Justin S. said:
I admire your effort so please do not take offense at the following criticisms.
No offense taken. Please don't take offense to my rebuttle.
Fair enough? I agree, not everything here was done outside the system. That's why I didn't say that I "DO" live outside the system. I said I try to live OUTSIDE it as much as possible.
To be frank, living outside the "system" is impossible. Often, the idea that one can escape it is grounded upon a very limited idea of its scale and scope.
The produce and animals you have are most likely not native, and so have been distributed and made available to you via large companies. Even if you bought them from your neighbor, he got them from somewhere else, etc.
actaully that's not correct. I have native Texas chickens, a breed from a breeder who's family has done indigenous chickens here for over 175 years. My garden is grown from seeds from plants taken from my grandfathers garden he took over from his grandmother.
The well and septic system- designed and manufactured by whom? What materials went into its construction? Even if it required only a simple hammer, did you harvest and shape the wood, mine and forge the steel?
That is true but I am NOT on any city water or sewage. That's a start. I wouldn't need to have a spec septic if I chose not to. I live in an unrestricted area. I could poop in the yard if I wanted to.
You own land? To Whom did you pay money to acquire it? What bank did those funds circulate through? Most likely, you pay taxes on it, and there is a property value estimate. This estimate is affordable to you because the majority of the 6+ billion people on the planet are housed in highly planned urban areas. This system allows there to be "open spaces".
You are not familiar with Texas I suppose. Though I did go through a bank, the land I live on has been here the way it is since prehistoric times... much of it untouched and covered with fossils. The ranch was a part of Mexico that was won by the Republic Of Texas and stolen by the US long before any of the major cities even had the populations you suggest. Trust me, urban areas don't make anything easier on us. In fact, they make it harder. People from my area feed, cloth and support those cities on levels that might blow your mind. Those city systems do not "Allow" open spaces here in Texas. Open spaces were here first and will remain here when the cities are gone. Thinking other wise would be like believing a baby gave birth to it's parents.
To expand it even further, you are typing to me sitting at a computer, sending data through the internet in the English language- a language that has formed over centuries with inherent limitations and conceptual bias. The power of acculturation, "the system", cannot be overestimated or escaped.
