Despite dealing with a duel amputation of his arms and a mysterious 3rd century BC skin malady that changed him slowly to marble, Plato still remains a beacon of hope for mankind.  Not surprisingly, the famous philosopher, Alfred North Whitehead declared, "The whole of western philosophy is merely footnotes of Plato's ponderings."  As survivalists, we must first and foremost see our mission as something grander than petty, personal survival; we must declare and affirm that we are "Guardians" entrusted and empowered to guide mankind through its new dark age.

History teaches us that civilizations rise and fall, and chaos theory demonstrates that these changes can occur rapidly and without warning.  In addition, environmental research emphatically demonstrates that even if we temporarily avoid collapse that the world's pro-growth inertia is unsustainable.  If present population trends are continued for the next 50 years, we would need 3 earths to feed us.

Fortunately, we will be securing and storing civilization's greatest treasures at the Montana Sanctuary while practicing sustainable agricultural practices.  During the horror of global pandemics and social upheaval - even as the world's great cities burn like ovens, we will preserve what is best and brightest from our heritage.  When possible we will also offer aid and comfort to survivors, while judiciously following our policy of tough Platonic love.

When I sometimes ponder the gravity of our present situation - that we truly face an eve of destruction, I take great comfort from Plato and The Republic.  I am glad that at the age of 8 I declared my undeviating allegiance to his principles.  For luck, every morning when I get up at my ranch, I walk up to my lifesize marble bust of Plato, and, yes - you guessed it (I pinch his hard, marble nipples).