Do Most of You Feel Disaster Is Imminent in America? (house, water)

[lilred0005]

Occasionally I look through the threads on here and the common thread seems to be preparation for an imminent disaster or civil unrest here in the U.S.. I am a fan of Coast to Coast AM nightly radio show and many of their topics also center on this theme. It often reminds me of the senario in Stephen King's The Stand, in which America collapses after the gov't accidentally leaks a biologically engineered "super virus". Sometimes that "fictional" book almost seems plausible.

My question, I guess, is do you truly believe life as we know it in America could completely unravel? How likely is this and is it imminent? How would the average person even begin to prepare for something like this? I am saving to buy my first firearm as I already live in a high crime area although I will be moving soon to a very rural part of the U.S. I just don't know after that. Thanks for listening!

[Nite Ryder]

Originally Posted by lilred0005

Occasionally I look through the threads on here and the common thread seems to be preparation for an imminent disaster or civil unrest here in the U.S.. I am a fan of Coast to Coast AM nightly radio show and many of their topics also center on this theme. It often reminds me of the senario in Stephen King's The Stand, in which America collapses after the gov't accidentally leaks a biologically engineered "super virus". Sometimes that "fictional" book almost seems plausible.

My question, I guess, is do you truly believe life as we know it in America could completely unravel? How likely is this and is it imminent? How would the average person even begin to prepare for something like this? I am saving to buy my first firearm as I already live in a high crime area although I will be moving soon to a very rural part of the U.S. I just don't know after that. Thanks for listening!

I'm curious about your mind set. You live in a high crime area so you save to buy your first firearm? What does a high crime area have to do with you owning a firearm? If you do buy that first firearm and a bad guy breaks into your home, he will probably take it away from you and use it on you if he doesn't already have his own. I know, you have to start protecting yourself sometime, the government won't and can't take care of you forever. Before you buy that firearm learn something about the use, care and up keep of firearms. Don't put it off, learn what you can do and what you can not do with a gun. A lot depends on what city and state you live in. In some states you can not stand your ground and defend your home against an intruder, you have to exit the house if you can.

As far as answering the question on your post, I don't think the United States can continue in the path we are on. I have read many books about the asperations of our president, it is my belief his goal in life is make American a third world country. So far he is on schedule, he has raised our national dept way beyond reason, he has taken over banking institutions, and he has proposed laws that violate our constituion. But he has also brought Americans together who wish to defeat his cause. Time will tell...

[Nite Ryder]

A short story of where we could be going:

"Winston, come into the dining room, it's time to eat," Julia yelled to her husband. "In a minute, honey, it's a tie score," he answered. Actually Winston wasn't very interested in the traditional holiday football game between Detroit and Washington . Ever since the government passed the Civility in Sports Statute of 2017, outlawing tackle football for its "unseemly violence" and the "bad example it sets for the rest of the world," Winston was far less of a football fan than he used to be. Two-hand touch wasn't nearly as exciting.
Yet it wasn't the game that Winston was uninterested in. It was more the thought of eating another Tofu Turkey. Even though it was the best type of Veggie Meat available after the government revised the American Anti-Obesity Act of 2018, adding fowl to the list of federally-forbidden foods, (which already included potatoes, cranberry sauce and mince-meat pie), it wasn't anything like real turkey. And ever since the government officially changed the name of "Thanksgiving Day" to "A National Day of Atonement" in 2020 to officially acknowledge the Pilgrims' historically brutal treatment of Native Americans, the holiday had lost a lot of its luster.
Eating in the dining room was also a bit daunting. The unearthly gleam of government-mandated fluorescent light bulbs made the Tofu Turkey look even weirder than it actually was, and the room was always cold. Ever since Congress passed the Power Conservation Act of 2016, mandating all thermostats-which were monitored and controlled by the electric company-be kept at 68 degrees, every room on the north side of the house was barely tolerable throughout the entire winter.
Still, it was good getting together with family. Or at least most of the family. Winston missed his mother, who passed on in October, when she had used up her legal allotment of live-saving medical treatment. He had had many heated conversations with the Regional Health Consortium, spawned when the private insurance market finally went bankrupt, and everyone was forced into the government health care program. And though he demanded she be kept on her treatment, it was a futile effort. "The RHC's resources are limited," explained the government bureaucrat Winston spoke with on the phone. "Your mother received all the benefits to which she was entitled. I'm sorry for your loss."
Ed couldn't make it either. He had forgotten to plug in his electric car last night, the only kind available after the Anti-Fossil Fuel Bill of 2021 outlawed the use of the combustion engines-for everyone but government officials. The fifty mile round trip was about ten miles too far, and Ed didn't want to spend a frosty night on the road somewhere between here and there.
Thankfully, Winston's brother, John, and his wife were flying in. Winston made sure that the dining room chairs had extra cushions for the occasion. No one complained more than John about the pain of sitting down so soon after the government-mandated cavity searches at airports, which severely aggravated his hemorrhoids. Ever since a terrorist successfully smuggled a cavity bomb onto a jetliner, the TSA told Americans the added "inconvenience" was an "absolute necessity" in order to stay "one step ahead of the terrorists." Winston's own body had grown accustomed to such probing ever since the government expanded their scope to just about anywhere a crowd gathered, via Anti-Profiling Act of 2022. That law made it a crime to single out any group or individual for "unequal scrutiny," even when probable cause was involved. Thus, cavity searches at malls, train stations, bus depots, etc., etc., had become almost routine. Almost.
The Supreme Court is reviewing the statute, but most Americans expect a Court composed of six progressives and three conservatives to leave the law intact. "A living Constitution is extremely flexible," said the Court's eldest member, Elena Kagan. " Europe has had laws like this one for years. We should learn from their example," she added.
Winston's thoughts turned to his own children. He got along fairly well with his 12-year-old daughter, Brittany, mostly because she ignored him. Winston had long ago surrendered to the idea that she could text anyone at any time, even during Atonement Dinner. Their only real confrontation had occurred when he limited her to 50,000 texts a month, explaining that was all he could afford. She whined for a week, but got over it.
His 16-year-old son, Jason, was another matter altogether. Perhaps it was the constant bombarding he got in public school that global warming, the bird flu, terrorism or any of a number of other calamities were "just around the corner," but Jason had developed a kind of nihilistic attitude that ranged between simmering surliness and outright hostility. It didn't help that Jason had reported his father to the police for smoking a cigarette in the house, an act made criminal by the Smoking Control Statute of 2018, which outlawed smoking anywhere within 500 feet of another human being. Winston paid the $5000 fine, which might have been considered excessive before the American dollar became virtually worthless as a result of QE13. The latest round of quantitative easing the federal government initiated was, once again, to "spur economic growth." This time they promised to push unemployment below its years-long rate of 18%, but Winston was not particularly hopeful.
Yet the family had a lot for which to be thankful, Winston thought, before remembering it was a Day of Atonement. At least he had his memories. He felt a twinge of sadness when he realized his children would never know what life was like in the Good Old Days, long before government promises to make life "fair for everyone" realized their full potential. Winston, like so many of his fellow Americans, never realized how much things could change when they didn't happen all at once, but little by little, so people could get used to them.
He wondered what might have happened if the public had stood up while there was still time, maybe back around 2010, when all the real nonsense began. "Maybe we wouldn't be where we are today if we'd just said 'enough is enough' when we had the chance," he thought.

[MTSilvertip]

There is a definite difference between the "doomsday, SHTF" survivalists and the "what could happen how can I survive it" faction, and those like me who just want to maximise what I have and be as self sufficent as I can be in any situation.

Do I believe the country will implode? No. There could be some major shakeups in the power structure, some very hard economic times yes, but a full blown civil war I don't see. Just my opinion and I could be wrong, it's happened before.

Now, That being said, we could at any time face a natural or man-made disaster such as Katrina or the Bhopar India events that would put a segment of the population into a survival situation for a large number of people. Floods, Fires, hurricanes, earthquakes, they all happen and some are big enough to create a survival situation.

In my particular situation, I live in an area with horrendous weather that cuts power, fills roads with snow and ice, flooding, earthquakes, (not often, but it does happen), Forest and range fires, large areas of land without emergency services close by, so I simply want to be as self sufficent as I can be.

By making my own power, growing my own food, raising my own meat and dairy, using heating from readilly available natural sources, having the means and ablity to make fuel and have basic medical equipment available, I don't have to worry if the roads are blocked or a windstorm knocks power out.

Plus, the added benefit is that I get to keep more of my money for emergencies that I can't take care of such as a disease or accident that requires more medical assistance than I can do or my wife can do alone.

The less I have to depend on getting to the store, the more secure I am in my home, and the more secure my family is as we can weather just about any emergency from civil unrest to monitary collapse to natural disasters.

To me, survival preparedness is basically taking care of my family.

That is my basic premise.

Where to start? Look at where you live. What are the main dangers from environmental or man made occurances.
Are there manufacturing facilities that produce a product that could escape and cause damage? Do you live near an installation that could be a target of a terrorist attack?
What weather could hit you?

Is there a disaster plan in your area? What are the evacuation routes and how could you move in such an event.

Do you have enough food, water, money to live for a few days in a shelter or out of your car?
How would you protect yourself?
Can you live off the land by hunting, fishing, trapping or gathering natural plants?
Do you have a first aid kit and can you use it? If you need a prescription drug do you have a supply for a week or more, can you get your medicine from someplace else?
Do you have a place where you can go in an emergency that is removed from a forseeable disaster? I like to have mine at least 100 miles away.

Can you take some classes to learn basic skills in your area? Is there a library with some books you can get to learn more?

What kind of disaster or emergency do you want to plan for or do you see as most likely to occur in your area?
Do you want to be set up for long term or short term survival? What would you do if the emergency goes beyond a week, a month....?

What resources do you already have?

Lots to think about, but not impossible to make some plans and look to the future.
The largest part of survival for any scenario is using what you have, knowing how to use it, and making the most of it.

Good Luck

[Nor'Eastah]

"Disaster" is a personal definition, and I'm not sure what you meant by it. As the above post stated, it could encompass all types of natural and man-made scenarios. However I get The felling that what you're referring to is some type of economic collapse, political chaos, or something along those lines. Personally, I believe that we are gradually slipping into a deepening depression, and many people are just beginning to feel it. Will it continue? Well...I doubt that recovery is just around the corner.

As for "imminent", again, that is a bit less subjective. No, tomorrow won't be much different than today, but string several 'tomorrows' together and you'll see a pattern of decline. By the end of 2011, it will be noticeably different - worse - than the end of 2010.

I have a feeling that we are all being "managed" lower just as gently and as gradually as the bankers and politicians can do it. So that we won't notice anything happening, mind you! But anyone with eyes to see and ears to hear knows the story of the failing banks, insolvent cities and states, Euro nations sinking into depression, high unemployment, federal deficit, etc etc. This will not end well. Whether you define it as "disaster" or "imminent" depends on many things.

[Nighteyes]

IMO, we are balanced on the razor's edge. It wouldn't take much to push us off on either side. We certainly did not reach our current situation overnight, or since January 2009. A simple examination of facts and dates shows that the budget, deficit and bank issues have their roots in (or before) the Bush II Administration, and that the cost of most Bush II "fixes" were deferred into 2009 or later.

Not that I'm bragging on the current administration, mind you.

The problem is that both ends of our political spectrum are talking, yelling, screaming, pointing fingers, pulling their hair and gnashing their teeth -- but neither is bothering to listen. Those in the middle aren't sure what to do, so they either line up behind one of the extremes or they sit and wait. Neither is going to contribute to getting us onto more firm footing.

Are we going into a complete "it-done-hit-the fan", grab-and-growl, everybody for him/herself meltdown? I don't think so, but it could get pretty bad pretty quick.

=================================

As to Stephen King's The Stand, there are similar stories that I like better. One of my favorites is Earth Abides by George Stewart. First published in 1949 it is rather dated, but still a good read. Another is a fairly recent BBC television series called Survivors. The third is an as-yet unpublished novel called The Avalon Alternative. Guess who the author would be?

-- Nighteyes

[ChrisC]

In my opinion, things have been going downhill since I've been able to perceive such things. And they were probably going downhill since long before I was born. It's just that they have really accelerated downward in the last twenty years or so. And I'm not talking about cushy comfort lifestyle with big house and shiny car--I've never really cared about that sort of thing. I'm talking about a "dream" that a group of men had over 200 years ago that is being garroted to death before our eyes. It's astonishing to me that most folks either don't see it happening or don't really seem to give a damn.

I'm pretty jealous of my grandfather's (or great grandfather's) generation and the era he spent his lifetime within. Life wasn't easy and was downright miserable at times. But it was his life. It was his to live. Now, here we are in our grand, arrogant collective that just knows it rules the universe and continues to pilot the Titanic full speed ahead. There is not much to be done about it other than trying to insulate ourselves from the "Utopia" our generation has constructed (and we did. Who else is there to blame)--the Utopia that is in my opinion, a sandcastle in a rising tide.

It's one thing to have a depression (or other major disaster) during an era in which preparedness was a daily part of life. It's completely another to have a depression (or other major disaster) during an era in which most folks expect (and largely have) someone else wiping their derrières and are wholly dependent on the collective. What I fear the most is not the "not having" part. That, we can all prepare for right now should we so choose. I fear the tantrum that will be thrown when the kids soil themselves and mommy's not around to wipe their butts--how quickly do you reckon the Neanderthal within will wave it's colors?

[ChrisC]

BTW, nice satirical short story, Nite Ryder. That about sums it up!

I liked the 50,000 texts a month line. Sure that's enough for Brittany?

[FlyiMetro]

Do many people live their life in fear? After reading this thread you cant really tell. I like to keep my money in a bank, do the rest of you all keep your money in a safe at your homes?

[texdav]

No;but like at any toher time history is always a risk.I do thin we risk being on the dedge where so mnay other western coutnries have been on spending verus GDP for decades tho.