Aaron Clarey - Enjoy the Decline: Accepting and Living with the Death of the United States

ENJOY THE DECLINE

Copyright 2013 Aaron Clarey

To Dirty Harriet, Zoey, and Oscar

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Chapter 1 Psychological Adaptation
Chapter 2 The New Economic Reality
Chapter 3 The Art of Minimalism
Chapter 4 Mortal
Chapter 5 Family and Friends
Chapter 6 Career and Education
Chapter 7 Finance and Investing
Chapter 8 Plunder
Chapter 9 SHTF
Chapter 10 Fight or Flight
Chapter 11 Revenge

CAVEAT

In intellectual honesty I have to warn the reader that though Enjoy the Decline was meant to be an uplifting book, parts of it are incredibly depressing, if not, outright debilitating. This was not meant to depress the reader, but was rather a required and natural consequence of having to speak candidly and truthfully about the economic and political condition of the United States. Therefore, I strongly recommend reading no more than one chapter at a time, specifically the chapters in Part I, as those are the chapters that are particularly depressing.

Additionally, regular readers of Captain Capitalism may wish to skip Chapter 2 The New Economic Reality- in that it is merely a review of the economic condition of the United States. This isnt to say it wouldnt be a good refresher course in economics or that you wouldnt enjoy it, but it is largely intended for new readers unfamiliar with some basic economic concepts and statistics.

It is my sincere wish that this book proves useful to you and provides everybody with the necessary hope and know-how to Enjoy the Decline.

PREFACE

Any doubt about the future of the United States and the direction the country was heading was quickly eliminated in the election of 2012. Most of us were hoping the first four years of the Obama administration was a fluke in American history. That his election was only possible because of a childlike naivety on the part of an ignorant electorate. That the voting public, temporarily star-struck, opted to vote with their emotions and not their heads. And that after four years of the worst economic performance of any president since FDR, people would wake up, grow up, realize the error of their ways, and vote like mature adults the next time around.

Unfortunately most of us were wrong.

With the election of 2012 the American people have made it very clear which path they wish to take the United States down socialism. Whether cognizant of this fact or completely ignorant about it, it doesnt matter, people voted the way they did. They could still be fawning over President Obama like a teenage girl or Chris Matthews. They could be the typical voter who votes for socialism because it sounds nice. They could be the galactically ignorant soccer mom who believes no amount of other peoples money is too good for her children. Or they could be fully informed socialists knowing damn well what theyre doing confiscating other peoples money. The reason why doesnt matter, all that matters is what is.

Of course is what is is a devastating blow to lot of conservatives, libertarians, freedom-lovers and what I henceforth refer to as Real Americans. Not just because politically or ideologically our team lost, but because our entire lives and all of our futures are now in question.

Understand that you, me and everybody else who loved America, believed in America, and loves freedom grew up under some basic assumptions. And not only did we grow up under these basic assumptions, we based our lives and our decisions around these premises. We assumed the United States would continue to be the freest country in the world. We assumed we would be able to keep the lions share of our income and wealth. We assumed hard work, innovation, and efficiency would be rewarded. We assumed if we worked hard at something our dreams could be realized. In short it was all that made America not just great, but the most successful country in the history of the world and we poured our hearts and souls into these beliefs.

Unfortunately, with these basic premises no longer certain all of the work, effort and time we put into our lives, and therefore our futures, are also no longer certain. Did you attend college to become a doctor? Well too bad, you may have wage controls with Obamacare. Did you work hard to become an engineer and create something? Too bad, we may have to confiscate your income at a 60% level. Did you have dreams of starting up a motorcycle shop? Too bad were going to regulate and tax it out of existence. Were you planning on marrying a nice girl? Too bad, feminism has destroyed the quality of women. Did you want to have children? Too bad the state will raise your children. Did you want your children to have a better life than you? Too bad, your generational peers voted to mortgage your children into financial slavery. Say, nice sizeable 401k plan you have there! Too bad, were going to nationalize it just like Argentina did.

The end result is EXTRAORDINARILY depressing. Not only is it increasingly likely youve lived your life in vain, but youve lived a significant percentage of your life in slavery. Worse still any dreams you had are becoming rapidly impossible. And even worse than that is without your dreams theres nothing you can uniquely achieve that would define you.

In short your life has no meaning.

This epiphany, whether consciously realized or not, obviously takes a devastating toll on all Real Americans. Anecdotal though it may be, everyone I personally know is more depressed today than they were a decade ago. I know more than one rugged individualist contemplating suicide. And theres no shortage of old men I know who MEAN IT when they say,

Thank god Im not going to be around to see this country collapse!

The entire population of Real Americans is defeated emotionally, psychologically and spiritually. With no purpose or future they are simply asking Why go on? Why continue? Why did I work so hard? What is left to live for?

But dire as the situation may be, there is some hope. Genuine hope, not the hope that is found in presidential speeches and pablum. Hope that is practical, real, and will yield results. However, this hope comes from the only place real hope can come from within which means we have to focus on ourselves and what is within our control to realize this hope and capitalize on it. This isnt to say that the world will turn out all roses and dachshunds, nor is it going to be the faux depressing type of hope akin to when your mother would say,

Well at least you arent a cancerous, Ebola-infected, starving, blind quadriplegic, leper living in war-torn Ethiopia with lice!

But at minimum this book will show you there is a future, you can live a happy life, the left will get their comeuppance, and no matter how bad it gets, there is always a way to Enjoy the Decline.

CHAPTER 1

PSYCHOLOGICAL ADAPTATION

Let us eat and drink for tomorrow we die.

-Ephesians

Berlin 1945

Too tired to play video games, but not tired enough to fall asleep, I found myself watching The History Channel late one wintery night in Casper, Wyoming. I managed to finish two episodes of Pawn Stars, before the programming switched to a WWII documentary. I debated turning it off and going to bed, but glad I didnt because it proved to be one of the most interesting, but dark documentaries Ive ever seen.

Specifically, it was about civilian life in Berlin while under the siege of the Russians in 1945. Berlin was nothing but rubble, supply lines were shot, and life for the average Berliner was wretched. They couldnt escape to the east in fear the Russians would kill or rape them (or both). And they couldnt escape to the west, not out of fear that the Americans and Brits would do the same, but that the Gestapo would kill them. This left them trapped in a city that not only couldnt support the population, but a city that would become their grave. To survive they resorted to desperate acts. They ate horses, leather from furniture and whatever else they could find. And if this wasnt enough it was all under the maddening backdrop of constant Soviet shelling. It was arguably some of the most miserable living conditions humans had ever suffered.