Leveraging Criminality

While I can honestly state that I never engaged in criminal activity in attempts to improve my life situation, I do admit to leveraging criminality of others–specifically, that of my own nation's government–to life-changing advantage. The first opportunity to do this arose when the Pentagon Papers came out and a dreadful future of being drafted and shipped off to Vietnam and very likely die or be maimed in some jungle or rice paddy or rat hole there evaporated. I suffered some survivor's guilt for having avoided that outcome but only briefly. And I definitely leveraged that criminality to personal advantage by avoiding military service.

The second time this happened was when the USFS screwed up playing with fire and subsequently destroyed my homestead and everything I owned. Fighting mightily for three years to obtain at least partial compensations for those losses panned out to some success, and even though I'm fully aware of the losses and significant sacrifices I made for that, there is some degree of survivor's guilt associated with that small success which lingers to this day. These pangs of guilt triggered intense, extended sessions reflecting on it all to try to extract some sense of deeper understanding of how it has affected me to shape my situation so far.

Life frequently presents complex challenges shaped by overbearing institutional systems and unexpected trials associated with such challenges. Navigating these realities demands being alert, steadfast in convictions, open-minded, and highly adaptable to significant change.

The journey of reflection began by confronting historical realities–examining past conflicts and institutional shortcomings with a clear, sober eye. Rather than succumbing to adversity, remaining steadfast allowed me to process burdens constructively, evolving into a thoroughly-grounded realist who understands how large-scale systems operate and often cause harm. As time progressed, maintaining an open mind and adapting to disruption has transformed hardships into positive outcomes to shift my perspective of how well it resolved.

Whether dealing with the aftermath of natural disasters or brutally systemic-failure hurdles, effective utilization of resources became paramount. By learning from the past, I managed to secure confidence and compensations so that I could rebuild effectively and with purpose.

Ultimately, this path led to proactive self-reliance. Through continuous adaptation, hands-on homesteading, and resource hardening against future uncertainties, I strive now to reach a state of trials-proven wisdom. Looking forward with resilience, the overarching philosophy remains clear: future potential is infinite when grounded in preparedness, clearheaded realism, and unwavering personal sovereignty. There is nothing about this to feel guilt about.

Criminality happens. The only effective way to respond to it is by leveraging it to advantage.