Our good friend from Israel, Dawn Pine aka The Male Brain, is back with another excellent addition to The Didactic Agoge. This entry is all about what you can do to fight the cultural rot that threatens all of us with despair and destruction. This is more philosophical than his usual contributions, but is perhaps his most important one yet. In this post, The Male Brain breaks down the three modes of thought that all of us fall into when looking at the Fallen world around us today – and explains how to choose the course of action that suits YOU the best. His advice at the end is extremely important for all of us. Many thanks as always to our friend for his continuing and stellar contributions to the site and The Agoge.

My friends, let’s clearly address the problem. We are living in the time of decline and collapse, of the cultural-demographic-spiritual kind. We understand, based on history, what will happen, but we just don’t know when or exactly how. We expect that our freedoms and ability to live, as we have grown used to over the centuries, will change, and not for the better.

But… what are your options? Actually, I’m going to talk about “my options”, and each of you can pick and choose out of it, or add ideas to the mix. In order to assess the options, we first need to identify what will be hurt:

1. Financial wellbeing – Notice I didn’t call it “financial freedom”, that is different. It is confiscation of our property (of every kind – cash, real estate and so on).
2. Personal freedom – Go where we want, speak as we will and do as we like (as long as it is not harming anyone else).

Simple Advice for Financial Wellbeing

Let’s start with the first, which is far easier to handle. The best way to avoid confiscation of your property is… not to have it. I know it sounds puzzling, but if you have very little, it won’t be confiscated. Here I am supporting minimalism. I’m not saying you should not have stuff. I’m saying you should have as little as possible. Having minimal possessions means that you have very little that others can confiscate.

This one is very easy for me to recommend, as I practice it myself. I have very little in the way of material things. I’ve been called “cheap” by my family, ex-wife and other people. I take it as a compliment.

Another option is to geo-diversify. Honestly, this is where I fall down. This means that your assets, in any way or form (be it money, stocks, gold, real estate or whatever) are not only in one country. The rationale is that if your property is overseas, it cannot be confiscated that easily. I’m not the authority on it, but looking it up, asking around and getting good advice will probably go a long way. On that note, if you apply for a second citizenship (I started looking into it ~1.5 years ago), that can really help. The best advice I can give here is to consult as much as you can with multiple people and read a lot. Or ask Didact – he’s done a lot of research into this issue.

I’ll save you the prepper’s speech, but do note that one needs to be at least somewhat prepared for the coming disruptions and troubles. Roosh suggested one month of supplies, and I actually stock up on 6 months of medical supplies for myself. This is your call.

Powerful Advice for Personal Freedom

This one may be the more important one. As I see it, there are a few options (state of mind wise):

1. Black pill: Enjoy the decline
2. Red pill: Save Civilisation
3. A combination of both

The Black Pill: Enjoy the Decline

So the world is going to shit, and civilization collapses? If you are black pilled enough and/or realist, your stand is that it is inevitable. In this case you either go full hedonist (“Eat and drink for tomorrow we die”), or you use Captain Capitalism‘s advice. I’ll let him use his own words (taken from his book):

America is over. Freedom will be curtailed. Liberty is dead. And above all else, it is inevitable. But the answer is not to get depressed and give up hope. The answer is to change your attitude and learn how to “Enjoy the Decline.” You get one life on this planet and Aaron Clarey explains how to get the most out of it even though socialism and tyranny are all around you. From learning how to adapt your psychology to learning to let go and take advantage of the socialist system, “Enjoy the Decline” carries the freedom loving American through the 5 stages of grief and puts them on a path to enjoy their life regardless of what is happening to their beloved America. Dark, macabre, and morose, but truthful, helpful, and practical all the same, it is guaranteed to make you happier than your socialist counterparts even though they have everything they want. Make leftists, liberals, and progressives miserable. Enjoy the Decline!

I haven’t yet read the book, but I have followed his blog long enough to understand. You change your attitude and try to enjoy life. Focus on your friends and family, as much as you can. Do sports, stay in shape, eat well, travel and enjoy life. If the news come up you shrug it.

You basically tell the world to go take a hike, and ignore it to the best of your ability. Just live your life.

This is the Stoic’s way. It’s valid and it works. You’ll live a much happier life if you simply stop caring about all the stupid stuff in the world.

The Red Pill – Saving Civilisation

This is where you sign up for the crusades. You decide to dedicate your life to save Western civilisation (or your version of it). You involve yourself in politics and may even take the God Pill and practice it to the best of your ability.

This may mean you go into politics, join a group or a party, join a faith (whatever it is) and dedicate yourself to the cause. You may lose during your lifetime but also may have a fulfilling life since you have a purpose. YES – the meaning of life can be found by dedicating yourself to a higher purpose. Rage becomes your friend, sometimes for life.
You may also fall victim to not succeeding, as people who don’t reach their goal may get upset and feel they lost everything.

You basically tell the world: “Watch out. I’m coming for you. You’re going to change and I’m on it“.

The Mixed Dose

Let’s face it, people are complicated. Most of us can’t be on one side, especially as it is hard. Heck, we are even hypocrites – holding the stick on both ends by saying one thing and doing another. I don’t know a lot of people that can go full-god mode or full-FU mode. We are usually on a spectrum, and not at one end or the other. Yes, some maybe more extreme than the others, but most of us (hell – almost all of us) are somewhere in the middle.

I’m one of those people. I don’t want to go full hedonistic and I’m certainly not full-on pessimistic. On the other hand, I do subscribe to the understanding that civilisation (as we know it) is dying, and I have no idea what will rise instead. So I don’t want to commit to something I have no control over, or know if it is aligned with my values.

So this is where you chose your place on the spectrum. If you want, you lean blacker – you try to have a good time and enjoy yourself, while also having an eye out on events and trends. Or you go redder, but not full time, while maintain a reasonable life style. That one is up to each and every one of us.

This is where I need to warn the “save civilisation” guys. If you have a mentality of “purity” (e.g. “if you are not with us, you are against us”), you’ll miss out on all those allies. Yes, they want have your back all the time. Yet these are the early or late majority subscribing to the same ideology. They are still on the bench, and may come in the game (emphasising MAY).

Conclusion – Pick Your Critical Battle

I have not offered a practical advice as I usually try to. This is an extremely personal issue, in which everyone has its own stake. This is a classic “case-by-case” issue. However I would recommend that you try to define for yourself where you are on the red-black spectrum. Having more clarity on that can certainly help understanding what are the actions you will need to do.

I want to come clean and say that this is one of those rare cases where I don’t fully practice what I preach. I’m semi-vulnerable to a regime change in my country. If that happens I currently have no good backup (geo-diversity or second citizenship). I do have an FU fund and limited property.

If you really want to learn about how to make yourself location-independent, Didact and his friend Kyle have their course. And Didact can teach you a lot if you ask him. I believe that both Didact and Kyle really practice what they preach. Learn from them if you want to leave your own country and escape its craziness. [It’s going down in price pretty soon, actually, to a much more reasonable $150 or so, I think, and it’s going to stay that way – Didact]

I also found very limited friends with my state of mind in my country. I have only a low single digit number of such trustworthy friends. I don’t consider joining the cause, but will support it from the bench. I have a feeling that most people (or at least a large portion of them) are in my shoes.

Most of my “save civilisation” activities are directed at my kids, to carry the torch to the next generation. That is at least something of a lasting impact.

So, my advice will be “PICK YOUR BATTLES“. In this I mean exactly what you think I mean. We all have different views on the world, and everyone has his priorities. One of my top priorities is my kids. I want them to be decent human beings, and that is according to what I (and most of us here) understand and practice. I want them to be ready and happy in a world declining. I strongly believe that they can.

Each of you has his own battle to fight. We all have at least one (or a few) things that actually matter to them. Focus on them and make it count. I invest time in my kids to teach them about the world. I’m extremely proud seeing them resist temptation (e.g. alcohol and toxic friends) and show their character. This is one of my most important duties – having your lineage continue your way of living. AND this is probably the best impact you, as an individual, can have on the world: saving civilisation one family at a time.

Your family is your tribe, your nation, your future. Fight for them – for your wife, your children, and your ancestors. Fight for them and never stop fighting. The rest will take care of itself.