Final page of The Blocksize War. Boy was this prescient. Run your own node. Keep the network protected. 
Discussion
The problem is funding. Running a node, unless you can expose your PC to the network or rent a server, isn't so feasible.
What? I think you need to research this further. It costs the price of an old laptop to run a node.
That's one side of the story, and you are free to trust it, but you would be doing yourself a diservice by not reviewing the other side of the story with equal diligence.
Listen / read "Hijacking Bitcoin" for a very good analysis of the other side of the Blocksize War.
Very good. But the last sentence needs elaboration. Maybe the winners were "ordinary" in the sense that they weren't part of any parasitic elite; but they were certainly _extraordinary_ men and women, seldom to be found in this declining world. We need many more such to join us.