Celebrating Independence Day (Galt's Gulch Style)

It is July 4th, the day that we celebrate American "Independence".  For many of us that has become an oxymoron.  With every passing day, American citizens become ever more DEPENDENT on government.  True unemployment is at an all-time high with the real number that matter is that people still participating in the workforce is 58.6%.  Almost 11 million people are now on disability.  23 Million households or 1 in 5 households are on food stamps.  If the number of people on food stamps were a state, they would be the 3rd largest in population, just behind Texas.

Ironically, the 4th of July is a day that Americans celebrate their freedom from tyranny.  It is losing its luster as the freedoms we enjoy continue to erode at an alarming rate.  It was just a couple of weeks ago that the NSA was revealed to be monitoring American citizens' communication of all types.  Free speech has been all but curtailed by political correctness.  Taxation has become incrementally more progressive and the government keeps printing more money to enslave future generations.  So, it would seem that there really isn't much to celebrate anymore.

As I sit, writing this post, I hear fireworks being set off around us.  The explosions are a reminder of the military battles and lives lost to oust the rule of one king 3,000 miles away to be replaced by 3,000 rulers one mile away  (paraphrased from The Patriot).

I know this posting sounds like a downer and some typical conservative whining about what once was and how dismal things are becoming.  But let me change direction a bit.  Now, everything that I stated up until this point is true, but I don't despair.  At least, not any longer.

When I look outside on this July 4, it is pouring rain, here in the South Eastern United States and has been for several days.  The holiday is a wash, quite literally.  There aren't many cook outs happening on this day.  But yet, I am full of optimism.  Kat and I, took a rainy day and made the best of it.  We cooked out under the awning of our RV.  Between storms, we ventured to the shore of the lake and enjoyed the beauty.  Our happiness does not depend on the weather or circumstances around us.  In a similar fashion, when I compare myself to July 4 a year ago, I am personally more free.  I have loosened my chains ... a little.

Since my last posting, we have really made some significant progress.  We are no longer living in the front yard of my stick house.  That house has been sold and I am free from the burden of the related taxes.  We now have one foot in the Gulch.  The plan is still in place to work the remainder of the year, full time at my current job and then reduce to part time, further reducing my tax burden.

What has really changed by getting rid of our normal house?

• Mortgage - gone
• Electric bill - gone
• Water/Sewer bill - gone
• Trash bill - gone

Yes, we are paying a greatly reduced rent to stay in the RV park, but everything is included.  We have netted about $1000 per month reduction in cost from this change.  So, yes, Kat and I do have a lot to celebrate.  It took tons of effort and cutting back to get where we are.  Kat parted with many sentimental items and we got rid of a considerable amount of material goods in the process.  There just wasn't room to carry those things.  But the effort and sacrifice were well worth it.

So, Independence Day means something entirely different to me.  I am not, any longer, worried or upset, by those that have chosen to be dependent.  For the first time in my life, I am actually enjoying every day.  Freedom is a decision.  It is a mindset.

I am looking forward to tomorrow to see how much more free I can be.

I invite you to join the new revolution.  A revolution without blood.  It is time to redefine wealth and enjoy life.

Be free my friends.

Kit