We can argue over whether or not this presidential campaign sets a new mark for irrelevant venom, but looking past the candidates to voters themselves, I can't recall ever seeing my country so angrily divided. Spiking that toxic climate is an economy that's circling the bowl -- markets tanking, credit freezing, prices rising and jobs vanishing.
Oh, and the holiday season is right around the corner.
All that adds up to unprecedented pressure on ordinary Americans. Anyone who claims to be unaffected is either out of touch or out of circulation.
The product of pressure is fear. Fear begets irrational behavior, and irrationality makes bad situations worse. History shows that people don't need a natural disaster, a terrorist attack or other calamity to act out their fear, and I'm here to suggest that at this moment in history our domestic society is ripe for sudden and widespread ugliness.There will come a tipping point. Maybe it'll be the results of the election (no matter who wins), maybe it'll be a sudden market crash or a rash of bank failures, even a serial sniper or a school shooting. Something -- or a series of somethings, related or not -- will happen that breaches the dam holding back Americans' pent-up fear.
I believe it's inevitable, and I expect to see it before the end of January.
As I've said before, the population comprises those who are prepared and those who aren't. We can't, for the most part, control outside events or the actions of others, but we can choose to prepare. At the risk of sounding alarmist -- and I acknowledge that ship sailed in this blog long ago -- now is the time to make sure that we, as individuals, are ready.
Have a plan. Assemble the materials and information required to execute the plan. Prepare to exist in an America temporarily without conveniences like credit cards, ATMs and corner gas stations. Plot community resources and know how to make use of them. Understand potential threats and prepare to defend against them.
In a society dominated by dependence, we must prepare to be independent -- now.
