There’s a quiet shift happening—one you don’t always see, but you feel it. In the way people stop trusting, stop believing, stop caring. A society doesn’t collapse overnight. It erodes slowly—through comfort without purpose, noise without meaning, and strength traded for convenience.
But history has always moved in cycles. When things fall too far, something awakens. Not chaos for the sake of destruction—but a refusal to stay asleep. A realization that something has been lost… and a decision to take it back.

And when that moment comes—when the weight of decline becomes too heavy to ignore—those who prepared, those who stayed sharp, grounded, and aware… they won’t panic. They will be ready.

h/t AnthasGate

I read Sanus Disputandum and had intended to write this sooner. Then Roth wrote Folkishness…the Answer first which put me even further behind.

For people who have been around this site and NC Renegade, this preface will be old news. I keep to myself, listen to the Lord’s directions and thank Him for blessing my life. I do not pray too much because the guidance that I am given keeps me busy enough. That is why I keep to myself: it eliminates distractions and negativity. My “interaction” is this site and I will admit it is a means to express my frustration. What I really would like to say is what Wes states: why do people not understand our true situation and stand up?

At least people are waking up but they are not standing up. A moral people would never accept the actions of Trump and Israel. Should I discuss the evil government, the Epstein files, economic collapse or any of a myriad of other repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States?

What would be the point? The people may be waking up but they will not be swayed to action. Distractions and propaganda are still effective and evil still is in control. At this point in time, what is the course of action to provide a viable future?

Let’s define the goals for a viable future:

1. Liberty
2. Freedom
3. Security
4. Justice
5. Faith

Let me point out that there are more goals to consider but every one of them have the same solution: the removal of the existing government. Some people would say that our Constitution is the best form of government every realized and implemented. I do not disagree; I am stating that the Constitutional Republic envisioned by our founding fathers is dead and buried. And we can accept it and chart a new path or we can continue to hope for another Road to Serfdom strongman who will continue to destroy what is left of our nation.

I did not vote in 2016 or 2020 as I understood that we cannot vote our way out of this. I did vote for Trump in 2024 because I saw some glimmer of hope after four terms of Obamanation. We can argue whether Trump has been replaced, was always part of the evil or went mad but in the end, it will not matter. Pending a military coup, our nation’s course is set and we are looking at a world war where billions may die to support the New World Order, Globalization or Multipolarity. Pick whatever label you like, the result will be dystopic.

So what can one lowly man do? I can do what God directs me to do. I do not talk too much about my foundations for the future for operational security. I will again state that life skills, no debt, supplies and medicines should be everyone’s main focus. Tools will make a big difference. My biggest tool that is used several times a week is an excavator. Followed by my tractor, wood shop and log splitter.

Again, God has provided for me in order to help people in the future. When is that future starting? Right now. There have been several signs pointing to the role of the community center that I have taken to be the beginning of the end. I look at the “end” as the end of evil and the beginning of a new chance at redemption.

Another sign has been the third reading of Atlas Shrugged. I have had it out for over a year but started reading it a month ago. I did not read it as I normally read a book. I should have been done by now instead of halfway through. I understand that the world events are tied to the timeframe of the novel. This reading also hits home more than previous readings: it is even more applicable to current events at this time.

So back to Hammers Thor and Roth. We have to understand and implement public virtue. How did we lose this founding principle? Our churches have failed the people and God: the overwhelming majority sold out for thirty pieces of non-profit, government controlled silver. This also caused the loss of morality since it was the duty of the church to produce moral citizens and by extension moral politicians and civil servants. Imagine Trump not putting his hand on the Bible when he was sworn in as President in 2025.

But the most insidious weapon used upon us was the implementation of diversity. This one tactic destroyed our unity, culture and future. Roth is correct: we have to return to our folkish roots in order to restore our unity. Because without unity, we lose. And I would like to put forth that Trump is leading this division across the world. If you disagree, please add a comment detailing any of his actions that are uniting the country or the world.

England is next.

In a time when everything is increasing, become less.

Perhaps you feel it too. Outside, it’s wild and crowded, loud and fast, frightening and threatening. The outside world is overloaded with information and images, and so are we.

So much is simply TOO MUCH.

Therefore, many people are exhausted and anxious again and are reaching or have reached their personal limits. On top of that, there’s the colorful, garish, and loud world of social media.

You have to optimize yourself, work on yourself, regulate your nervous system, be angry, be successful, be spiritual, or turn away from the spiritual bubble because we’re suddenly realizing that it’s nothing after all… and so on and so forth.

So much “must” is conveyed to us. Again, TOO MUCH.

I myself feel that less is doing me much better right now.

I hardly even look at social media anymore… So much of it seems somehow wrong to me. There’s too much shouting, too much condemnation, too blatant advertising, too careless devaluation… it’s either a glittering world, a world of drama, or a world of sales.

But this is no longer my world. These days, I’m asking myself:

What do we really need?

What do I really need?

What will help us right now in this time?

I personally feel that less is more for me right now. I’m cutting back on quite a few things. And in this reduction, I’m rediscovering what’s truly important to me. I suspect that this year will teach us to recognize what is essential and truly valuable.

Out of the loud, colorful world of excess. Into pure, true life.

Perhaps you’d like to ask yourself: What do I really need?

What has true value for me?

What do I want and can I reduce myself to?


Less is sometimes more.

©Adelheid/Altes Wissen

Hammers Thor posted a very well thought out position on the value of amicable conversation and debate. I entirely agree with his position. In the course of his post he wrote, “I am concerned that Divide and Conquer may be in play here, and that our own divide is not organic.” History confirms his concern to be real. Mixing different races, religions, and cultures together weakens each and that is the intent of the tyrant, empire, or conqueror. It is not organic, but the admitted plan of the Globalists.

The United States of America was established by dissident Europeans. Up until very recently, the commanding majority of Americans were of European descent.  Even the fact that Americans were almost universally the same race and religion, and even though the cultural differences largely disappeared in the American melting pot, we still had problems based on ideology. Importing radically incompatible cultures and races has only exacerbated the societal and ideological divisions.

The question becomes, how do we restore our nation with the vast diversity that we have allowed to invade our homeland? Trump made promises to remove many of the ‘outlanders,’ so far a promise mostly unfulfilled. I would suggest that a return to Folkishness may be the answer. If so, it would require that we revive freedom of association which has been made largely illegal in our modern age. So what is Folkishness?

The following (in italics) was taken from a post by Imperium Press.

Folkishness has a functional definition, what people generally take it to mean—folkishness is functionally “in-group preference”. When you say you are folkish, that means that you are exclusionist along the lines of identity, usually ethnicity or ancestry. When Somalis come to America, they practice in-group preference, so do those from India and other lands. They build in-group preference communities. They are folkish.

Pre-modernity, the family was the core of society. Strong families gathered in clans which gathered in tribes which eventually became nations. A nation cannot be strong without strong tribes, clans, and families. The globalists have destroyed all that up to and including the nations.

Once we understand the earthward relationship of priority in identities (family > clan > tribe etc.), we understand that anyone who does want to recover the nation must first recover the folk; whoever wants to recover the folk must recover the tribe, and so on.

I mentioned, above, the problems we have had with ideology. My contention is that if we develop a strong folk, ideology would be much less a problem, as history seems to show.

Folkishness is pre-ideological, but it also makes moral demands of us, which puts it near the realm of ideology. Let us say something about the relation between ideology, morality, and tradition.

• Folkishness is an attitude or disposition toward pre-political identity.
• Tradition is the cultural expression of pre-political identity, which includes morality.
• Ideology is a simplification or reduction of morality.

A return to Folkishness will not be easy, but it could be the answer.

Imperium Press offers a deeper explanation of Folkishness.

Folkishness Q&A, Part I

Folkishness Q&A, Part II

I’ll try to keep this brief. It’s no secret that I frequently have a different interpretation regarding some of the recent topics here on Appalachian Renegade, and I receive a fair amount of pushback from both readers and occasionally the other authors when I voice a dissenting opinion. This is a good thing. When everyone agrees, there’s really nothing to discuss, it just becomes a circular venting session, and those, while therapeutic, are a waste of everyone’s time.

It’s probably accurate to estimate that half of the people in our country strongly disagree with the other half on virtually everything. It may also be accurate to suggest that half of the people who I believe are generally on the “right” side of most issues have suddenly become very divided on the more pressing topics that we currently face, such as Iran, China, President Trump, and to a lesser degree, immigration, Islam, etc. I am concerned that Divide and Conquer may be in play here, and that our own divide is not organic. We must NOT be conquered. We must stand firm against evil, which means at the end of the day we must stand together. That should be the goal of civil debate.

Appalachian Renegade is generally the first website I open in the morning, and the most frequent one I visit, because David, Roth and Wes all discuss important and timely issues they are passionate about, and I greatly value their opinions, even if I don’t always agree with them. I believe it is very important to question one’s own assumptions and beliefs regarding the state of our world on a regular basis. THIS is why I appreciate their opinions and interpretations. I also enjoy the lively discussions that these topics ignite, and the fact that most folks here do NOT resort to name-calling or insults (although I cannot see the posts that may get deleted because of inappropriate content, as they should be). Do I truly believe what I post? Yes. Am I one hundred percent certain that I am right if I voice an opposing view? Not even close. Every day I question my own assessments of what is going on, and the authors and comments on this site are helpful for that.

There are no sheep here. We all have strong opinions, and try to back up our opinions with as much data (I’m not going to say facts because it is nearly impossible to even parse out what the truth is anymore) as possible. I have said, and will say again, that if, at any time I decide I have been wrong about President Trump (and I may be) regarding Iran and China that I will say that. In writing. The threshold will be pretty high (as it should be for everyone), but I am quite capable of admitting error, or changing my mind, as I have done it before because been wrong before. I’ll also admit that I WANT to be right, because if I turn out to be wrong, then I’ll also be acknowledging that nearly all hope is lost for our country, and perhaps our world. I really don’t want to swallow that black pill. We’ll see.

I appreciate the opportunity AND PRIVILEGE to be able to voice my thoughts, and enjoy the debate and the different opinions. I have said several times now (you’re probably getting tired of it) that it’s as important today to vigorously question alternative narratives as it is to question the prevailing ones, and even the motives behind those narratives. This includes me, which is part of why I am here.

Thank you for your attention to this matter. 😉