Homesteading, as I understand it, was a gimmick used by the United States' pre-Civil war government to get people to move out west and settle land in an effort to combat the land monopolies of the Southern slave plantations. Well, apparently that is how they saw it anyway. Basically, the homestead acts (there was more than one) offered hundreds of acres of granted land very cheaply, or at little to no upfront costs to applicants who had to work that land for 5 years. And if they proved that they were successful in improving the land and were able to make a living from it, then they were given the deed or ownership of that land. What a deal huh?
Like I mentioned earlier, there were many such acts with each successive one trying to improve upon the last. These acts lasted from 1860 all the way to 1986, with Alaska being the last state to end homesteading. However, what was often meant to be a good thing, offering cheap land to poor people as a means of supporting them and building a nation, it was often used for evil, such as land grabbing by unscrupulous people for the purpose of controlling resources such as minerals, timber, oil, and the most important resource of all, water.
Like I mentioned earlier, there were many such acts with each successive one trying to improve upon the last. These acts lasted from 1860 all the way to 1986, with Alaska being the last state to end homesteading. However, what was often meant to be a good thing, offering cheap land to poor people as a means of supporting them and building a nation, it was often used for evil, such as land grabbing by unscrupulous people for the purpose of controlling resources such as minerals, timber, oil, and the most important resource of all, water.
Yes dear reader, once upon a time, before the revolutionaries of industry and the usurpers of monarchies took over the civilized world, most people lived hand to mouth, quite literally, in both rural and urban settings. More often than not, they lived their lives by someone else's leave (or permission) and in servitude to their land lord, and also their king. At one time, and not that long ago, land ownership was a privilege allotted only to the rich aristocracy. But that kind of talk is foreign to us modern day westerners, well, ideologically speaking anyway. To be brutally honest, even in this modern day of supposed republic freedom and democracy, if you have a mortgage, and many of us do, then the only true land owners are the banks, or more accurately, those who own the banks. Even so, some people will hotly debate whether or not the United States really did win its independence from Britain and became a sovereign nation; meaning it no longer belongs to the United Kingdom, but that is another story.
The Disclaimer...
Now then, as I explore what it really means to be a homesteader, of course my perceptions will change - - why? Because experience brings deeper insight to any situation, and dispels any and all preconceived notions. So please allow me some latitude to grow in this venture, but as always, I enjoy learning from others who are kind enough to share their own insights and experiences. After all, what good is it to go through a test or trial without testifying to someone? Anyway, what I pen here is not meant as a way of "judging" anyone, or their motives for being a homesteader. I'm just thinking "out loud." Therefore, if you don't like what I have to say here, then you have some options. You can quietly move on to another site; you can leave a venomous and snide comment; or you can gently give me another point of view to consider, which is what I will do. And now that I have hopefully made it perfectly clear that it is not my intention to ruffle anyone's feathers....on to my musings.
The Modern Interpretation of Homesteading
Pre-modern homesteaders, who I consider to be those before the industrial revolution, were basically farmers, and so I guess, one can metaphorically say, they grew where they were planted. After all, they ate and wore what they grew and raised according to what their surrounding environment would allow. A pre-modern homestead usually had a main house for the family with other utilitarian buildings such as a barn, tool shed, chicken coop, smoke house, and root cellar - you get the idea. Well, as I see it, the modern idea of a homestead is basically the same thing, but on a much smaller scale and with a few other twists.
For instance, many modern homesteaders use a bevvy of strange newfangled scientific sounding terms such as: carbon foot print, green energy, permaculture, holistic, organic, sustainability, and self-reliance, and I will touch on those subjects in more depth later on in other posts. But for now, I want to focus a little bit on the overall ideology of the modern homesteader, which can range from being a simple vegetable gardener, to the more radical doomsday prepper. But make no mistake, each type of homesteader is limited by how much workable land and space is available to them, and the resources they have access to, including other homesteaders. Sadly, what I have found in my research is that the underlying mentality of modern homesteading seems to be pushing toward selfishness. And no term embodies this pervasive modern homesteading attitude more than the term:"self-sufficiency."
For instance, many modern homesteaders use a bevvy of strange newfangled scientific sounding terms such as: carbon foot print, green energy, permaculture, holistic, organic, sustainability, and self-reliance, and I will touch on those subjects in more depth later on in other posts. But for now, I want to focus a little bit on the overall ideology of the modern homesteader, which can range from being a simple vegetable gardener, to the more radical doomsday prepper. But make no mistake, each type of homesteader is limited by how much workable land and space is available to them, and the resources they have access to, including other homesteaders. Sadly, what I have found in my research is that the underlying mentality of modern homesteading seems to be pushing toward selfishness. And no term embodies this pervasive modern homesteading attitude more than the term:"self-sufficiency."
The Deceit Of "Self"
To a certain degree, "self", coming from a Christian point of view, can be considered to be well... deceitful. After all, "self" is what started this huge mess in the first place, sin and death I mean. Satan, before his fall, only thought of him'self', and then got Eve to think of only her'self' and the rest is history. Now I know what most people mean when they say they are 'self' sufficient, that they don't rely on the government for a "hand out", instead, they work for their supper. Well, let's be honest -- who initially handed out the homesteaders land to them? Anyway, as Christians, we should want to get this whole homesteading, sustainability and 'self'reliant thing right, and so I think we need to drop the 'self' from reliant. Am I being a bit nit-picky here? Yes, yes I am. Christians have no business jumping on two of the world's covered band wagons that are labeled as"self-reliance", and "mother nature" Why? It is because; these two seemingly innocent ideologies will carry their occupants down the wide road of idolatry toward worshiping creation instead of the creator. But that doesn't mean Christians can't be homesteaders.
To be clear, I understand the concept of being responsible for our own actions and doing things on our own, rather than having others do them for us. After all, we must grow from infancy to adulthood, right? God did give us wills of our own, but like most things in this life, there are limits and boundaries that need to be established for the sake of keeping order and balance in our lives. We must realize that any secular ideas of "independence" are heavily skewed toward Utopian humanism, where as the Christian should embrace the biblical model and truth that we can do nothing without God, and even without each other. We must be, in a way, God-dependent, and interdependent, rather than independent, or 'self'reliant. Jesus made everything in this universe, and so we are completely dependent upon him for our very existence. In a nut shell, this world's idyllic system of self-sufficiency, and independence is completely at odds with reality, and the God-dependency system of real Christianity. The only being that is truly self-sufficient and independent is God. So anyone trying to sell these ideas are really selling "godhood ." In my next article, I will be examining the difference between cooperation and compromise.
To be clear, I understand the concept of being responsible for our own actions and doing things on our own, rather than having others do them for us. After all, we must grow from infancy to adulthood, right? God did give us wills of our own, but like most things in this life, there are limits and boundaries that need to be established for the sake of keeping order and balance in our lives. We must realize that any secular ideas of "independence" are heavily skewed toward Utopian humanism, where as the Christian should embrace the biblical model and truth that we can do nothing without God, and even without each other. We must be, in a way, God-dependent, and interdependent, rather than independent, or 'self'reliant. Jesus made everything in this universe, and so we are completely dependent upon him for our very existence. In a nut shell, this world's idyllic system of self-sufficiency, and independence is completely at odds with reality, and the God-dependency system of real Christianity. The only being that is truly self-sufficient and independent is God. So anyone trying to sell these ideas are really selling "godhood ." In my next article, I will be examining the difference between cooperation and compromise.