People of the Black Hills,
The time for talk is over. We, all of us, have talked and talked and talked ourselves into being soft, weak, sniveling, apathetic creatures of comfort, appetites and chronic disease. We are people of “talk,” and not in the philosophical sense. We’re “all talk,” in the blustering bullshit sense, where what comes out of our mouths is the reality we wish we could have if only it didn’t require such hard work.
Some of us talk big about “already knowing how to fight” or “use a gun.” That’s directly relevant to what we do at The Forge, but it’s not even the half of what I mean.
Some of us talk big about our daily lives, education, work, family, accomplishments, wealth, health, politics, sports, etc… ad nauseum, as though it is all going to continue the way it’s always been since before we were alive. This is denial, just like the denial we might experience for a second or two while that guy pulls out a knife and comes toward us. But most people are just STANDING THERE.
Yes, this is admonishment. This is criticism, and I want to scream it in your face, you weak, marshmallow people!
I scream it silently into the mirror often enough. So why not bring you along for the ride.
Take an Honest Look Around
The time for denial is over. You’re seeing the price of groceries and gas steadily rise, and you wonder why. Do you stop and think? Do you ask and listen? After decades of failed economic policies, Patriot-Act government shenanigans, innumerable stupid wars, the dismantling and outsourcing of our ability to make things ourselves, the rise of globalist thinking, wars, repealing the ban on domestic propaganda, the dumbing-down of public schools, “pandemics” and lockdowns, trucker strikes and war again.
Is it any wonder? If you haven’t already realized that “when the SHTF” is your denial talking, then you better reassess. The S has already HTF. We are experiencing the collapse right now.
As I type this, the current admin has banned oil imports from Russia, which will only serve to drive prices up. Because of their policies, we have a growing supply-chain crisis that has resulted in increasingly empty shelves, higher prices, and a deluge of media propaganda. If they were intentionally trying to collapse our economy and destroy our political system and way of life, I’m not sure what they would be doing differently.
When there is no food on the shelves, no gas in the tank, no one is collecting garbage, the water is no longer treated, the internet is down, most people are out of work, and the power is flickering and that paper in your wallet – even those digits on the screen – are worthless…on who will we depend for our survival?
Most likely it will be the “people in charge,” right? Governments and Authorities. And they’ll feed you their bacteria-grown pseudo-meat protein slop, and usher you off to your camp full of shipping-container pods with promises of a better tomorrow if only you do what they tell you.
Is that the future you want? Is that the future you want for your grandkids?
Flip the Switch
The time for weakness, comfort, and indecision is over. YOU need to get used to the fact that the way of life we’ve enjoyed for so long IS OVER. It is gone, and will never return in our lifetime. The life of luxury, peace, plenty, convenience, comfort and wealth is crashing down around you.
Nothing will be left, when all is said and done, but a life of hardship, sweaty work, lack, need, strife and little hope. If we are to survive it, we are going to need far more mental and physical strength and resilience than our culture of apathy and waste has given us.
Face reality and reprioritize your life based not on what you WISH would happen, but what has already happened. No more excuses. Flip that switch.
Get to Work
Strength is built through hard work, and I’m not talking about trading a bunch of time and activity for wealth. I’m talking about lifting heavy things, MOVING, and burning calories while you still have to fuel to replace them. I’m talking about doing Hard Things to build your body into a machine that can deal with a harder lifestyle, and forcing your mind to become accustomed to meeting challenges head-on with determination.
We do a lot at The Forge with fighting and guns. But this isn’t even about fighting and guns. You don’t have to do any of that, and if you do, you don’t have to do it here. It’s not about that.
This isn’t a call to fight anyone but yourself. This is a call to fight YOUR fight and overwhelmingly dominate the weakness you’ve cultivated all your life with an internal army of raw determination to be the human you are supposed to be! You do need to to SOMETHING to get your doughy posterior and your squishy gray matter into gear!
What if I’m Wrong
Sure, I could be wrong. Everything could turn out just fine: groceries will be on the shelves, deflation will occur, gas prices will go back down, politicians will stop lying, all authorities will give up their power in the interest of your freedom, and criminals will turn their lives around.
Cool. Let’s assume that happens because I’m full of shit. And you spent all this time and money developing yourself. What have you lost? Maybe you’re now behind on your Netflix shows because you spent extra time at the gym? Or maybe you didn’t get that new truck because you spent some savings on necessities? And now you’re more disciplined, stronger, more confident, more energetic, and feeling like you have your priorities straight? Woe is me.
Light your forge and get to work.
(this is the part where I walk away from the mirror…)
