The Three Things That Explain This National Crisis

Andy Snyder|June 4, 2020

We picked up our pen and scratched our head this morning.

We struggled with what to write you about. It’s not that we don’t have any thoughts. It’s just the opposite.

First, we wanted to write a piece begging folks to put some money into the stock market. We’ve never seen Mr. Market so eager to make folks rich.

But we’ve already mused about that idea… here, here and here.

(We even gave away one of our top picks here.)

We’re wary that if you haven’t already taken the advice, you may not want to hear it again.

And then we thought we’d join the national chorus writing about the protests and riots. That’s dangerous territory. One misplaced metaphor and the crowd will stick a pitchfork in our rear.

Or what about the coronavirus mess? There’s that too.

We’d love to spill a few hundred words on why the riots and the pandemic are not two different stories. They’re one in the same.

But, again, the pitchforks. They hurt.

That’s when it hit us.

Isn’t this all just the same story? Didn’t our essay on Tuesday show this is nothing new?

There are themes here and there. But really, like a good song that’s predictable and immediately familiar, we’re merely hearing variations on a theme.

We haven’t talked about our Triad all that much… but we reckon when the president is hiding in a bunker and the best job in Manhattan is installing razor wire, we probably should.

The Fight Above the Fight

Liberty… Know-How… and Connections. They’re not sexy. But clearly they’re worth fighting for.

All three ideas are in a battle for their lives.

Your money, your health and your freedom are on the line.

Since the first case of COVID-19 landed on America’s shores, our Liberty has been sliced up, put on a slide and examined under a microscope.

At first, few folks had issues closing businesses, slashing jobs and calling the cops if their neighbors stepped outside. To the uninformed and unthinking, it had a novel feel.

“Look at us,” they thought. “Isn’t it lovely how we’re singing to each other from our windows.”

But then the songs stopped.

It was deemed illegal to get a haircut. Citizens were arrested for going for a Sunday drive. And folks realized their survival depended on the yeas and nays from Washington.

Anger soared… as it should have.

Meanwhile, the folks who deemed themselves in charge of the nation’s money went on a power-grabbing spree that only the unelected could get away with. Just this week, Jay Powell admitted his Federal Reserve crossed one red line after the other on its way to “save” the nation.

Nobody in D.C. pushed back, though. Politicians only care about tax money. They’ve got no beefs with funny money… especially when it fuels a bull rally for the ages.

We can’t help but think the Fed’s exploding balance sheet ($7 trillion and counting) isn’t in the back of America’s conscience as it takes to the streets.

We all know it’s a shackle on our Liberty that will tighten fiercely one day in the future. But add it all together and it’s clear we’ve lost buckets of freedom over the last four months.

Shining a Light…

Our good (and often elusive) pal Know-How didn’t make anything better for our keepers.

The history books warned us of what’s next, while the media fanned the hype. But there are enough independent voices these days that the Truth was obvious to all who dared search for it.

And just as the Liberty-minded folks were ready to declare victory and put the nation back to work… a video hit the web.

It was impossible to spin. It was the sliver of information a nation needed to realize just how far it had slid.

It showed just how oppressive bad Connections can be.

And now because one horrific act reminds the people of all the horrific acts – social, economic and political – that have come before… the nation finally sees what we’ve been picketing about all along.

Liberty is essential to our good lives.

Without Know-How, we are strengthless sheep chasing the tail of the lamb in front of us.

And, although they often get pushed aside in the name of money and power, it’s our Connections that are oh so valuable… and fragile.

The acts of some are quite bad. Their deeds are heinous, and their words may be uninformed and disagreeable. But if we climb the monument and look at the crowd below, we see it wants what we all need.

Liberty. Know-How. And Connections.

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