I’ve been thinking about what I can do to make a difference. My focus is not on reforming society from the top down, but from the bottom up. The survival of Christianity in Russia despite the years of Soviet persecution is an example of how regenerate families eventually destroy degenerate government. The fall of America into today’s cesspool of moral turpitude shows how degeneracy in families quickly leads to degeneracy in government. So here are 12 ways that you can have a positive impact on the nation and your community. None of them require you to be married or have children–these are things that can be done by anyone, no matter his situation.
- Go to Church. Evaluate your church based on what it is, not on what you wish it was. If your church is a harmful place where your wife and children are taught to rebel and strengthened in their rebellion, it is not a church. Find somewhere else. I can attest to the fact that there are places where you will be spiritually strengthened rather than attacked. But I spent a long time attending a church hostile to the faith because I thought I had no other options. Don’t make the same mistake I did.
- Do IRL meet-ups. I’ve done one of these, and have another scheduled. If there are like-minded people close enough for you to meet up in real life, why wouldn’t you? You may one day need each other’s help, and at the very least, can encourage and lift up each others hearts.
- Produce as much of your own food as possible. For us, this currently looks like 17 chickens and a 35’x35′ garden. But even if you live in an apartment in the city, you can grow a potted tomato. If you have a house but live in the city, check your ordinances–most cities allow up to 3-4 chickens. If you live in the country and have room for goats or even a cow, awesome! But do make sure you ramp up in chunks you can handle. We have room for goats, but decided to put them off for a year, as this is our first experience with chickens, and we are establishing a new garden. Next year we will add in the goats and plant an orchard, God willing.
- Hunt. Here in the Midwest it’s whitetails, in the West it may be elk, in the South it may be wild hogs. No matter where you live you should be able to find public hunting ground within a hour or two’s drive. Process your own meat, and can or freeze it for storage. If you don’t have a hunting rife and want to start as simply and cheaply as possible, check your local pawn shops for used H&R/NEF Handi-Rifles. You should be able to find one for $100-$150. If you can’t, go to your local dealer and check out Henry Repeating Arms new single-shot rifle. Henry is a high-quality product made in the USA, and a new Henry single-shot at Cabela’s goes for less than $400.
- Fish. Admittedly, it is getting harder to find non-polluted water to catch fish in. Yet this is the food that Our Lord most often fed to others. Find a spot, even if you have to drive, and add a supply of self-caught fish to your larder.
- Bake your own bread. Although the wife does this now, I started when I was living in a Miami apartment, without any fancy mixers or tools, just a bowl, a bread pan, and a few ingredients. It’s healthier, cheaper, and tastes better. Plus there’s nothing quite like walking in the house and smelling a sourdough in the oven.
- Buy the remainder of your food as locally as possible, even if it costs more. We transitioned from driving to the city to buy our meat, milk, and vegetables at Costco to buying in a small, local, natural foods co-op. If that sounds hippie-ish to you, it is. But the quality is higher, we are supporting people who live and work around us, and we get opportunities to talk and share with the employees here that we never would in Costco’s industrial setting.
- Give generously. Money. Time. Garden produce. Venison. Fish. Expertise. Focus not just on those who agree with you (give to them too) but specifically those who are around you. If you don’t know all your neighbors, visit them, and bring a gift basket.
- Dress well. Blue jeans and a plaid shirt looks a lot better than gym shorts and a PBR T-shirt. If you are married, get your wife in more dresses. The same goes for children.
- Reduce the unnecessary. Do you still have a TV? A collection of clothes you never wear? 8 different bottles of cologne? Give away what you can to people you know who have a use for it, and donate the rest to Goodwill or the St. Vincent de Paul Society. Not the TV though. Shoot that sucker full of holes–you don’t want that demon to enter another person’s house.
- Pay off any debt. I accomplished this once, but after marrying into some school loans and buying a house on credit, I’m working on it again.
- When you do need to purchase something, value beauty, quality, craftsmanship, simplicity, and local production over cost. I can get a cheap Chinese kerosene lantern at Wal-Mart, or I can go to the little local bulk food store run by an Amish couple, and get a well-built American-made kerosene lantern for about double the price. I choose to pay double, but end up with a better product, help a local family financially with my purchase, and contribute to the employment of other American workers.