Welcome to General Chat - GAW Community Area
This General Chat area started off as a place for people to talk about things that are off topic, however it has quickly evolved into a community and has become an integral part of the GAW experience for many of us.
Based on its evolving needs and plenty of user feedback, we are trying to bring some order and institute some rules. Please make sure you read these rules and participate in the spirit of this community.
Rules for General Chat
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Be respectful to each other. This is of utmost importance, and comments may be removed if deemed not respectful.
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Avoid long drawn out arguments. This should be a place to relax, not to waste your time needlessly.
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Personal anecdotes, puzzles, cute pics/clips - everything welcome
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Please do not spam at the top level. If you have a lot to post each day, try and post them all together in one top level comment
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Try keep things light. If you are bringing in deep stuff, try not to go overboard.
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Things that are clearly on-topic for this board should be posted as a separate post and not here (except if you are new and still getting the feel of this place)
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If you find people violating these rules, deport them rather than start a argument here.
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Feel free to give feedback as these rules are expected to keep evolving
In short, imagine this thread to be a local community hall where we all gather and chat daily. Please be respectful to others in the same way
Rules For the rest of the Site also accessible on the sidebar.
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Restoring Independence: The Foundation of the American Experiment
We need to restore a strong "sense of independence" to all local communities. The American experiment cannot survive long without it. It is self-evident that the more worthy of trust an individual becomes, the more genuine individualism and independence can be exercised. God desires man’s cooperation—not because He lacks anything, but because we require goodness, and He is its only source. Dependence on a benevolent Creator is therefore not servitude, but the logical precondition for true freedom. Only trustworthy people can sustain liberty without descending into chaos or tyranny. When character erodes, centralized power fills the vacuum—first promising security, then demanding obedience. Local independence thrives when virtuous citizens handle their own affairs: families raise children with moral clarity, neighbors resolve disputes without courts, towns govern themselves with minimal coercion, churches and voluntary associations meet human needs before bureaucracies do. The path forward is not nostalgia for a lost past, but deliberate cultivation of personal honor, family strength, and community self-reliance. When enough individuals become trustworthy, dependence on distant rulers becomes unnecessary and unnatural. The American experiment succeeds only when free men, accountable first to God and then to one another, choose to live independently together. Anything less invites collapse.