American Survival Guide – Vol 8 Issue 10 November 2019
English | 101 pages | pdf | 55.17 MBIn the grand scheme of things, it really hasn’t been very long since the majority of people living in the area now known as the lower 48 derived their sustenance directly from the land they lived on or environs close by. There were fewer cities and they were much smaller and less densely populated, and towns were more of a meeting place than where many people made their homes.
Most folks lived on farms or larger parcels of property, and the common method of acquiring their food was to harvest or grow it or trade for it. The rule of the day was to grow what you ate and eat what you grow, and the harvest was intended to produce enough so there would be adequate food to get them through the winter.
The norm was to process one’s own livestock and can or otherwise preserve one’s produce, grains and other foodstuffs. From clothing to homes, most of what they had was the result of the work of their own hands.
The know-how to do these things was passed down through the generations, not as lessons in the fields but in the examples of everyday life. At a young age, children began to earn their keep by taking on simple tasks that led to more complicated and important responsibilities as they grew. Most efforts were spent on simply staying alive and taking care of the necessities of life and maybe, if they were lucky, getting a little ahead of the game. Leisure time and shortcuts were for the wealthy and luxuries that common folk had precious little experience with.
Self-reliance wasn’t a chosen way of life, it was the way of life for these people. With no real safety nets to rescue those who didn’t or couldn’t support themselves, the future was bleak for most of those who failed to pull their weight.
For better or worse, maybe better and worse, things are much different today. Most of us live in suburban or urban settings where the biggest challenge we face when it comes to food and everyday necessities is which retailer or brand we should buy it from and whether we want to go get our purchase or have it delivered to our doorstep. Today, self-reliance is less about the work required to ensure our continued survival and more about choosing what product someone else has made will become our next acquisition.
While living off the land is a foreign, if not repugnant, concept for many in today’s world, it is, after all, where many of us came from, and one we may need to embrace if our worst fears come to pass. The emphasis of this month’s American Survival Guide magazine issue is to provide some insight, advice and information, if not inspiration, to those who are interested in taking back the responsibility of fending for themselves, in good times as well as bad. These abilities don’t have to be relegated to the basement, only to be dragged into the light of day during disasters or emergencies. They can become part of your daily routine and passed on to your descendants to ensure that if the way of life they’ve made for themselves blows away in an ill wind, they can
still support and care for themselves and maybe even thrive in an environment that will not bode well for most of their neighbors.
You can find additional information on a huge array of topics at our website ASGMAG.com, where you can also sign up for our free weekly newsletter, find back issues and subscribe to print and digital versions of regular issues of this magazine. If you are on social media, be sure to like and follow our Facebook page at Facebook. com/AmericanSurvivalGuidemagazine/ and our Instagram page at Instagram.com/ASGmagazine/.
All the Best!
—Mike McCourt
Brand Manager
English | 101 pages | pdf | 55.17 MBIn the grand scheme of things, it really hasn’t been very long since the majority of people living in the area now known as the lower 48 derived their sustenance directly from the land they lived on or environs close by. There were fewer cities and they were much smaller and less densely populated, and towns were more of a meeting place than where many people made their homes.
Most folks lived on farms or larger parcels of property, and the common method of acquiring their food was to harvest or grow it or trade for it. The rule of the day was to grow what you ate and eat what you grow, and the harvest was intended to produce enough so there would be adequate food to get them through the winter.
The norm was to process one’s own livestock and can or otherwise preserve one’s produce, grains and other foodstuffs. From clothing to homes, most of what they had was the result of the work of their own hands.
The know-how to do these things was passed down through the generations, not as lessons in the fields but in the examples of everyday life. At a young age, children began to earn their keep by taking on simple tasks that led to more complicated and important responsibilities as they grew. Most efforts were spent on simply staying alive and taking care of the necessities of life and maybe, if they were lucky, getting a little ahead of the game. Leisure time and shortcuts were for the wealthy and luxuries that common folk had precious little experience with.
Self-reliance wasn’t a chosen way of life, it was the way of life for these people. With no real safety nets to rescue those who didn’t or couldn’t support themselves, the future was bleak for most of those who failed to pull their weight.
For better or worse, maybe better and worse, things are much different today. Most of us live in suburban or urban settings where the biggest challenge we face when it comes to food and everyday necessities is which retailer or brand we should buy it from and whether we want to go get our purchase or have it delivered to our doorstep. Today, self-reliance is less about the work required to ensure our continued survival and more about choosing what product someone else has made will become our next acquisition.
While living off the land is a foreign, if not repugnant, concept for many in today’s world, it is, after all, where many of us came from, and one we may need to embrace if our worst fears come to pass. The emphasis of this month’s American Survival Guide magazine issue is to provide some insight, advice and information, if not inspiration, to those who are interested in taking back the responsibility of fending for themselves, in good times as well as bad. These abilities don’t have to be relegated to the basement, only to be dragged into the light of day during disasters or emergencies. They can become part of your daily routine and passed on to your descendants to ensure that if the way of life they’ve made for themselves blows away in an ill wind, they can
still support and care for themselves and maybe even thrive in an environment that will not bode well for most of their neighbors.
You can find additional information on a huge array of topics at our website ASGMAG.com, where you can also sign up for our free weekly newsletter, find back issues and subscribe to print and digital versions of regular issues of this magazine. If you are on social media, be sure to like and follow our Facebook page at Facebook. com/AmericanSurvivalGuidemagazine/ and our Instagram page at Instagram.com/ASGmagazine/.
All the Best!
—Mike McCourt
Brand Manager
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