Come Hell or High Water, Fight the Good Fight

My takeaway from "Burn Back Better - Lahaina: A Perfect Storm... or A Perfect Crime?"

I just finished reading Burn Back Better by Stephanie Pierucci last night.

For me the book was a bit hard to read. Not so much because of the content, but because of the gazillion typos, poor quality graphics and clunky source documentation.

I was already somewhat familiar with the content of this book, having personally investigated what happened on 8/08/23 — watching as many YouTube videos as I could find on the subject. (See a sample below.)

But I wanted to buy this book to have a printed record of what happened that day.

A Quick Recap

The book was put together very quickly in the early days of the tragedy’s aftermath. I mean, we’re talking just weeks afterward. It has a lot of images of screenshots, charts and other documents, which are hard to read, but I believe are important.

There are long URLs included, linking to the sources of the content being addressed, which I think is great (but I can’t imagine ever having to type them out in order to get to the information).

And there are QR codes in the back of the book, which I guess for those who use cellphones is very beneficial. Since I don’t have or use them, that feature is meaningless to me.

I guess in this day & age, it is hard to construct a bibliography when there’s not a whole lot of printed material being published anymore.

And then, while one can cite online sources, at any time that information can be scrubbed, which is horrible.

Given the material covered in this book and the demonization of citizen journalism, I imagine how challenging it must be to put together something like this. So, I give the author/publisher a lot of credit for doing so.

Since I was really interested in the subject matter, I chose to overlook all these negatives and finished reading the book. And then I sought to determine the most positive aspects for me in my reading of it.

My Biggest Takeaway

This book gave me a different perspective on the native Hawaiians and how their islands became part of the "United States", which the author touches on in Chapter Five: Stealing the Heart Chakra of the Planet.

The Conquest of a Sovereign Nation

Apparently, the joining of the two was not a rosy union. The way I see it, Hawaii was forced to be a part of the US and thereby made to abide by the US Government’s laws and incorporate the US Government's way of life into their own.

I suppose I should have known this already given all that I’ve learned over the past few decades regarding the acquisition/formation of the thirteen colonies and the eventual “winning” of the west.

But I didn’t really think about it. I just accepted the idea that America is made up of 50 states — and Hawaii is one of them.

Anyway, the author writes, “Lahaina is where all the Royal Hawaiians lived... Many of the buildings in Lahaina were over 200 years old.” (emphasis mine)

At first, those statements didn’t stick out much to me. But when I began to consider the fact that Hawaii has only been a member of the union since 1959, the historical significance of those structures began to be more noticeable to me.

And after reading this book, I discovered the conquest of Hawaii’s sovereignty took place in 1898 when Hawaii became a territory of the US. (And amazingly, that people group has managed to hold onto their rich indigenous culture and maintain their cohesion.)

However now, it seems that the US Government is furthering their conquest, having annihilated & decimated (or at least allowing the annihilation & decimation of) a large segment of their population and land through this Lahaina incineration.

It's despicable!

Genocide & Land Disputes

Last year I became more aware of the genocidal practices of other nations, which naturally infuriated me, but I told myself, what can I do about it?

I don’t see how I can possibly stop it from happening. However, I can certainly not support it, and I can learn to speak up and speak out about it.

But do I want to make that my mission in life: to be a humanitarian activist and/or political protestor?

I’ve got a husband and several kids at home. My political activism days are over. My focus is now on trying to make the world my family and I live in — the one that is closest to where we physically reside on a daily basis better.

And then I see what happened two and a half months ago, just a few hours south of me, when Hurricane Helene hovered over western North Carolina. And I knew in my gut that was not a simple “natural” disaster. They were victims of weather warfare — akin to what I recall about the Lahaina fires that took place in the previous year.

I continue to witness the response of the US Government & mainstream media machine (and lack thereof) concerning this recent event that severely affects my neighboring state to this day, particularly as we head into frigid temperatures — and the natural season of winter hasn’t even started yet!

And I’m again reminded of Lahaina.

We, in America — on the mainland are under attack — on multiple fronts — not by some foreign power — or by some alien nation, but by our very own lord and masters.

And yes, weather warfare tactics are being used, as well as directed energy weaponry and artificial intelligence and propaganda and social media manipulation and who knows what other kinds of technological advancements and psychological operations.

And yet, a large part of the American population continues to participate in the charade & shenanigans of US politics, feasting on a steady diet being served up by the mainstream media, distracting themselves with the waywardness of pop culture (which I personally confess to being guilty of lately), and making little to no effort to disengage from monetary exchanges. Why?

For years — decades even, I have been crying out against these massively corrupt and wicked establishments, begging people to “come out of the System” and striving to do so myself, desperately seeking people to work alongside towards the development of a better way of life outside of it and often feeling like an utter failure in my pleas & plight.

Although, I have not given up the fight.

Darkest Before the Dawn

I am SO grateful for this season of darkening days (literally and figuratively), because it magnifies the desire of most people for light (again, literally and figuratively).

We are on the brink of the winter solstice, which takes place the end of next week. It is the longest night of the year. And do you know what comes after that? Increasing little dosages of light — on a daily basis.

While the season will naturally grow colder in the coming months, the days will naturally grow longer as well. And to me, that’s good news. Because that is the preparation time for spring, in which new life emerges. :)

So, I will persist in my endeavors to:

• Speak out about the wrongs I see in this world;

• Walk according to my convictions — ever learning and adapting my thoughts and actions to align with reality and what is life-affirming;

• Pursue good health, wellness and a long & prosperous life for me & my family — one that will carry on long after I’m dead & gone;

• Find & apply effective ways to communicate what I understand to be solutions to the problems we face;

• Encourage those around me, testifying to the fact that Life in this age and on this earth is worth living (it is a beautiful and precious thing!); and

• Network with those who share a value for truth, life & the natural world (with its natural order), humanity and human sovereignty with me.

The author of Burn Back Better - Lahaina: A Perfect Storm or A Perfect Crime? wrote in her introduction,

The second express purpose of this book is to alert all Americans that what happened in Lahaina can happen to any other community as well.

Seeing what has happened and is currently happening in western North Carolina — just a year later, I have to believe others are seeing it, too.

And I pray those who recognize their human authority, power & dominion on this earth and who value the life & land our Creator has given us and the lives of our fellow man, to include the younger generations will rise to the occasion and be the heroes of this story we are in today.

If you are one of those who see & understand the wickedness that is going on in this world and feel the conviction of not letting it persist on its present course, then please reach out to me and tell me so. Let’s see how we can support, help and/or work with one another towards a common aim.

As for me, I respect the Maker of this Land & Giver of Life and the Land & Life which He’s given me too much to ignore it or throw it away. I refuse to waste my existence here on this earth doing the bidding of evildoers and biding my time ‘til Jesus comes.

Come hell (fire) or high water (flood), I’m going to fight the good fight and pursue a better way of life on this land — not just for me, but for my kids and for their kids to-hopefully-one-day-come.

And there you have it. (I think I met my word count for the day. Ha!)

If you’ve read thus far, thank you so much for your time and attention. I sincerely appreciate it. And I hope you found my words inspiring in some way.

You have the authority & power to take charge of your own life. And you have the potential, capacity & ability to do great things with it.

Know it. Know it in your gut. And then walk in it. And when you feel strong & confident enough, I say, run with it. :)

And please know that I love you and care about you. Please take care of yourself and your own, and I will do the same.

Until we meet on the page again, have a great life!

Sincerely,
Carrie (not Kelly)