MVM's Dirty Little Secret

I've written a lot, here and elsewhere, about my concept of a Modern Victory Movement. For those who may have missed it, the idea is based on WWI and WWII era victory gardens, war bonds and scrap metal & rubber drives. Those were some of the ways that the folks back home contributed to the war efforts, and helped bring about victories against the Kaiser and the Nazis.

My call for a Modern Victory Movement encourages everyday folks to strive to be more self-reliant and conservation-minded, in order to participate in our "victory" over the economic, environmental and energy-related problems our world is facing.

The Modern Victory Movement specifically encourages everyday folks to raise and preserve a portion of their own food, plant trees, reduce waste, get out of debt and increase their savings, as well as conserve energy, freshwater and other resources.

Sounds great, right? But there is a "dirty little secret" behind the Modern Victory Movement. I've decided it is time to come clean about that secret.

The core belief behind the modern victory movement is not a particularly popular concept these days. In fact, the last generation to whole-heartedly embrace this core belief was probably my grandparent's generation - the World War II generation. Oh, for certain there are still individuals even today who embrace this core belief. But society in general no longer embraces this core belief as it once did.

What is this core belief? Simply put, self-responsibility. The act of taking charge of your life and determining your future for yourself. The idea that we as individuals are responsible for our circumstances and for our futures. The idea that we must depend on ourselves to secure the kind of future we want, and not to wait around for government to do it for us.

This is why the points of the Modern Victory Movement revolve entirely around what each of us can do as individuals. There are no public policy points, no suggestions for what governments can or should so. The Modern Victory Movement is about you, the people, not about government.

Tuesday is Election Day in the United States. It looks to be another close election. Many people on both sides feel strongly about their chosen candidate and their views of America's future. Emotions are running high, and many are taking things very personally. One side will win. One side will lose.

Regardless of who wins, or who loses, the most important person in determining your future will remain you. If your candidate wins, the problems facing us will not be magically solved overnight. If your candidate loses, it will not be the end of our future.

Regardless of who wins, or who loses, remember the "dirty little secret" of the Modern Victory Movement - self-responsibility. Self-responsibility is, and will remain, the key to your future. All of our futures.