Q&A

Q. Why the name, American Family Now?

Papa came up with the idea when he started the youtube page. This blog was Mama’s way of supporting Papa’s project. Both are our effort to reflect the brewing change in American culture, as the latest economic bubbles burst and families seek to create a more meaningful and family-friendly society, despite efforts by globalists to take control of our culture. Our personal values and beliefs will of course vary from other families across the nation, but we do hope to give a voice to the average American family who is trying to thrive in hard times.

Q. Why foreclose on your house? Why not try to sell it?

We live in an area where houses do not sell quickly. There isn’t much for jobs here, which means anyone living in our town will have to travel a ways to get to work – not a nice prospect! Regardless of buyer interest, the burst of the housing bubble caused the value of our house to drop. Even our bank, which would normally value houses higher than real estate agents, says we owe more than the house is worth. Would you buy a house in the middle of nowhere for tens of thousands of dollars more than it’s worth? Neither would we. And so, foreclosing on the house is our only option once our ability to make the mortgage payment each month disappears.

Update – our house in foreclosure is currently on the market, as the bank requested. If you are moving to Western Maine and are looking for a fixer-upper for a great price (far less than we owe on it), email us at americanfamilynow@yahoo.com and we’ll send you the link to the realty website.

Q. How did you decide to move into a camper?

After we bought the house in 2004, Papa inherited some property about a half hour from where we live now. Since then we have had a longterm goal of building a house there and living off-grid. If you have been following our blog for a while, you may remember the pictures we posted of the property last year. We spent many weekends out there in a smaller camper Papa remodelled. With this plan in mind, it only made sense to us to use this unfortunate situation as wisely as we could to hopefully reach our longterm goal sooner. A camper on the property will enable us to save money and begin working the land in preparation for building.

Q. Do you really believe the economy is collapsing?

Absolutely. Our country is drowning in debt. China, who owns much of our debt is claiming our wheat products as payment because we can’t even keep up with the interest. Inflation is rising quickly because printing money devalues the dollar. Remember when the U.S. dollar was worth more than the Canadian dollar? That’s not the case anymore. The grocery bill is going up, gas prices are going up, the heating bill is going up, building materials are going up, just to name a few. With inflation, those who can afford to put money back in the system are holding onto it instead, resulting in fewer jobs available. The market is collapsing. The only reason the average person hasn’t seen it, other than believing in the media, is because the government is putting us in more debt trying to hold up what’s left of the economy. But no matter how much you are told that spending money will bring us back from the brink, you need to realize we have already gone over the brink. Anything done now to preserve the economy is only resulting in a delay of the next depression, and will in fact make the coming depression more severe.

Q. What if you’re wrong?

We have no doubt the economy will get much much worse before it can get better. This is not pessimism, this is looking at the facts. But if by some miracle of God, spending our way into more debt will get us out of it, we have nothing to lose, only to gain. We still want to live on an off-grid farmstead, we still want to have the freedom to live comfortably without a regular paycheck, and we’ll have plenty of food for a long time! We only spend our money on things we’ll use, regardless of the financial times, so we are not wasting our resources by preparing for hard times. Really, what can you lose by preparing? It gives us peace of mind, and if nothing happens we will be very fortunate!

Q. As Christians, do you believe the tribulation is coming?

Many Christians who are making plans for when the s*** hits the fan are wondering if maybe this is really the end of the world and Jesus is coming back soon. We are Christians, but we also believe the tribulation may have already occurred. The Bible indicates this is a probable theory, and the idea that a future tribulation may not be biblical casts doubt on our previous understanding of the end times. With this in mind, we are choosing to act as though Jesus is not coming back soon so we can prepare our family for the long haul, although we do hope our Savior returns soon.

Q. What are your environmental beliefs?

We value the earth and all natural resources. They are blessings from God and we try to be responsible for what we are given. God made humankind the caretakers of the earth, but we do not call her “mother”. God is our true source of life and all glory should be given to Him. We believe global warming is a scam, and a ploy to use the people’s money for globalist agendas, but that does not mean we want to destroy the earth. We are thankful for the place in this world God has given us, and we hope through this journey that we learn to be more self-sustained. It’s good for longevity, helps us appreciate the gift of the earth, and brings glory to God.

Q. Who or what are your influences?

God and freedom. God is our ultimate authority and moral compass. The constitution is our government, and one right protected by it, and which many take for granted (and thus have taken from them), is freedom.

Q. What led you to become libertarians, and what does the term mean to you?

When the lightbulb came on and we realized the republican party was just as bad as the democrat party, that almost the entire government is corrupt and running on many unconstitutional laws. We recognized that the only way for the government to resume its original purposes was to remove everyone from office, and only vote for politicians who vote for freedom. Libertarianism, politically speaking, means a limited government that stands to protet and preserve the freedoms of its citizens. But we also see that libertarianism is a way of life. We love liberty. The freedom to pursue a life of happiness however we see fit, as long as it doesn’t stop someone else from pursuing their own happiness.

Q. Why do you spend so much time focusing on survivalism? Why not just enjoy life?

It’s all in the attitude. Survivalism to us is about learning skills, saving up for a rainy day, and enjoying the thought that we can thrive in many scenarios, good or bad. It removes fear, and is a wiser investment of time than many forms of entertainment these days. We learn skills, and benefit from them now: we’re saving money by making our own medicines (and not pumping ourselves full of chemicals), we’re eating healthier eggs from chickens we’re feeding ourselves, we go camping with family using our gear, and if I forget to buy something at the store I can just go the food storage. We enjoy this way of life, and absolutely do not obssess over fears of the future. The only real worries we have are for loved ones who haven’t started doing this kind of preparation themselves.

Q. How do you involved your kids in this lifestyle?

As much as they are able, they are invited to join in discussions Pap and Mama have about moving, homesteading, money, and government issues. The kids ask questions and we answer them with respect. They help us with projects such as building the greenhouses, making herbal remedies, canning food, packing household stuff, and in some cases they help us make decisions. They even chose the shade of green we painted in the camper! They may be young, but they are intelligent little people, and we involve them however they are able as they get older.

For more general information, visit the Who We Are page. If you have a question about our lifestyle which you don’t see answered here, feel free to leave it in a comment below and we’ll do our best to answer it. Thanks for visiting!