Tomorrow is one of the few bank holidays that we get in these United States. We may have gained our independence (note, I said may…) from King George, but we definitely lost a lot of holidays in the process. The holiday is know by various names:
- Independence day by the patriotic
- Fourth of July by the secular
- Revolution day by the British
- Just any other day by the rest of the world
The original idea of the holiday was to celebrate the signing of the Declaration of Independence by the Continental Congress in 1776, popularly considered to be the birthday of these United States (whether that view is correct or not is an interesting side story). Over the past 200+ years, the meaning behind the holiday have changed. What was once a remembrance of a declaration in support of rule by natural law rather than rule by man has slowly become a tribute to the state that exists solely to rule men.
So, to honor the intents and brave actions of the original signers of the DoI, I am going to spend some time tomorrow celebrating and furthering my own personal independence. If you want to do the same, here are a few ideas in no particular order:
- Free your mind. Read a history, science, mathematics or philosophy book. Fiction is great, but there is something freeing about understanding a little more about how the world you live in works.
- Free your actions. Far too many of us spend too much time reliving the past and/or worrying/hoping about the future. Knowing history has its place, and having an idea of where you want to get to is a good idea as well, but the reality os the only decision making power we have is right now. Look into stoicism, mindful living or any of the other approaches to stop obsessing on the past or worrying about the future. You can only act in the now.
- Free your labor. Start your own business. It doesn’t have to be a complete replacement for your job “working for the man” – it can be something small that you can do in a few hours a week or even a month. If it never turns into anything bigger, it will help you in your “real” job and if it does, then you are on to bigger and better things.
- Free your body . Eat better food. Plant some seeds. Cook something. Go for a walk. Your body is your temple – do some preventive maintenance.
- Free your wallet. Convert some of your cash into Bitcoin or precious metals – and then spend it! Actually do a transaction with bitcoin – face to face if you can. Go somewhere and ask them if they will take silver (make sure to ask before the service or product is rendered). If that’s just too far out then pay off a debt.
- Free your security. Learn how to shoot. Take a martial arts class. Learn how to take care of yourself. When seconds count, the police are minutes away.
- Free your prejudices. Think of a group you hate – or if you’re not one to hate, one that you strongly dislike or mistrust. Muslims or Christians. Gays or Straights. Blacks or Whites. Immigrants or Natives. Find someone in that group, introduce yourself, talk to them and find all the things you have in common.
- Free your consent. Don’t pay a tax. Perform non violent civil disobedience for something you believe in. Commit a victimless crime.
- Free your attention. Stop watching / reading MSM. There are plenty of blogs, podcasts, and youtube channels that actually deserve you paying attention too (remember there is a reason it’s called paying attention for a reason – it’s not free!)
- Free your ideas. Take the time to sit own and write down an idea you have. Or record a podcast or a video. Put your idea out there and see what people think – don’t be cowed by culture or peer pressure into keeping your idea bottled up. Share it with the world and take honest feedback – it’ll make it better, or if its already good it will spread.
Pick one from the list above, or even better suggest another in the comments, and just do it. Make independence personal.
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