Every Day Carry - Business card case, wallet, key ring with whistle, tweezers, and micro-light, revolver, spare ammo, note card case and pen, handkerchief, pocket knife, flashlight.

The Boy Scout Motto is “Be Prepared”- good advice for any Southern gentleman on a number of levels. Being prepared starts with mental preparation. You wouldn’t go to a job interview without learning all you can about your prospective employer. You wouldn’t go to work on a project without knowing what is involved, what tools and materials are required, and what the expected completion criteria are. You wouldn’t leave on a trip without knowing the route you are going to take and approximately how long it will take. You wouldn’t go on a fishing trip without knowing what gear would be needed and how to effectively use it.

Preparedness also involves physical preparedness. “Every Day Carry” (EDC) is a common phrase among those who actively practice preparedness.

It used to be common practice for every man to always have a pocket knife in his pocket. It was carried to school, it was carried on commercial airliners, it was carried into the courthouse – everywhere. Somewhere along the way, pocket knives were demonized and became thought of as potential weapons rather than utilitarian tools. At one point in my life, I worked as a substitute teacher in the public schools. I was with some students when I needed to open a box. I pulled out my pocket knife, opened the box, and put it back into my pocket without even thinking about it. The look of horror on their faces and what they said told me that things had changed. It never occurred to me that it might be against the rules to carry a pocket knife. Had I been a student, I probably would have been expelled; had another adult seen it, I probably would have been fired and perhaps arrested. Life had changed. I still carry a pocket knife with me at all times, but there are now places where America’s Nanny State treats me as an irresponsible child who cannot be trusted with sharp objects; I avoid those places whenever possible.

Other items of Every Day Carry would include a clean handkerchief, a pen and something to write on, and the usual wallet, keys, and cell phone. Another item that is a part of being prepared is a small flashlight. With the advent of high quality LED flashlights, one can carry a very powerful flashlight in a very small package. Those using AA or Lithium 123 batteries each have their own advantages; I use both. Being someplace when the lights go out is a very helpless feeling. Don’t let that happen to you. I am amazed at the number of times during the day when I use my flashlight.

Those concerned with being prepared to defend yourself and your family would also add the means to effectively do so. In most cases, that means a handgun and some spare ammunition. Some, because of legal restrictions, would be limited to pepper spray or something similar.

Being prepared also includes another level – preparedness for major disasters. We have an absolute responsibility to care and provide for ourselves and our families at all times. There is no exemption for times when grocery stores are not open or are empty. There is no exemption for situations where there is no electricity. There is no exemption for times when predators roam the streets with no law enforcement to keep the thugs in check. There is no exemption. Period. That means that we, as husbands and fathers and grandfathers and Southern gentlemen have a responsibility to be prepared to meet the challenges of times of crisis. Read, learn, plan, and prepare.

We had a ritual when I was a Boy Scout. The leader would say, “Be Prepared”. We would all shout the reply, “We ARE Prepared!”

When I was in high school, math was still taught using a slide rule. As I started college, the portable calculator was just starting to make its presence known. Only the wealthiest families could equip their students with the most basic of calculators (the rich kids always sat near the power outlets so they could plug their calculators in). The school had a “calculator room” where there were about a dozen keypads wired to a large unit (made by the Wang Corporation). Students had to wait their turn to use these calculators – or use the “old fashioned” slide rule (a.k.a. “slip stick”). The speed of change was incredible. By the time I graduated, battery-powered calculators were cheap enough to be owned by just about every student, and slide rules were quickly forgotten. In the span of just a couple of years, the knowledge of how to use a slide rule had disappeared from the public education system. Crude though it may seem, this is the technology that designed the Apollo program and landed men on the moon. It is what produced all the calculations used in the design of the Boeing 747. It is what was used to design every skyscraper and every piece of machinery up until the early 1970’s.

Without computers, the only way to design something to scale is to use paper and pencil and drafting instruments. In high school and college, drafting was strictly a paper design effort. Even several years out of college, my job of designing material handling equipment for a textile mill in North Carolina was done using conventional paper drafting. Later employment called for facilities design using AutoCAD software.

The skills that built our technological society are rapidly disappearing. I am among the last of the generation that used the pre-computer technology that has become little more than a curiosity in a museum. What would happen if something like the Carrington Event that happened on September 1, 1859 were to destroy the electronics that keep our world running? It has happened before, and at some point, it WILL happen again.

What can be done?

I have been collecting a few slide rules over the past few years, as well as instruction books to teach others how to use them. I recently purchased a fairly complete set of home schooling books, teacher’s guides, and workbooks from Keepers of The Faith. Included in the package is the complete set of McGuffey Readers, spelling, phonics, writing and grammar, a set of math books, and various other school books.

On a recent trip to the ECHO library, I made a list of various books that I thought one would need to rebuild at least some level of technology. When I got home, I searched through used book stores and added those books to my library. In some cases, they were only available in PDF format on-line, so they were printed out and bound.

Most of the books I have were purchased used or were being discarded and just waiting to be picked up. That small investment in time and resources is our insurance policy. It is there to make sure that, no matter what may happen to our complex and fragile system, our grandchildren will receive a good education. The next time you hear of someone discarding an old set of encyclopedias because they “need the room and it’s easier to look it up on Google”, take advantage of the opportunity to provide for the education of a future generation. When the Roman Empire collapsed, it led to the Dark Ages. Imagine what would happen should the current global empire collapse.

I can’t fault Rawles as his logic is airtight, but I would add a caveat. To my mind, there is no right or wrong way to prepare for the coming turmoil, in a Darwinian sense the more avenues people take the better the chance that some will be right. Of course, conversely some will be tragically wrong, but survival of the fittest will soon become a lot more than a catch phrase. I know folks who are actively planning to be hunter/gatherers, complete with flintknapping and hide-tanning skills. Some intend to board their sailboats at the first sign of upheaval and quietly sail over the horizon.

A few proclaim that the time to start shooting is upon us. Some have already chosen to immigrate to other countries. There are today practicing pastoralists, with flocks of sheep and spinning wheels. Others make their own flintlock rifles, right down to the handmade barrels and screws. Many have adopted solar panels and wind turbines. Backyard chicken flocks have grown exponentially, as have raised bed gardens. Stout-hearted souls are taking Rawles at his word and moving to Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho. Others are trying to strengthen their home towns with community gardens and volunteerism.

Who is to say which of these – or which combination – might see us through the rough seas ahead. As for myself, I will disparage no man’s approach, no matter how outlandish. All I know is that the current paradigm can’t last, that SOMETHING will replace the massive Ponzi Scheme our modern civilization has become. So blessings upon anyone who, in his own way, is trying to cushion the transition. My only hope is that those whose intention is to become raiders and warlords don’t have the right idea.

I am convinced that the Southern Agrarians will be one of the successful approaches to making it through trying times and emerging on the other side with a strong and vibrant culture intact. Here’s why:

• We are bound together by a strong and well-established culture of The Old South; we have a long history to look back on, and history and tradition play a large part in bonding people together. It is what makes the difference between simply a group of people and a people sharing a common culture – what, in earlier times would be called a tribe or a clan.
• We have the spiritual bond of fundamental, Bible-believing Christianity to see us through tough times. There is a reason that The South is called “The Bible Belt”.
• The strong Southern Agrarian emphasis on the family provides strength for the one social institution that, for a time, may be the only functioning structure in society.
• Our agrarian traditions and practices provide our families with the basic necessities of life that will either be scarce, unavailable, or too expensive to afford.
• We are already established in a lifestyle that emphasizes deep roots in the land, a thrifty, make-do attitude, and a feeling of contentment no matter what our lot in life may be. Never underestimate the importance of culture and attitude on the practical aspects of survival.
• We have the individual years of experience in raising our own food – even if only in small “sampler” amounts that can be scaled up in quantity – that will be absolutely crucial in providing for ourselves and our families.
• Southern Agrarians have the right balance of independence and sense of community to thrive without the social structures currently in place. Providing for the common defense and security will be far easier for us to organize than it will be for those who are physically separated by the remoteness of the mountain states; in addition, many parts of The South are some of the most heavily armed in the nation.
• The culture of The Old South flatly rejects the egalitarianism that leads to chaos, lawlessness, and anarchy. Our respect for legitimate authority, appreciation for a social hierarchy, and sense of place and order gives us a high probability of maintaining an orderly society. When the English established their presence during their colonial era, their first priority was to firmly establish the rule of law. At times it may have seemed cruel and unjust, but it is absolutely essential to maintaining an orderly, civilized society.
• We have the history of our ancestors who survived a cruel and brutal war, followed by many years of oppression during the so-called “Reconstruction”. Our ancestors learned to save and stockpile for hard times, and to a greater or lesser degree, we have learned those lessons and applied them to our lives.
• There is a Southern tradition of selfless leadership – accepting the burden of leadership for the good of all, rather than for the acquisition of power. The key to rebuilding communities will be this selfless leadership that fully respects property rights rather than the entitlement mentality of socialism. The socialist idea of confiscation and redistribution will find no fertile ground here. Those weeds will be pulled out by the roots and burned.
• We have a strong tie to this region, which is why you will not find true Southerners packing up and moving to another part of the country. The blood of our ancestors was shed on this soil – we cannot simply walk away from that. Our beloved South is not for us to surrender and abandon, but to work to preserve and defend – with force, if necessary.

None of this is to say that the Southern Agrarians will come out on top or that ours is the best way to go. We don’t know what the future will hold, so we certainly can’t predict what the “best” way to go is. What we can do, however, is look at basic trends and compare them to the strengths – and weaknesses – of Southern Agrarians and see that we are very well suited to weather the coming storms. Moreover, the Southern Agrarian lifestyle is, and always has been, a satisfying, comforting, rewarding, and noble one.

Southern Agrarianism is not explicitly about preparedness and survivalism – that is just a nice byproduct of the independent lifestyle of the Southern Agrarian.

For more on Southern Agrarianism, see The Southern Agrarian –
another blog by Stephen Clay McGehee.

What has changed? My original objection was to the stated goal of a new confederation of Southern states as a political entity. If that were to be attempted within the context of a stable society and a stable government, then my objection would still stand. That, however, is something that can no longer be taken for granted. It is clear to me – and apparently to many others also – that the America that was portrayed in Ronald Reagan’s “Morning in America” video no longer exists. In fact, it hasn’t existed for quite some time. What we have now in this country is something that cannot continue.

We are a nation defined only by geographical borders and an increasingly tyrannical system of rules and enforcement. We no longer share anything even remotely resembling a common culture, and that – more than anything else – is what truly defines a nation. A common culture is what provides the glue that holds a people together during difficult times. It is the cohesive force that keeps us together. Without that, it is only a matter of time before the seams begin to rip and the whole system falls apart.

When a political vacuum is formed, something will come in to take its place. That is what I now see as a very necessary role of the League of The South. We need to have some structure in place so that The South can have a strong role in shaping whatever moves in to fill that political vacuum in the Southern part of America. I still strongly object to efforts to force political change within a functioning America; that, however, is a matter of timing that can be discussed by reasonable men.

I wish the League of The South all the best in their efforts to stand ready to provide solid moral leadership at a time when our people will so desperately need it.