Tuesday, February 8, 2011

How About REAl "Hope" and "Change"

It has been a dark hour for a while now, the progressive left has been on the march and in many ways they have convinced the population, including your esteemed resistance columnist RFW ACTUAL to despair. As the changing of seasons comes, the proglibs are on the run (not to be confused with the troglodyte conservatives, like yours truly: a trogcon).

In response to their supposed victory, I now offer a curriculum and a mission for those of use who are in the fight.

Although I have gone back to school to earn a socially accepted piece of paper, I am shocked at how dumb it has made me by taking my time from my own personal reading, learning, and enrichment. This comes as a surprise to me, since I grew up believing that only attaining higher degrees was the way to prosper.

Now that the sunset of my academic masturbation is at hand (for now) I have taken it upon myself to create a new curriculum for those of us who still haven't lost all hope (more than likely those who haven't been paying enough attention). Based largely off Col. Jeff Cooper's Commentaries on what every young man should have learned how to do, this is a refresher for those of us too old to be young, and too dumb to be old.

Computer Skills- get them above the norm. Like it or not, we live in a world where the interwebs are king, if we fail to learn and understand that, we may fail totally. Knowledge is power.

Know yer damn Literature - read the great books and the philosophers... I won't start naming names, but you know the books. And not the crap they made you read in High School, read things with an open mind and not anyone cramming anything down your throats.... Read it yourself, you decide.

Know YOUR FUCKIN HISTORY - This is an unforgivable sin. History is the story of us. I have a list of recommended books that I will post, they go from general to very in-depth. The point is to learn history, as Churchill said "study history, study history, study history, for in history are all the secrets of statecraft"

Light Airplane - I'm not saying we all must be F-15 drivers, but at least some guys should be able to handle a light plane. Being licensed to operate an airplane is a very important skill, very useful if one has to bail in a hurry. Even better (and cheaper), download a flight simulator, learn a few of the basics, and take a ground school course at a local airport. Probably less than $500 total, and you probably could fly the plane if you happened to be stuck on Flight 93..... Just saying.

Manage a Car- better than the 'drivers ed' idiot teach you. Race it, run it hard, see what happens when it gets shot, learn how the damn thing works. Better yet, get training.

Motorcycle - Learn to ride one, then learn it as well as you just learned how to run your car

Boats - Figure em out. They are surprisingly uncomplicated. Learn the rules of the road and what the buoys mean, know how to run both sail and power boats. Realize the ocean is a bitch and that rivers and lakes might not be much better (Gordon Lightfoot commented on the latter)

Animals - Us on the right coast do not often run across the chance to ride horses or manage pack animals (unless you have a John Kerry style trust fund). Way better to learn it now than when the proverbial bleep hits the proverbial ventilation

Guns - You knew it was coming. I assume you can shoot, but can you shoot in the dark, under stress, with a gun you picked up off the battlefield, while injured, and its cold rainy and nasty? Didn't think so. Train hard here, we may need it.

Unarmed Combat - See above. I've never seen it rain in a Dojo (even at BU, though it was sometimes cold). Train to a higher level.

THUS ENDS THE FUN!!!!!!! Now we gotta go to work:

Civics- Learn your government. Know the branches of Federal government. Commit the gist of the Bill of rights to memory. Read the Constitution. Read the Federalist Papers, de Toqueville, and as many biographies of the founders as you can. I personally enjoyed reading Ben Franklin's bio "The First American", Franklin was always seeking to improve himself, just as this list does. Bottom line: learn your civics, otherwise we give our ideological enemies the upper hand.

Foreign Languages: Yup, I don't like them damn dirty foreigners either. They don't bathe, don't talk right, and eat stincky shit. Tough. Pick up a foreign language, any language. Make yourself more useful to your friends in event of a crisis, or at least keep the burrito guy from spitting in your food. Most languages are well taught by online resources (see #1) and tapes. It's a discipline issue, just like weight lifting: no one bulks up overnight, nor are languages learnt overnight. I once got a tour of the US Foreign Service Academy and the very senior Foreign Service Officer commented to me: "there's a lot of pain here... people learning new languages". Like many things on this list, it sucks. As Dick Marcinko would say, "you don't have to like it, you just have to DO IT".

Geography - Learn where shit is. It's amazing to me how many folks, when confronted with a blank map of the world can't fill in anything. Even more shameful is when they see a map of the US. Walmart sells cheap US driving maps for around $5. Get one and look at it when watching the game. Learn the major cities, states, and roads. When that's boring start looking at world maps. Go to google earth, learn what other country's streets look like. If nothing else, you can make one hell of a tourguide. Btw AAA offers free maps of damn near everything, why not get a few now?

Zoology and Botany - Have an interest in the native species of your area. Learn a few by name, know a few birds, ground critters, etc. Also learn the plants of the area, especially those that are edible. If you haven't figured out which ones are poisonous by now, start taking hikes in the summer, you will soon. Not only will you impress the granola set, you'll be ready to survive if you get caught out in the boonies.

Navigation - GPS RULZ!!!! Until the GPS satellite constellation gets shot down, nuked, or hit by solar flares. You DO have local street maps right? Do you know how to use them? Ever seen a compass? Know how to mark a bearing, count steps, and navigate? Which is the north star? What does that mean? Can a watch be a compass? All this is important and useful, learn it now while its easy!

Economies of business and agriculture - Learn how both work, and more importantly, find a way to make yourself useful in either.

Medical Response - In the age of 911, too many of us have neglected our skill in saving lives. At the very least, take a Red Cross First Aid / CPR course (even better, take it with the wife or girlfriend... the ass you save might be your own!) EMT, First Responder, of Wilderness courses are all useful too. Some classes are even given for Range Officers (if you spend as much time on the range as you should to keep up your skills this is probably useful...). Have a kit, not bandaids and boo-boo bandages, but the shit that stops real bleeding: large bandages, CPR masks, and gloves (lots of bugs out there guys, always wear a rubber... glove)

Communication - You are now good to go on computers, but what about the old school radio stuff? Know anything about shortwave radio? Have a scanner? An Amateur Radio license? Go through the steps and at least get the Technician Ham license, it's easy, takes only a few hours of study and 45 minutes of testing. Then get a rig. 2 Meter, 6 Meter, and 10 Meter are best for our use. Get the licenses, practice on the air, participate in "Field Day" exercises to keep your emergency skills current. The main net may not be available when things go bad, learn your options now.

PT - Yup, the dreaded physical training. LIft weights, run, bike, do whatever you have to. Failure ain't an option when its your ass and that of your family on the line. Fail for bad luck, bad timing, or bad situation, but never fail for being weak or undertrained. You don't have to like it, just fuckin do it.

Trades - We all have our vocations, but how many of us have a backup gig, should that fail? If the grid goes down, what's your backup trade. Don't say "security" because every idiot with a glock and a Soldier of Fortune education will try that. We should all have productive trades, just in case things go bad.

I do not mean to preach, as those of you who know RFW ACTUAL know, I am not fully proficient in all of these disciplines. On my wall is a whiteboard with all of these things listed, and I will tick them off one at a time. I would humbly recommend that all of us do this, not to point out our failures, but to recognize how much more well rounded we have all become.

Mr. Glenn Beck speaks of enlightenment, and of educating people. This is all well and good, but the American education system has become so corrupt and dysfunctional that people no longer possess even a baseline of education to reach enlightenment from. We can all moan and wail about this failure of our educators, maybe even implore the Obamamessiah himself for help... or we can be Americans, educate ourselves, lift up ourselves, and save ourselves. I had originally meant this post to be about survivalism, to save ourselves after the crap hit the fan, but now I realize it is more important now than ever.

I welcome the comments and criticism, but I challenge everyone who reads this to put an abbreviated version of this list on their blackboard, cross off what you accomplish, and move us forward.

RFW ACTUAL out.

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