I am an outlier according to the ERE book (page 114, location 2311 on my Kindle), and therefore would be better off continuing in my occupation (lawyer) although I have degrees in Engineering and Economics. I can fix many things from toilets to autos, but it does not make much sense for me to do it currently.
Being rich, which I might uniquely define as simply living on less than your income, has been important to me for a long time. If one is rich, one has freedom. I choose to use that freedom by supporting other members of my family and people and causes that move me.
This movement, which some define as "early retirement", others define as "frugality", other recent creative souls say "4-hour work week" and I define as "rich", is extremely important to me, because I am a typical member of my generation (X) who sees survival as the highest value. (Read "The Fourth Turning" by Strauss and Howe to understand this and many other things.)
I see the values expressed here in many places from environmentalists, survivalists, people of faith and many other directions. My own values (I honestly hate that word -- it belongs to the Boomer generation and could destroy my children) are derived from liberal Catholic theology and especially from my two aunts in Central America who are Sisters of Mercy. They have taken vows of poverty and yet are the richest people I know, because they have community and want for nothing.
I believe we are in a time of crisis that will not resolve itself until around 2020. I think that the ideas conveyed in ERE and similar works (I especially like the Chris Martenson website though refuse to pay for any content on principle) are old ideas that have been forgotten and need to be re-propagated. I think that these sorts of communities need to be built from the bottom up.
I don't believe in trying to convince people to reject consumerism. Nobody wants to be told what to do. They either have to now or will have to soon to survive the next few years, that will be likely be the worst in our lifetime for most people. But there will be a profound shift and I hope we can teach the youngest generation what they need to know to make it to the next era.
I am profoundly concerned that if we do not reject consumerism (not everyone, just most), we will have to fight a war over resources that my children could die in. I am not willing to sacrifice them for such things, however it might be described as "patriotism".
I hope to encourage as many people who come here to be rich as I have defined it. The wretched will come to you and me in years to come to help and we will re-teach them old ideas of self-sufficiency that most of their Boomer parents rejected and need to be re-found.
Substitute "frugality" for baseball in this movie quote (and yes, I did grow up in Iowa):
"Ray, people will come Ray. They'll come to Iowa for reasons they can't even fathom. They'll turn up your driveway not knowing for sure why they're doing it. They'll arrive at your door as innocent as children, longing for the past. Of course, we won't mind if you look around, you'll say. It's only $20 per person. They'll pass over the money without even thinking about it: for it is money they have and peace they lack. And they'll walk out to the bleachers; sit in shirtsleeves on a perfect afternoon. They'll find they have reserved seats somewhere along one of the baselines, where they sat when they were children and cheered their heroes. And they'll watch the game and it'll be as if they dipped themselves in magic waters. The memories will be so thick they'll have to brush them away from their faces. People will come Ray. The one constant through all the years, Ray, has been baseball. America has rolled by like an army of steamrollers. It has been erased like a blackboard, rebuilt and erased again. But baseball has marked the time. This field, this game: it's a part of our past, Ray. It reminds of us of all that once was good and it could be again. Oh... people will come Ray. People will most definitely come."
If we want to save our world, all we need to do is live our lives in earnest and wait. They will come. They will have no other options except destruction.
Hello from an Outlier (near Washington, DC)
An earthquake and a dying hurricane in the span of a week are making DC rather interesting. I'm actually looking forward to the storm. I find them very relaxing. Plus, I'm in a area where most of the powerlines are underground or rather protected by buildings, so unless a really major line goes down I'm usually pretty good. But, I appreaciate the heads up.
Keeping the propane for the grill full is a good idea.
Keeping the propane for the grill full is a good idea.