Ben Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Samuel Adams, and George Washington, do these names make you proud to be an American?

What makes them a Renaissance Patriot? If we look at what these founding Fathers had in common could we stack up?

All these Heroes had different back grounds before and during the American Revolution, some had a formal education while others were self educated.

Of them I think Mr. Benjamin Franklin was the most rounded of them all in the terms of a ‘Renaissance Man’.

Mr. Franklin was a self educated person, having started working at a young age as an apprentice for his Uncle at a print shop.

Although very few historians actually touch on the work experience young Mr. Franklin did, you would have to imagine that the work was physically demanding even at that time period in American history.

Mr. Franklin was famous for different things, discovering electricity, inventing the ‘pot belly stove’ are among his accomplishments, he was also instrumental in the writing of the US Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States of America.

These are a few of Mr. Franklin’s varied accomplishments; our historians will embellish or reduce his work towards making this the Greatest Nation in the history of the world.

My question still stands: “Are you a Renaissance patriot?’

Most people today have at least two years of college (I do) and have a few talents.

Unlike Mr. Franklin’s time we do very little hunting and gathering for our survival (unless you call shopping at the local super stores hunting and gathering) because our society has innovated to a point where all our needs are produced and brought to us by others in the Free Market system we have created over the centuries.

“I have little doubt that if a disaster hit this Great Country that a lot of people would not survive past two weeks.”

My reasoning for this statement?

Because on a whole our society has moved from the ‘hunter/gather’ society to a higher plain of existence, where food and shelter is provided for monetary gain by other individuals.

I am not saying that this is wrong what I am saying is that we as a society have lost some of the things that makes our Fore Fathers and Founding Fathers the Renaissance Men of their time.

I doubt seriously more than 0.01% of the US population could hunt for food or more than 0.1% could actually till the soil, plant the seeds, and harvest the crop that they grow.

Of course the cautious person will have stockpiled (do not confuse this with hoarding) enough food for a minimum of two months along with the necessities for survival in the event of a disaster.

This type of planning is wise because a natural disaster can strike anywhere at any time and those that denounce “being prepared” as unpatriotic or even criminal are just stupid.

These are the people that would vote for a tax increase on you to pay for their survival or would try to take what you have when a disaster strikes. (During the flooding of New Orleans in 2005 shop owners were disarmed by the local police, then the thieves broke in to shops and stole what ever they wanted. They were not looking for food and survival goods no they were stealing TVs, stereos, and anything else that they took a fancy to.)

A modern day Renaissance person would have varied talents such as the ability to hunt or gather the food and materials to survive.

Other talents that would be handy would be the use of non powered tools; can you use an ax properly? Do you own wood working tools such as a hammer, saw, maybe a plane?

If your car broke down could you fix it? (I hate to say this but if a car made after 1991 broke down electronically you could not fix it, neither could I and I am a certified Computer Technician). Such as: could you remove a starter and repair it if failed?

If the USA was attacked by a belligerent nation could you survive with out your computer, cell phone, or other electronic devices?

This is not a scare tactic but a reality in the world of today. There are enemies of this Great Nation that have plans to take out any electronic device that is not shielded or hardened in such a way that electro magnetic impulse (EMP) will not affect it. (Are you aware that a car built prior to 1984, and not modified to have an ‘electronic’ ignition, will survive an EMP attack?)

When you bought that fancy new telephone with all those neat new features did you happen to keep that old rotary dial phone? Your fancy new phone will not survive an EMP attack but that old rotary phone will and so will 90% of the phone lines in the USA. (Garage sales anyone?)

The more people that have those ‘Renaissance’ talents we as the Greatest Nation this world has know will be able to over come natural disasters and attacks by enemies foreign and domestic.

Considering the state of affairs in the USA and the world today would you consider learning a few of these talents that would insure your families’ survival in the advent of a natural disaster or an attack from a foreign or domestic source?

A Renaissance Patriot would …