Hello, thank you for joining me on this great day, July 4th Independence Day. And the title of our

post today is an azimuth for humanity. What is that? An azimuth for humanity.

One of my heroes, retired major, William Osten, gives us today's Independence Day post,

adapted from his incredible book, small book, you need one.

The Patriots Field Manual, a citizen's guide to saving America at the local level.

I'll say more about it in a minute.

Well, an overeducated attorney and former military JAG likes to try and intimidate me with words he thinks I won't

understand. He should remember that I have a dictionary on my phone. And a bigger one on my

shelf. So, Will's as a whatever title didn't phase me.

Don't reach for your dictionary. He'll define it.

And it's worth the wait.

Will shares.

I'll never forget being lost in the middle of the night in Fort Benning, Georgia

swaps in the Fort Benning, Georgia swaps with only

a military-issued, lensatic handheld compass, no GPS, and a paper eight-digit grid map to guide me.

I was a middle-aged soldier attempting to pass the legendary land navigation test in the

army's pre-ranger course so I could prove worthy of my commander approving orders to ranger school

despite my advanced age. Getting a shot at the elite ranger school had been a distant dream of mine for years.

That dream was in danger of being dashed, as the heavens opened, pouring out an unwelcome deluge of hard rain that completely soaked me, my map, and the ground.

I was knee-deep in the muck that was trying to suck my boots off with every step,

surrounded by thick darkness accompanied by strange animal sounds. Was that a wild boar I heard? I don't know. Well, maybe it was

Sasquatch. And suddenly starting to worry that I wouldn't find all the navigation points

...