There is a lot of sh*t going on in the world today, and yes, I think some of it is likely to hit the fan, sooner rather than later. The question no one seems to be asking is, “Are we bringing this on ourselves?”
Are our politicians we instigating anger, dividing the nation, encouraging hate, and triggering a civil war? Are we shutting down perfectly good electrical generating plants, preventing oil and gas production, stopping trucks, and causing high inflation and a recession because that is what the elites want? Are we thumbing our nose at China, pissing off Putin, and putting our European allies in an untenable position for a reason?
I would have to say the answer to all of these questions appears to be “Yes.”
So the next obvious question is, “Why?”
And that answer is also obvious: money and power. When people are out for themselves, common sense goes out the window. When everyone is trying to get theirs, there is no such thing as “us,” there is only “me, me, me.” Too many of our elected officials are in the “me, me, me” group.
Power Corrupts
Unfortunately, “that government of the people, by the people, for the people,” that President Lincoln reference in the Gettysburg Address, has perished from the earth. Instead, we have a government of special interests, where politicians get richer the longer they are in office, and our elected officials care more about getting lining their pockets and getting re-elected so the gravy train can keep rolling than they do about their country or their constituents.
If they arrest and prosecute Trump during the Biden Presidency, how is that different from Putin arresting Alexei Navalny, who ran against Putin in 2020 and is his biggest critic? Any action taken against Trump will be because of who he is and the threat he represents to the current regime, not because of any criminal actions.
This, more than anything, illustrates how corrupt our government has become. We are not just acting like a banana republic, we have become one, at least at the highest offices.
Trump may have said “Lock her Up” but he made little effort to pursue a criminal case against Hillary Clinton despite her illegal email server and other activities. (Let’s remember she had secret documents on it.)
Politics as a Wealth-Building Enterprise
Look at the sons of Joe Biden and Nancy Pelosi, who flew on government planes to foreign countries and came home with big contracts and ownership interests in foreign companies. Nancy Pelosi took her son Paul Jr. to Taiwan, where he has an interest in a tech company and was recently its second largest shareholder after the founder. We’ve gone from politicians who used to make money by writing books and giving speeches after they were in office to politicians profiting from insider information and using their positions of power to set up financial dynasties where their families get board positions in industries where they have no experience. The appearance of impropriety alone should make this illegal.
It’s not just congressional representatives and vice presidents. A recent investigation revealed that federal judges are deciding cases involving companies in which they own stock.
What we can do as Preppers
In banana republics, people who disagree with the leadership are often arrested. They get hauled off in the middle of the night to be re-educated and are never seen from again. Are we there yet? No, but we could be after another stolen election or two.
There is great value in being the gray man and blending in. Keep your preps, your politics, your armory, and your philosophy out of the public eye. No one needs to know you built a bomb shelter under your house. There’s no reason they should see your stash of storage food.
My advice is to drop out of sight, keep your head down and live the good life in private. Become as independent and self-sufficient as you can. Use as few government programs as possible. Stay off social media and out of the public eye. Offend as few people as possible.
Become known for something other than prepping or your political views. For example, volunteer for something non-partisan so people will know you as the Meals on Wheels driver or the person who volunteers at the local animal shelter. Help your community and become known for that. That will help people pigeonhole you not as a prepper or a potential “domestic terrorist,” but as someone who is friendly, helpful, and appears harmless. That will help keep you off the enemies list. When they want to confiscate food, your name won’t be on their list. When the zombies attack your house post-SHTF, your forceful response will surprise them.
These are dangerous times. Prepare for more unrest and don’t be surprised when you wake up and realize the banana republic is here.
