The Rest Of Our Lives Is Already Here
I’ll never be able to stress enough: the time to make changes to your lives to secure your future has already come.
I appreciate you all hanging tough with me and for all the new subscribers who’ve chosen to jump down the rabbit hole that’s this blog. I must confess I’m still dealing with a fair amount of writer’s block and struggling to put out pieces as regularly as I’d like. Some of this is most certainly due to real-world obligations, but as big a part of it is that I’m simply overwhelmed by current events. There’s so much happening and I can’t keep up with it all.
Oftentimes, my thoughts end up overwhelming my mind, leaving me brain-dead with nothing to say. Other times, I’m just not sure what to talk about. For example, I’d like to spend more time talking about my big thesis, which is what I believe to be an internal armed conflict brewing in the United States, but this is one of those topics that requires a tremendous amount of brain power, power that I’ve been having a lot of trouble mustering lately. Usually, having a passion for the topic allows me to fire off words onto the screen, but you all know I try to make this blog more than just a thought-dump.
That’s the other thing - writing good pieces on current events requires a lot of knowledge. Full-time writers have less of an issue since their job is to be apprised of current events at all times. It’s not enough to be aware; you need to know details, too. This requires a level of attention and focus I haven’t been able to muster lately. It’s moments like these I’m reminded of what the layperson’s perspective on current events constitutes: broad awareness, but lacking the finer points that allow us to draw well-informed conclusions on an issue. Perhaps I’m trying too hard, but again, I’d like this blog to be something more than just a place to dump my deepest, darkest thoughts. I’m sure you all have deep, dark thoughts of your own, probably more interesting than my own.
Finally, since there’s so much happening, I often find it useful to allow events to play out before making a decision to write about it. This is a luxury I have as a non-professional writer: I can sit on pieces into perpetuity and I have the luxury of biding my time to make sure I get the story right. The downside, of course, is less content. But I do believe, when given the choice, it’s always better to hold off and paint a more complete picture of events than to jump on a topic and resort to speculation. Besides, I’m not trying to predict events (though I occasionally offer predictions), but rather help you all understand events as they unfold.
In times like these, it’s nice that I get to rely on more prolific writers whose pieces I can use as jump-off points in the event of writer’s block. One such writer Fabian Ommar, a Brazilian who talks about prepping, personal safety, and has a unique insight into what constitutes truly unstable societies. I’ve mentioned him many times on this blog for that very reason - he’s lived it. So many so-called experts have never experienced social instability nor collapse firsthand, and much of their commentary amounts to speculation.
I came across a great piece Ommar wrote last September while reading his most recent on The Organic Prepper. One of the themes of We’re Not At the End, But You Can See It From Here is that there’s very little we can do to stop what’s coming. What’s coming is a more chaotic, disorderly, expensive, and violent future.
I don’t like to make predictions, but I have gone out on a limb a few times. One forecast I was never scared to make is the economy getting significantly worse across the board and even collapsing in certain regions. The second is the consequence of that, or the explosion in social unrest. It’s time to prepare for a violent future.
I admit that saying the crap will hit the fan without a timeline is a pretty safe call. It may take years or even decades for the existing debt-and-fiat-based system’s disaster to materialize. I’ve learned not to underestimate the system’s resilience after initially believing it to be fragile. The status quo will fight as hard for survival as you, me, or any other living thing.
But the rubicon has been crossed, and we are beginning to see and feel the effects. No matter how things turn out, the way ahead will be an SHTF [S**t-Hits-The-Fan] all on its own. Practically speaking, that’s what everyone ought to be worried about.
I can’t stress enough: just because the system clearly isn’t working doesn’t mean the system is fragile. Like Ommar, I used to think the system was actually very weak and on the verge collapse at any moment. Now, I’m not so sure. Certainly, nothing’s indestructible and there could very well come a day when it all comes crashing down. However, I’ve learned not to bet any money on it, so to speak. Ommar puts it succinctly when he says the system will fight for its survival as hard as any living organism. That willingness to fight for its survival means, at the very least, it’s not going down easily. Even when it does collapse, a power vacuum doesn’t exist for very long. Oftentimes, a collapse simply means some new regime comes to power literally the next day (see former Communist bloc).
Here’s an example of someone who doesn’t get it:
https://twitter.com/Tinkzorg/status/1645896298610974721
https://twitter.com/Tinkzorg/status/1645896594490015749
Malcom Kyeyune, the person behind the account, has garnered a reputation for making grand predictions about the fate of the United States. None of which have come to pass, by the way. There’s still plenty of time for terrible things to happen, but it’s one thing to say what’s required for the U.S. to remain viable. It’s another to say it’s going to happen. Nor is it in any way a guarantee the U.S. is going to collapse because it couldn’t pay off its debts. Look at how many countries out there have been in dire financial straits for decades and they’re still there. Certainly, it’s different being top dog and there might not be anyone out there willing to rescue us. But being at the top has its advantages, too.
In either case, the last thing any of us should be worried about is our French Revolution because, if it happens, there’s not a damn thing any of us can do about it. It makes for interesting conversation, certainly, but from a prepping standpoint, it’s not useful to talk about.
More:
Let’s ignore major events like invasions, terrorism, and civil and nuclear conflicts for now. Not that these events are improbable; after all, we are arguably experiencing the most turbulent zeitgeist since the period pre-World War II. It’s the Fourth Turning, and anything can happen.
However, likelihood is different from possibility. I want to concentrate on the forms of violence that we are more likely to witness everywhere soon. Some countries are already on the verge of anarchy. Those currently in a fragile situation will go through extreme turmoil when the global economy takes a nosedive. Some will experience revolutions.
As previously said, anything is possible. But unlike some doomsday preppers, I don’t see more developed and stable nations like the US and other western democracies going full-WROL [Without Rule-of-Law]. These, along with some developing countries, could be spared from such drastic and broad upheavals. Or at the very least, be able to contain more radical and widespread movements.
There are already plenty of existing emergencies and potential emergencies we need to worry about before we ever to get to the point of worrying about civil and nuclear war or revolutions. Of course, worst-case scenarios are more “fun” to talk about, while talking about stuff more likely to happen tend to be characterized as “normal,” which is boring. But revolutions and wars may happen only once or twice in your lifetime, whereas other issues - like crime - are a constant threat and warrant your attention.
I’ll say it as long as I maintain this blog: crime is a national security issue and is the most likely form of social conflict any of us will ever be exposed to, even if this country becomes embroiled in civil war.
More from Ommar:
It’s severe because it’s pervasive, sneaky, and difficult to articulate in terms of how it negatively affects the population’s mood. Believe me when I say that: I’m intimately familiar with both realities. I’ve traveled extensively in the First World, but I was born and spent the majority of my life in Brazil, a nation known for its persistent violence.
Civil unrest and crime are not the same everywhere. But it’s more a matter of stage and progression than culture, institutions, population, or other inherent factors. Crime is typically uncommon, random, and less violent in the early stages in societies that are prosperous, secure, built on trust, and civilized (like the majority of societies in the First World).
As time passes, criminals multiply and feel more confident and emboldened. Then they start acting violently against the police, their victims, and each other. The next stage is organized crime, where criminals of all stripes band together and create cartels, mafias, factions, gangs, and the like—or join those that already exist.
They will reign from prisons, enclaves, and even other countries. These organizations will engage in savage warfare against one another for control of territory, narcotics, cash, weapons, revenge, and anything else, including trivial matters. They will have power over law enforcement, attorneys, politicians, and corporations through infiltration, influence and corruption (fear and money – ever heard of “plata o plomo“?).
Most middle and upper-class people won’t see this network develop or function, and they might not directly experience the influence of these cartels in their daily lives. However, in the later stages, organized crime will control or influence routine crimes like muggings, robberies, carjackings, hijackings, and everything in between.
That’s not even considering the recent wave of progressive movements like “defund the police” and public policies that, if not reverted quickly, are sure to incentivize lawlessness, if not downright promote a pro-crime environment, in some states of the US. In others, the decadence of public service and justice system from lack of funding will have a similar effect.
You need to be preparing for more crime. Quit expecting the government to protect you, no matter how many taxes you pay. They’ve proven time and again they won’t. At best, they’ll clean up the mess left behind. That’s not the same as protection. Not all of us are able nor willing to defend ourselves, but there’s no excuse for not taking measures to maximize your safety. No, we cannot eliminate all risks in life, but we can most definitely minimize them. Don’t insist on your right to live free of any and all influences while expecting someone else to do the dirty, hard work of making that world possible. Living worry-free doesn’t come from others handing that world to you, it’s from being prepared and knowing you’re ready to handle a situation should it arise.
I’ll never be able to stress enough: the time to make changes to your lives to secure your future has already come. Again, I don’t spend time here talking about how to fix the myriad of cultural, economic, political, and social crises which afflict us. They’re beyond the ability of any one person, family, or community to fix. Nor do I regard them as our problems to fix. By that, I mean that we never asked for any of it. We (or at least, I) never asked the state to go soft on crime. We never asked them go pursue endless wars overseas. We never asked them to import millions of foreigners, both legally and illegally, to our country to create a virtually unlimited labor pool, upend our culture, and create a national identity crisis. We never gave President Joe Biden and his band of bureaucratic thugs a carte blanche to behave like dictators. We never asked these people to erase the gender binary and replace it with… whatever they’ve replaced it with.
I could go on and on, but my point is, don’t lose sleep over the failures of our elites and leadership class. Yes, we voted for them, but it wasn’t like we had a great talent pool to draw upon. Calling this is a collective failure is a bit of a stretch since we never had control over the political process, nor were we supposed to. A part of being prepared is learning to let go of things you have no control over, so by all means, pay attention to politics, but don’t let it run your life. At some point, we’re all going to have to care more than we currently do, but not only is that day not here yet, it won’t be a good day when it finally does come.
The best thing you all can do now is just live and prepare for the day of days. Dispense with your fantasies of going on some great crusade to rescue your civilization or fighting a civil war. Neither are likely to occur and if they did, what makes you think you and your family are going to survive?
A part of me feels like I just put this out for the sake of putting something out as I battle through my writer’s block. There’s not a whole lot here that hasn’t been said before. However, I hope it at least underscores how important this all is. What’s in front of you and immediately around you at any given point in time is the most important thing in the world, to say nothing of your home and loved ones. Certainly, you’re going to find that even some of your loved ones may not be fully onboard with you preparing for a more violent future, because they insist on sticking their heads into the sand or they’ve found a way to rationalize the coming of that future (i.e., this country deserves it because of racism and slavery!).
And that’s just it - at this point, bearing witness to the truth and preparing for the storms to come is just about the greatest act of resistance one can engage in. To quote someone on a podcast I was listening to on the way to work this morning, you can never win because the enemy is in total control. But you can’t just give in, either. If you can’t speak up, then at least internalizing what you know to be true in your heart and mind, and taking control of your life amid all the forces pulling you in a million different directions is how you fight back. As the saying goes, They may take our lives, but they will never take our freedom.
Don’t let the bastards get you down. Don’t let the savages hurt you. Live long enough, and the day just might come we can turn the tables on them. What a wonderful day that’ll be.
Max Remington is a defense, military, and foreign policy writer. Follow him on Twitter at @AgentLoyalist.
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