Look to neighbors, not government

(My Eastern New Mexico News column for October 6, 2024)

My sympathy goes out to everyone affected by Hurricane Helene and its aftermath. It's easy for those of us who live far from the ocean, or any water whatsoever, to feel smug for living where hurricanes don't reach. If this is how you feel, remember it's a false sense of security.

Every area has its own problems and potential disasters. Tornadoes, wildfires, blizzards, riots, or earthquakes... and sometimes a smorgasbord of all the above. Figure out your region's most likely disaster and prepare for it. And the others as well. Even preparing for the trouble a hurricane can cause in an area like this, where hurricanes are as likely as elephant stampedes, will carry over to other problems you may experience. So many precautions are the same no matter the emergency.

The worst mistake is to fail to prepare because you believe government will ride in like a hero to kiss your scrapes and bruises and make your boo-boos all better. If they show up at all, they may make things worse.

FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency-- the one agency you might believe would have, as their top priority, helping people recover from disasters-- has said equity is their "Goal 1". Not disaster response, rescue, or recovery, but the antisocial communist ideology of equity. That's disgusting and an utter failure on their part.

Even before FEMA got infected with this mind virus, they were less helpful than locals could be. Neighbors helping neighbors is the foundation of society. Don't try to replace society with government. It won't work.

Government was never going to save you. You’ve always been on your own. If you’ve been planning on government help, make other plans. Government is your enemy, not your savior. Grow up and accept your responsibility.

This doesn't mean you shouldn't accept help from government, or anyone else, should it be offered. Go ahead. Don't be counting on it, though. Don't wait for help which isn't coming.

Instead, help your neighbors when they need it, even in minor troubles. Ask for help when you need it. Build community. We have each other, and relying on government erodes community. Government needs us, we don't need it. If we think we don't need to lift a finger because that's government's job, we are missing a great opportunity and empowering something harmful.

There's a better way, and now you know what it is. But you already knew, didn't you?

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Do you want to be protected from liberty?

All of the politicians promising to protect "their" state from whatever they imagine Trump will do would be impressive... if they weren't embracing the wrong things in most cases. "Protecting" the population really just means they want to keep violating them in the traditional ways they've been getting away with up until now.

They say they'll protect their population from anyone trying to "take their freedom" while they've been doing nothing other than violating the freedom-- and the liberty-- of those in the state since the day they took office.

"Hypocrite" isn't a strong enough word to describe these political criminals.

It seems some of them are scared that they'll finally be forced to obey the Second Amendment. They see the end of their anti-gun schemes. 

There's really no risk that will happen. Trump isn't going to force anyone to obey the Second Amendment- he may try to stop them from breaking the law in specific ways, but no powerful politician (or Supreme Courtjester) has ever figured out what the Bill of Rights was for or what it does. Trump has never been a friend of gun owners- he just isn't as bad as Harris probably would have been. That's a very low bar, though.

"Protecting" your population from liberty is what slave owners do. It's not good, kind, or "progressive". It's evil. 

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