Among the sharp-witted reader comments that come my way, some clonk me on the head with reasonable gripes that take a couple of forms: (1) sure, Shurk, the country is a mess, but what precisely are we going to do about it?  Or more despondently: (2) Given how awful everything is, how could anything we do possibly matter?

I would like to address the second question first by stating emphatically: what you do matters tremendously.  Your efforts influence others in ways you may never know.

As but a single illustration of this truth, consider this message from a young woman that was reposted to a comment thread at The Conservative Treehouse:

My heart goes out to the men and women who have been awake for years if not decades.  I cannot imagine the frustration and hopelessness you must have felt when you were literally watching the world burn with no one to talk to.  We're here now and we are awake.  Sorry we're late.

If those fifty words don't give you a bit of a jolt, check yourself for a pulse.  The moment we stop believing that our actions can make a difference in this world is the moment we thank our enemies for having dug the six-foot hole up ahead.  When we refuse to surrender and force our enemies to keep digging, then the only question that matters is this: who will get tired first?  

Even when you feel alone, there are people watching and wondering whether you will hold the line.  Some of those people are even carrying shovels.  But over time, your resilience changes minds.  Diggers throw down their tools to join sides with the people who refuse to go away.  It is an enduring certainty that all movements for great change begin with a smattering of strong-willed truth-tellers who seed the ground with inspiration before a harvest of raw courage sweeps the land.  Nobody can keep you from being that seed.  Perseverance is its own reward.

It is sometimes easy to forget that America's War for Independence was really a fifty-year struggle that continued in fits and starts between Parliament's passage of the Stamp Act in 1765 and Great Britain's second bite at the apple with the War of 1812.  During many of the early years, only a minority of the colonists remained committed to revolution.  The Declaration of Independence could have been quickly forgotten had a handful of battles during eight years of war gone somewhat differently.  The failed Articles of Confederation could have spelled doom for the Union had the U.S. Constitution not been ratified as its replacement.  And the Constitution would have never been ratified without assurances of a subsequent Bill of Rights.  Thomas Paine's exceedingly popular pamphlet, Common Sense, gave the colonists of 1776 a common political language.  However, his ideas and the Enlightenment principles that formed the foundations for America's political system took their inspiration from the previous century's subversive writings — including those from Locke, Montesquieu, and Voltaire.

Here is the heart of the matter: compared to the trials and tribulations of our forefathers, our own battles to reclaim lost personal freedoms from an increasingly hostile and totalitarian Deep State are proceeding rather quickly.  As Sam Adams knew well, "it does not take a majority to prevail ... but rather an irate, tireless minority, keen on setting brushfires of freedom in the minds of men."  Never stop setting brushfires of freedom.

As for the first question above — What precisely are we going to do about this mess? — we're going to stay calm, cool, and collected.  We're going to keep our wits about us.  We're going to look out for one another.  And we're going to ensure that our collective sense of humor is well fueled, because sharp minds and shrewd repartee distinguish us from the Marxist automatons fielding the globalists' robot armies.  

If you have not already done so (or it has been a while since you have), please read and enjoy Claire Wolfe's 101 Things to Do 'til the Revolution, a book she "dedicated to you, the enemy of the state," a full twenty-five years before the federal government declared war on half the country, started taking J6 scalps, and openly embraced political persecution.  In her subversive classic, published during Bill Clinton's presidency, Wolfe begins, "America is at that awkward stage.  It's too late to work within the system, but too early to shoot the bastards."  From the introductory dedication alone, she nails our current predicament swimmingly with a few salient points:

(1) "[W]hen government turns bad, the best people ultimately become criminals."

(2) "Initiative, dissent, individual pleasures, and exercise of one's basic rights become 'crimes[.]'"

(3) "The ideal citizen of a tyrannical state is the man or woman who bows in silent obedience in exchange for the status of a well-cared-for herd animal."

(4) "Thinking people become the tyrants' worst enemies."

(5) During "a period of anticipation," an ignored and overlooked coalition "rolls forward in near silence, as millions of individuals quietly withdraw their consent from the state."

If you look around America today and do not see that a movement for change is afoot, then that is only because, as Wolfe astutely observes, the quiet withdrawal of consent "rolls forward" mostly unnoticed.  From time to time, though, hundreds of thousands do gather together while donning bright red hats.

I urge you to take a hard look at her 101 suggestions, as they have aged well with time.

Please allow me to insert one recommendation for the top of her list: before doing anything else in preparation for whatever chaos lies ahead, get yourself right with God.  Then, after seeking His guidance and protection for your family, pray for the preservation of our God-given liberties, the Bill of Rights, the U.S. Constitution, and the Union of our fifty states, in that order.  When we "hope for the best, prepare for the worst," we make ourselves worthy instruments for God's blessings.

The key word here is preparation.  I'm not talking about what to do if the Cheka FBI shows up at your door because you know that biological sex is real, the climate change apocalypse is fake, and rigged elections are common.  I'm talking about preparation for catastrophic events that will change life as we know it.  Whether an economic meltdown, an EMP attack that wipes out the power grid, or a miscalculation in Ukraine that triggers nuclear engagement, the question is always whether you are prepared.  Do you have a secure supply of potable water, food, and medication?  Do you have a game plan for finding and retrieving family?  Can you survive an extended period of time without electricity?  If you have not already asked and answered these questions, there is no better time to do so than the present.

If you have prepared for your basic security, then it is time to prepare your mind and emotions for any troubles that might lie ahead.  My standing recommendation is always to read as much as you can, learn as much as you can, and find as many like-minded people as you can.  Every new skill — whether automotive, needlework, or firearms training — provides an advantage.  Community and fellowship provide a life worth living.  These may sound like simple tasks, but in a pinch, they mean everything.

When so much uncertainty surrounds us, feeling overwhelmed is natural.  Being forced to constantly fight for your beliefs is unsettling.  As contradictory as this will sound, to find some modicum of peace, you have to find a way to accept that we are now in a period of sustained conflict.  You must prepare your mind to embrace this struggle as an opportunity for greater meaning.  Live a life of example, and others will follow.

Image: JSMed via Pixabay, Pixabay License.