A History Channel documentary today examined the Free Mason involvement in the founding of the United States of America as a liberal democratic republic free from the English crown. The influence is considerable. An historian (A historian?) talked about the dangerous values Free Masons held - liberty, equality, reason, brotherhood, etc. So dangerous were their ideals and values that they forever changed the course of the West. The spell of monarchy was broken.
Some things never change. The "powers that be" are corrupt in our day as they were in their day. The nation-state is failing its purpose. Religious fundamentalism and international economies gain power. The unprecedented world human population and its hunger for natural resources are approaching the limits of what humanity and the biosphere are capable of providing. The climate is changing. So arm yourself with knowledge.
Learn basic, practical skills like using a map or guiding a boat. Healing with first aid, natural ingredients, the remedies of the old wives. Tying knots and building fire. Learn jokes, games, riddles, songs, and dances. Learn to let of go your fear and guilt.
Above all learn to think for yourself. Do not be cattle - don't accept blindly what any media outlet, fashion magazine, or charismatic television preacher says as dogmatically true. Don't accept what wikipedia or cnn says at face-value - do research, hopefully with a library card. Appreciate beauty of everyday things. Don't accept teachings ancient or modern without testing them, because human knowledge and understanding constantly changes. Do not seek what the ancients learned. Seek what they sought.