Subscribe to get full access to the newsletter and publication archives.
What is UnCowed about?
There’s a reason that Jeffersonian democrats idolize small, independent farmers and that totalitarians persecute them, and neither is wrong. The person who owns his own land, grows his own food, provides his own shelter, depends not on the labor of others, and provides some of his own income and other necessities of life is free to think for himself, support his family, and serve God, nation, and community in the manner he thinks is right. No one can starve him out or take away his home, and, if he can produce a surplus or a service, his livelihood.
And the benefits don’t just accrue to the individual alone. A nation of free people is a free nation. This is not about putting yourself first, devil take the rest. Your freedom helps keep me free, fed, and out from under a tyrant’s thumb.
This is no longer just an abstraction.
We live in an age where the solution being presented to our every problem just happens to involve more centralized control of our lives. Pandemics require mandates and passports. Climate requires banning gas cars and natural gas, vegan diets and meat grown in labs. Electric vehicles and homes tie you to the grid. Central bank digital currency, cars with mandated kill switches, and a social credit system will enforce it all. And, just incidentally, you, the consumer, the citizen, the individual, lose control over your own life.
Collectivists and progressives prefer you to be a landless employee, growing meat in a lab, instead of raising cattle on a farm. Those who provide the paycheck and the meal ticket think they can tell you how to think and who to vote for, or at least prescribe what you can do. The more control they have over your life, the more temptation there is to use it, all for “the common good,” or “the environment,” or “the marginalized,” or whatever is currently up, as the anointed define it.
And, funnily enough, the free thinking that independence allows seems to encourage the sort of thoughts the collectivists and progressives hate. These independent farmers seem to want to govern themselves. They seem to believe every individual is important, and that the proper job of government is to protect the rights of these of individuals. Way back, brilliant farmers came up with the US Constitution as a way of ensuring that. They have not been convinced they need an expert class to rule them.
Even a small suburban garden gives you some degree of freedom. You don’t have to be a full-time farmer to insulate yourself. So, for yourself, your family, and your nation, do what you can.
This publication hopes to inspire and show you how.
Who am I to write this?
I grew up on a small farm, raised by one of the most independent thinkers I’ve ever known, my Dad. I spent most of my life as an urban farmer, growing most of my family’s food, while teaching nutritional science at a major university. Now I’m back on a small farm, raising cattle, horses, chickens, hay, and lots of vegetables.
How does this work?
UnCowed is a series of essays. I’ll release about one a week, though I might get behind if I’m cutting hay. You can read them all in a sitting if you want. The first six installments and occasional others are free. If you like them, you can subscribe for the rest. Audio versions are also available for all posts.
Founders support my work, and will get special benefits, yet to be determined.
To learn more about the tech platform that powers this publication, visit Substack.com.
