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BookmarkIt’s one of the hardest habits to break.
We begin pledging our allegiance to the state before we even know what that means. We learn to sing bombastic, patriotic songs of praise at an age when we don’t understand the vocabulary of the lyrics.
And after years of repetition and social reinforcement, the idealistic devotion to country becomes profoundly ingrained in our personalities.
It’s a lifelong indoctrination underpinned by a deep instinct to belong to something greater than ourselves.
Human beings are not meant to exist in isolation. We strive for inclusion and acceptance of our peers. And the forming of social groups, whether families, tribes, dynasties, and kingdoms is as old as human civilization itself.
Over the centuries, though, the social constructs have changed dramatically. It used to be closely knit, smaller groups with shared values and dedication to the other members. Now our loyalty is manipulated towards a political union… and the government which represents it.
In other words, we’re inculcated to have an unquestioning allegiance to the system.
The combination is so powerful that even in the face of overwhelming evidence, the sentiment is difficult to shake.
It’s clear now that the system has turned on the very people who invest their faith and confidence in it.
We can see the obvious effects of decades of morbidly destructive policy.
We can see how the way of life we grew up with has become a distant memory, replaced by a cheap masquerade.
We can see the debt, the money printing, the police state, the utter collapse of justice and rule of law… and the shiny facade of mindless entertainment and wanton consumerism as an attempt to cover it all up.
And yet… it’s still so hard to turn one’s back. Deep within ourselves there’s still a quiet voice that says “This can be fixed. It’s going to get better.”
This is the voice of hope. And despite all the rational arguments which point to a very conspicuous trend, this voice is very difficult to silence.
Hope, along with loyalty, is one of the most admirable traits of humanity. And it’s certainly honorable to want to rebuild what has been lost. But please consider these few points:
1) The trend is clear. And in the West, it’s negative. We routinely discuss in this column that history has an almost unblemished track record of once-great nations and empires collapsing into tyranny as their economic fundamentals deteriorate.
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The West has long passed the historical point of no return where degenerate governments have to borrow more money simply to pay interest on the money they’ve already borrowed.
If the trend holds, history shows that we can expect capital controls, banking controls, direct wealth confiscation, oppressive taxes, military conflict, rising crime rates, social unrest, etc.
None of these is a particularly rosy outcome.
2) With this in mind, our first loyalty is not to a government or political union… but to our families. And when the trend is this clear, we have a responsibility to take measured, rational steps to safeguard our families’ futures.
3) The desire to help rebuild is admirable. But what use can anyone really be if capital controls, debt default, bank runs, pension seizure, or currency crisis have vanquished one’s life savings? A sick doctor is no use to anyone.
4) One of the best ways to increase your immunity to this trend is through internationalization– the idea of carefully diversifying your life across multiple countries so that no single government has total control over you.
As you likely know from reading this column, or if you’ve seen the videos from our Offshore Tactics Workshop back in April, it’s entirely possible these days to bank in one place, invest in another, structure your business in another, hold your gold in another, own real estate in another, have citizenship in another, etc.
These are important steps to take. Each ensures that, no matter which direction your government goes, your livelihood will be safe… and you’ll be in a much better position to make a difference should you choose to do so.
