“COVID-19 cannot be attributed to human behavior no matter how much we wish it were so…. As I’ve said over and over, ‘We’re riding this tiger, we’re not driving it.'”

— Mark Fischenich, The Free Press

Dear Reader,

“I know you’re trolling us,” says a reader, “but I’ll bite.”

Yes, as expected, we received a bevy of responses to yesterday’s missive describing our firm’s response to the government’s vaccine requirement and our disagreement with the idea of a mandate.

Roughly half of the letters chided us for requiring the vaccination while the other half berated our resistance to it.

Our first reader goes on to assert that “Vax mandates are aimed at hurting Republican businesses and individuals. The more, the better.” He concludes, “Resisters will be heavily blamed for any collapse as Dem’s only hope for 2022 and 2024.”

If you’re like me, you can only scratch your head. Are we only describing from which tribe we hail?

For the record, again, I’m vaccinated. I just flew from Baltimore to Manchester, NH, to visit my mother. I wore a mask when it seemed appropriate. I took it off when not. I hate the mask. I hate the vaccine. I hate the mandates.

That said, wtf?

Another reader says.“I support the mandate because I like the freedom to live a normal life.” He then says, “People that don’t get the vaccine are taking away a lot of freedom from people that can not take the vaccine. The freedom not to get the vaccine may kill other people.”

I would respond that science doesn’t support your opinion. But I won’t because I don’t give a hoot about the argument.

If you want to be free… just do it. I’m feeling confident today because I just landed in the state I was born and raised in. The one state that routinely votes to keep its mantra: “live free or die.” If I could, I’d add another line to the license plate; it would sound something like this: mo,hf$ck@r.

Sounds noble… but what about the people who think the vaccine itself is deadly? A few readers point out that we still don’t know the long-term effects of the injections.

It’s an “unproven, experimental gene therapy, and we are the lab rats,” says one. Naturally he’s against “mandating that this poison be forced into our bodies over and over again (boosters).” Should he be forced to do something he truly thinks is harmful?

The worst were the letters that made bizarre claims before threatening our livelihood.

One letter writer asks, “are you aware that the Red Cross issued a statement that the ‘vaccinated’ won’t be able to donate blood because the ‘vaccine’ kills the antibodies?”

Hmmm… that’s not what the Red Cross says on its website. This reader goes on to say, “Tell whomever is in charge at your company they lost a subscriber today because they have chosen communist Chinese policies over American exceptionalism and because they didn’t stand up for freedom.”

Really. Who is in charge? We’d like to know that answer, too.

Beyond that, we wonder if our reader will stop doing business with every company that insists its employees vaccinate or take frequent COVID tests. Seriously. If you want to talk about fake news… how about fake lines in the sand?

Another asks us to “please stop preaching crazy politics.” He insists that he “did not pay thousands to get preached at by zealots who want to blame, want to be political players and make indistinguishable noises from each other about how tough their life is and what victims they are.”

Whoa, that’s a feast.

Preaching? We simply said, “we oppose the mandate.” We don’t recall saying anything about a tough life or being a victim.

Crazy, emotional times.

While we appreciate all the feedback, it really just proves yesterday’s point. You’re affected by the data and information you’ve chosen to believe. You’re convinced you’re right… and anyone who disagrees is ignorant, gullible or possibly evil. I’m the same way, so no shame intended.

Let’s move on. What we’re describing is the very definition of Modern Society Syndrome (MSS) — letting yourself become unduly concerned about things you can’t control.

Your time and energy would be better spent following the example of this week’s Session guest, Ian Silverberg.

Ian, as I’ve mentioned, is a long-haul Reserve member who has taken advantage of the many opportunities we’ve provided him over the years. “You guys were a huge influence on me,” he says. His successes have allowed him to pursue his personal beliefs and goals, which can be summed up as “intentful living.”

To that end, he’s shepherded a real estate project in Utah based on that idea.

It’s “this really cool little ski-in, ski-out community, that’s based around a regenerative farm,” he tells me.

Regenerative farming refers to agricultural practices that suck carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere and “sequester” it into the soil, helping crops grow.

In other words, Ian has built a community around a farm that’s helping mitigate climate change… no Glasgow dictates necessary.

Of course, the people who move in aren’t “forced to work the farm.” Instead, he hopes to attract like-minded people who will choose to join him. They’ll be “self-selecting,” as he puts it.

Ian says the “concept really really took off more than I had anticipated it would.” So he’s adapting the idea to land he owns in Costa Rica and New Zealand.

Hmmm… we’ve heard good things about Costa Rican real estate.

How Ian ended up becoming a global property owner is pretty interesting, too. We’ll talk more about that tomorrow.

Regards,

Addison Wiggin
Founder, The Financial Reserve