only grown, based on what I've seen develop over the past year. What follows is not intended to be a complete accounting of all of these developments, but some of what I think are the most exciting highlights:
Education
Let's start with education. To me, this is an especially critical area in which to be building alternatives, because it is primarily in government (and government-influenced) schools that the deepest forms of indoctrination take place. I think it is safe to say that the last two and a half years would have looked very, very different in the absence of the influence of government schooling on multiple generations of Americans.
So, what has happened during the past year? Astonishing things. Even some of the most optimistic advocates of homeschooling and alternative education models have been surprised by the sheer numbers of families who are abandoning government-run schools.
At the end of 2021, NPR released their own report on data from more than 600 districts across the country, finding that "…very few districts, especially larger ones, have returned to pre-pandemic numbers. Most are now posting a second straight year of declines. This is particularly true in some of the nation's largest systems…"
Where have these students been going? Some families have chosen private schools, and many have chosen to homeschool. And "homeschooling" in 2022 includes a variety of options that did not exist for most families even a few years ago. From learning pods to microschools and a variety of new visions for what "education" can look like, we are currently living through a seismic revolution in how children and teens are educated.
One of the best ways to keep up with all that is happening in this rapidly growing space is to follow FEE's Kerry McDonald, who covers educational entrepreneurship in her articles, podcast and newsletter.
Food Independence
There is nothing new about the quest for food independence, and a lot of these folks have been with us, doing their thing, for many years. They're just getting more attention now. A LOT more attention. All of a sudden, your neighbors are asking more pointed questions about your chickens, and your brother-in-law wants to know how you laid the foundation for your greenhouse.
Here are some of the enterprises that stand out for me--even more so now, in light of the global overlords' desire to have us all eating bugs:
Texas Slim's Beef Initiative is a way of connecting meat producers with consumers. Its mission includes "building decentralized networks of values-aligned ranchers, processors, distributors, butchers, grocers, restaurants, and consumers and providing access to the tools necessary, including bitcoin, to form more secure localized food supply chains."
Slim talks with Tom Woods here, about the problems created by the "Food Industrial Complex", in terms of its impact on our health, and the barriers it erects to independent food production and distribution. He also tells us what the Beef Initiative is doing about it.
Niti Bali's Food Church is more than a place to buy local, high-quality, food. Niti has created a model that she says not only works well for the consumer, but also allows the producers to prosper, and to continue prospering into the future. (Something that, as Texas Slim can attest, the "Food Industrial Complex" has turned into quite a challenge.)
One of the easiest ways to connect with local farmers is FarmMatch. FarmMatch provides a platform for farmers to interact with local customers – or, as in our case, with local buying clubs who then sell to the customers. You can read more about it here.
And don't miss the Rogue Food Conference coming to Tennessee in December! You'll meet a whole bunch of the movers and shakers in the food-independence space. (Yes, there is online access too.) You can get your tickets here.
Healthcare
This past year saw the arrest of America's Frontline Doctors founder Simone Gold, who spent time in a maximum-security federal prison for "Entering and Remaining in" the White House, on January 6th, 2021. It also saw the launch of Dr. Gold's "GoldCare" venture, a Private-Membership-Association-based service that connects members with doctors who put patients' needs first.
GoldCare is part of the PMA revolution. It is also part of a revolution in healthcare that has been a painfully long time coming. Again, many people have been working on these solutions for decades now. But we are living in a time when there is a sudden surge in interest, and a sense of urgency about developing alternatives. As Dr. Gold says:
"…in the last couple of years we saw very explicitly, doctors not honoring the Hippocratic Oath, not putting their patients first. We’ve all now become familiar with stories where hospitals are actually hurting patients… killing patients, putting them on death protocols, medical kidnapping situations. So, the American people have watched this, and they are scared, and they don’t know how to find doctors that have their best interests at heart, and our answer is GoldCare.”
America's Frontline Doctors also has a Citizens Corps, which helps people "…at the local level hold on to their freedom in their daily life, like a school situation, or a medical kidnapping situation."
GoldCare is not the only venture that aims to help people to disentangle themselves from the Medical-Industrial Complex. The late Dr. Zev Zelenko was part of a similar venture, FreedomMed, which aimed to create a network of medical practitioners who respect medical freedom and who put the needs of their patients above the diktats of politicians and insurance companies.
Dr. Zelenko sadly passed away in June of this year. And FreedomMed has understandably paused their services for the time being. I recommend getting on their mailing list though, to get updates once they get started again. Their vision is a powerful one, and the world needs many such ventures.
Of course, there are also alternatives that have been around for a long time. From medical cost-sharing programs and insurance alternatives, to concierge services and the direct primary care (DPC) model. The folks who put on the "Your Freedom Hub" webinars every week – have been committed to building parallel institutions in health and medicine for a long time now, and these webinars contain a wealth of information on innovations and alternatives in healthcare.
Money and Exchange
Earlier this year, we watched as truckers protesting the dictatorial rule of Canada's Premier Justin Trudeau had their bank accounts frozen as thanks for their activism. Then, in October, PayPal announced that it was going to start seizing cash from customers’ accounts (to the tune of $2,500 a pop) whenever it deemed that they had violated its new policies on "misinformation.” (PayPal later said that this policy statement had been a "mistake".)
Both episodes were wake-up calls for anyone still laboring under the delusion that governments and their cronies won't try to control us by controlling our access to our own money.
But what to do about it? Sure, crypto enthusiasts and sound-money folks have been warning of this kind of thing for ages. But do we already have in place easily usable alternatives that we can trust? The short answer is: Not entirely. The longer answer is: But we're getting closer!
Of course the crypto world keeps chugging along, bringing more (and hopefully better) attempts at ease of use. There are also some alternatives for moving and processing fiat money that are worth mentioning.
But here's what I am most excited about: Liberty Dollar Financial Association. And before you say what I think you're going to say, please listen to this interview I did with the folks who run it. Yes, it's the same "Liberty Dollar" that Bernard von Nothaus got into trouble for, but it's precisely because he got into that trouble that they now know what to do and what not to do.
Like many of the new solutions springing up, LDFA is a PMA, and it offers a very different product from the original Liberty Dollar. Essentially, silver certificates that are 100% backed by actual silver in an actual vault. There's more in the works, including a "shop" button that can be added to vendors' websites. I love the concept, am very excited about the things they plan to do with it, and I trust the folks who are behind it.
Why? Partly because they've been doing this for a very long time, and have learned invaluable lessons from their mistakes. But also because they are passionate about what they are doing, and have put themselves at personal risk for this venture, including, for some, spending time in jail. I realize that in ordinary times, and in ordinary business ventures, that might not be much of an endorsement. But it is here. (And yes, this is my affiliate link.)
Oh and I also like these guys. (Note: This is a friend's affiliate link.) Why? Because they're shiny!
My Own Projects
In the fall of 2021, I launched the Freogan Fellowship Learning site, a project under the private membership association, Freogan Fellowship. Since that time, we have held online classes for teens on the (US) Constitution, Common Law, Propaganda, and Austrian Economics. We are continuing to offer these classes, as well as new ones in history, literature, personal finance and creative writing. It has been exciting to work with teens – some of whom have been refugees from Covid-era mainstream schooling – who are eager to learn about these topics.
Earlier this year, I decided to start a membership group, for people who are serious about building parallel solutions. The group--which is called "Building Parallel Solutions"--meets regularly to compare notes, talk about our own projects, and sometimes find ways to collaborate or help each other out.
We also hold regular meetings with "experts" in the world of building alternatives in education, healthcare, food production, and other important areas. We've already had some amazing guests.
Conclusion
I've stressed here that many of these "innovations" are not new at all, that some of them have actually been around for a long time. That is true. What is new is the momentum that is pushing so many of us in this direction now. Never before in my lifetime – and I'd venture to say, in the history of this nation – have so many people felt so urgently the need to re-build the very foundations of our society. It is for this reason that I say this movement is in its infancy.
Yet, in another sense, it is not in its infancy at all. We are in many ways working to return to older ways of doing things. Our roots – for those of us in the US and the UK at least – are in common law. Not in this bizarre concoction of "laws" imposed upon society by a bunch of politicians bought by special interests, who are never held accountable for the damage their edicts cause.
Our roots are not in massive, centralized, industrial food production, but in farming that is much closer to home; Our roots are not in state-manipulated fiat money, but in money that is by definition "sound"; And our roots are certainly not in one-size-fits-all compulsory education – which has only existed in the US for a little over a century. None of this has been "normal" for all that long, when you think about it.
Perhaps the way to think about these changes we are creating is not as a "revolution", nor that we are venturing out toward new frontiers, but that we are correcting for something that has gone wrong. That we are rebuilding things that have been badly eroded, or in some cases assaulted.
So, are we still "already there"? Yes. We are exactly where we need to be in order to create the societies we envision. And we have the tools at our disposal to do so. Indeed, some of the most important of these tools have been with us for a very long time. We only need to reacquaint ourselves with them.
LOVE LOVE LOVE all of these suggestions! Thank you for putting this together. I'm already aware (and a huge fan) of some, such as: Tom Woods, Zach Bush (through whom I was introduced to Polyface Farm), Dr. Zelenko (may he RIP), and Simone Gold. And I'll definitely be checking out the others.
In addition to that, as it happens, my husband and I are in the process of opening our own Acton Academy affiliate! A few years ago, and then especially during the pandemic, it became clear to us how the public school system is failing our children. So, my husband, armed with a doctorate in Education Leadership, sought to make changes from within by getting a job in the DOE. Sadly, after witnessing the inner workings of the system at that leadership level, he realized it would be a futile endeavor. So instead, we looked for alternative/parallel institutions, which we're hoping will eventually change it from the outside. And alongside homeschooling, unschooling and private schooling, we decided to jump into the "fray" that is microschooling. We're super excited to be part of this (R)evolution (or as you say, 'corrective action') in education!
Please note that Simone Gold was arrested for being in the U.S. Capitol building on Jan. 6th, not in the White House. I'm a great fan of hers and a supporter of America's Front Line Doctors. I was appalled at her being arrested at all, let along the grossly inappropriate sentence. I'm glad she was released early and is hard a work providing an alternative to the grossly distorted medical establishment as it now exists.