Author of The ULTIMATE Survival Gear Handbook
During times like these, keeping close tabs on events unfolding is critical. It’s always more productive for the pragmatic, though, to be aware and knowledgeable about such events’ developments.
One of the best ways to do so is by learning from history. For the most part, natural events are unpredictable, random in impact and reach, and localized. Economic collapses, on the other hand, follow a more cyclical dynamic and have all-embracing consequences.
Because consumption, finance, and economy are in great part determined by psychology and behavior (mainly fear and greed), and because humankind always reacts the same to abundance and scarcity, history tends to repeat itself with reasonable consistency and similarity in these areas.
Even though crashes can’t be forecast with accuracy, brewing crises always send warning signs frequently early on. Perhaps even more important (and useful for us), its consequences are well studied and vastly documented.
The current crisis is being compared to The Great Depression of the 1930’s
But how these SHTFs compare away from charts and figures, more close to society and people’s lives? Are contemporary fears and (apparently insurmountable) matters of monumental debts, hyperinflation risk, social fragmentation, political animosity, government intervention, and widespread conflicts genuinely unprecedented?
I looked at a few excerpts from “The Great Depression: A Diary” by Benjamin Roth to find out. It’s a personal yet surprisingly dispassionate account of the darkest years of the1930’s big slump, right after the stock market crash of 1929. Written 90 years ago in journal format as events were unfolding, without hindsight or historical distancing. It is a candid and powerful documentation of the depression zeitgeist.
Benjamin Roth was a young lawyer in Youngstown, OH, then an important steel production center of the flourishing Rust Belt. A common, middle-class professional and family man hit directly by the economic devastation, Roth was trying to understand and cope with the craziness going on. All that makes his observations very compelling and his narrations all the more relatable.
Reading through Roth’s diary feels like reading a tweet, blog, or newsfeed today.
Anyone following today’s current events will be amazed at the similarities between that period and now regarding facts and events. But mostly as to how people felt and reacted to those. In that sense, Roth’s book won’t provide direct answers. But it’s filled with great insights and highly entertaining stories.
Likewise, the idea here is not to draw a detailed or factual comparison nor provide a more in-depth analysis. We live in a very different world. The economy is considerably bigger and orders of magnitude more complex, so things are not directly comparable. The excerpts only illustrate parallels and allow for observations, with emphasis on context and human behavior. Hopefully, this will inspire you to grab a copy. It’s great reading.
It also provides a few important lessons to combat the anxiety caused by uncertainty
Many people are battling the anxiety of not feeling better prepared for the evolving situation.
One lesson is that, as the Stoics say, “This too shall pass.” Back then, the whole tribulation seemed to people like the end of times. This sentiment certainly got solidified further by WWII breaking out just a few years later. It sure feels like that today, too, with the endless cascade of bad news and looming threats all over.
In that regard, and not making light of it (crises are a real catastrophe to many), the fact that we’re still here, in an even better situation than ever before in history, should be taken as a sign that we’re learning and improving, as species and civilization. That shows that it’s entirely possible to overcome significant hardships no matter how bad the present feels or how dark the future looks.
Another lesson is that these ordeals take time to pass, and invariably the cost is brutal in various forms. It’s a huge ordeal spreading insecurity, pain, suffering, and causing loss to people, families, and businesses everywhere. (Not to mention that widespread instabilities increase the risk of authoritarianism, hot conflicts, and other worrying developments.)
Let’s see what the Great Depression of the 1930s and Mr. Benjamin Roth have to tell us
(Note: The excerpts aren’t in chronological order).
“January 18, 1933 – I am reading a book written by Claude Bowers entitled The Tragic Era. In it, he describes the panic of 1873 and I am amazed at the similarity to conditions today.”
I couldn’t find a more fitting start than the author looking back to get some insights and answers to his difficulties. That is what we do. People get lost during these periods. It’s hard to know or be sure of much or interpret things correctly when we’re immersed in the chaos, dealing with hardships, changes, and turmoil almost daily.
Takeaway: Looking at current events through the lenses of the past helps achieve a more balanced view. As I said, even though it doesn’t offer much relief in practical terms, it’s Diasomewhat comforting to know that we’ve been through this before many times and survived. Individuals and society.
“August 14, 1932 – The movement back to the farm has grown stronger during the past two years until today it is almost an exodus from the city to the farm.”
Whenever the economy dips, things start to degrade everywhere. But cities get hit harder and faster, making people flock to the country en masse. It’s a recurrent, global phenomenon, though more prevalent and visible in the U.S. and other highly-industrialized and urbanized nations. The reasons are various: spikes in homelessness and crime, tax hikes, diminishing job opportunities, dwindling entertainment, faltering public services. That, and a lot more, haunted the population back then as it does now. In our case, with the added effects of lockdowns, social distancing, and multiple restrictions.
Takeaway: The pendulum is constantly swinging in this city-country movement, and it’s already bringing large-scale and far-reaching changes in lifestyle, the market, and infrastructure at both ends. Everyone must pay attention to these factors and prepare for, whether living in the city or country.
“February 13, 1933 – I have done considerable reading about the depressions of 1837 and 1873 and, I am struck by the similarity to the present crisis. If history repeats itself, then we still have 2 or 3 years of bad times ahead of us.”
The passage above is also about the repetition of situations and events and a warning to those who believe in silver bullets to solve complex issues. For instance, thinking a vaccine or monetary stimulus will make economic, societal, and geopolitical problems go away magically or in the short term. It won’t. In fact, those (as well as others) measures, chiefly ones coming from politics, organizations, and the ruling elites, could potentially trigger further events or have unintended consequences, becoming themselves sources of more unknown unknown”.
Takeaway: How long this crisis will last is impossible to know for sure.” “If history repeat,” we may not even have seen the worse yet. There could be unexpected developments at any point. This next decade is promising to be, at the very least, highly volatile. Being prepared for a few more years of challenges and hardships ahead is a sensible strategy. Don’t expect things to go “back to normal.”
“June 1, 1933 – In looking back over the 3 months since Roosevelt became President it seems that the U.S. has traveled a long way toward some form of socialism or managed economy.”
The intervention in economy and finance took center stage during the 2020 presidential campaign and has been inspiring endless articles by economists and ‘‘experts” everywhere since, well, at least 2008. Today, a lot of people are afraid that the U.S. may turn into the Soviet Union. Or worse, Venezuela. Heck, I don’t live in the U.S., and I dread that myself! Judging by Benjamin Roth’s remarks, this sentiment was prevalent during the turbulent 1930s as well.
Takeaway: Once again, if history is any indication, despite the movement away from the free market, individualism and liberty, and the trend towards higher levels of intervention, collectivism, and safety, the U.S. should remain a free, capitalist nation. At least for the foreseeable future. Which doesn’t mean capitalism and democracy won’t undergo changes, possibly some big ones even. (Here’s more information on that topic.)Being on top of this is a way to keep up, or at least not get caught entirely off guard.
“January 11, 1932 – The war between Japan and China drags along. Threats made by the U.S. are disregarded. Germany announces she cannot and will not pay further reparations and France threatens to collect by force what is coming to her.”
“March 11, 1933 – Los Angeles district in California experiences 13 quakes yesterday. Almost as bad as San Francisco affair! Early reports indicate 150 dead; 2500 hurt; tremendous property loss.”
These two entries only one year from each other remind us that multiple SHTFs can happen concomitantly. A grave economic depression was ravaging the world, and yet parallel disasters and conflicts kept taking place in the U.S. and everywhere else. Hitler became a dictator in military-building Germany. Countries were abandoning the gold standard. Revolutions were breaking out in France and Austria. The shadow of fascism and authoritarianism looming large over Europe and South America. And a lot more events that would change the world indelibly.
Takeaway: Expect geopolitical instability to become even more of a thing soon regardless of the pandemic or crisis, or precisely as a direct result of those. Stay alert for movements and developments in military, trading, alliances. Nature won’t suspend its usual activities just because we’re already going through difficult times of our own cause, either. Be on the lookout for potential simultaneous SHTFs, always trying to imagine how those may impact your life.
“January 6, 1933 – During the boom everybody piled up debts to a dizzy height (…) economists claim that either the debt will have to be cut down or money inflated.”
Studying macroeconomics after the 2008 recession is what brought me into preparedness and survivalism. When I learned about countries’ surreal indebtedness, corporations, families, and individuals, I became worried. It’s a giant iceberg of over USD 250 trillion and growing. And that’s only the more visible part. Likewise, the U.S. (and worldwide) fast-growing deficit and sovereign debt post-WWI and during the depression was a worrying issue, which didn’t escape Roth’s attention.
Takeaway: Debt and leverage have significantly fluctuated throughout history, in cycles between booms and busts, war and peace. That’s how things are. The reduction of indebtedness and cleaning of the system at such levels has rarely (if ever) been a smooth process. Something has to give. Get ready for volatility, inflation/deflation, melt-ups-and-downs, tax hikes, confiscations, poverty. And, of course, the accompanying gamut of social reflexes (unrest, protests, strikes, riots, etc.). All that can impact our lives.
“September 1, 1932 – The stock market (…) tripled its value during August in one of the quickest climbs ever witnessed. I believe this also established a record. Nobody seems to know even yet why the stock market went up because business has gotten worse instead of better.”
It seems the fabled V-shaped recovery and the absolute disconnect between the real economy and the stock market aren’t exactly unprecedented. Almost 90 years have passed since this entry. Yet, it could well have been written yesterday. Or any day since mid-2020, when the stock market rebounded from the March crash with intense vigor. Meanwhile, the real economy has gone from bad to worse, and some would say terminal. Businesses and jobs are still being wiped out in droves due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the faltering economy.
Takeaway: Whatever happens, it’s reasonable to expect any real build back of the economy, production, and jobs should take some time, not to mention tremendous efforts and lots of sacrifices. And things will be a lot different too, an entirely new world for sure.
“August 30, 1932 – It is interesting to note that during the first three years of depression a wave of bankruptcy swept out of existence most of the small independent merchants. Recently the movement has included large national chain stores.”
Then as now: small businesses are always hit the hardest during significant slumps. The current devastation differs in a few ways from the 1930s, though. One is speed: it only took a few months since march 2020 to attain and even surpass the levels of bankruptcy and unemployment reached in the span of a few years during the Great Depression. The second is that we haven’t (yet?) seen larger movements, perhaps due to the massive support programs put in place by governments everywhere. It’s likely that without this much intervention, the wave of bankruptcy would have been, in fact, a monstrous tsunami.
Takeaway: Not entering the merits of validity and/or efficacy of such measures (and potential side effects), an immutable law of the universe states that there’s no free lunch. Fiscal and monetary ‘‘stimulus”, forbearances, moratoriums, and government support have a price that’s piling up and will have to be paid at some point. Since debt, private and public, can only be paid, rolled, deflated, or defaulted, whatever happens, will have its own set of consequences and ripples. Staying informed about the economy, increasing knowledge about finance, building reserves, and investing in some insurance against inflation may be ways to stay prepared.
“August 3, 1933 – Since Roosevelt became President a war-time hysteria of public opinion has been created which makes it unpopular to criticize what he does. Even newspaper editorials have unanimously supported him so and refrained from honest criticism.”
Now as then. Unsurprisingly, political divisiveness was an issue during the Great Depression. Unsurprisingly, it is now, too. At times it seems both sides have irreconcilable agendas and insurmountable differences; that only the complete destruction of the opponent (either through political, social, or economic persecution/destruction, or de facto by civil war) can bring resolution to a deadlock. Apparently, the press (M.S.M.) siding with this or that party, candidate, or agenda was a thing back then, too. For obvious reasons, Big Tech, social media, and cancel culture are unprecedented.
Takeaway: As much as divisiveness and radicalism spread and deepens, and politics, debates, and narratives look like a dead-end, these can dwarf in the face of weightier, real, practical, more immediate, or urgent matters. If that happens, society will have to sit down and talk or start rowing in the same direction together. Looking back in history, this seems to be an American characteristic (though not uncommon in other countries and populations). Perhaps we haven’t reached this point yet. But knowing it has happened before, it’s possible (likely?) people will opt for a common way out. Let’s just hope it’s a pacific and productive exit, not a belligerent and destructive one.
“March 5, 1934 – Roosevelt is as popular today as a year ago. His following with the working class is tremendous. It seems he and the Democrats will be in power for some time. Socialism is now accepted calmly by ministers, professors, etc. and it is amazing to me to see how calmly most people accept drastic government regulation.”
Hold your horses: this is not about Democrats or Republicans, but rather bigger government, centralization, intervention, and regulation becoming more or less accepted in one period or another. When things get hard, larger portions of the population will long for (and depend on) assistance. Whether or not that is a good, useful, or otherwise, policy is beyond the present scope. That’s just how things are. Back then, Benjamin Roth and many others were certain that America was headed to communism and doom. As bad as things may have been (and it sure was terrible), it’s clear now that the U.S. didn’t even come close to actual socialism. But for a nation that epitomizes capitalism like no other, the feeling (and fear) is totally understandable.
Takeaway: As we know, America (and capitalism) came out stronger, though not without lots of suffering for a large percentage of the population. Is America on the verge of socialism once again? It looks like, yes. Will it become this time? Impossible to say. Have we seen this before? Absolutely, and not just once. So, what’s the point? Perhaps none: the future is not written. But the past always offers a lesson: change and evolution don’t come free or without pain. Whatever happens, there will be a cost. But it’ll pass. And therein lies a point: since we can’t avoid SHTF, the question is to prepare for difficult times and survive until things get better again, plowing ahead.
Conclusion (with a caveat): This isn’t an exercise in futurology, just food for thought.
“History Doesn’t Repeat Itself, but It Often Rhymes” – Mark Twain
In that sense, I find it necessary to conclude by pointing a few significant differences between the period narrated in Benjamin Roth’s diary and today. They may or may not affect specific events during the unfolding of the current crisis. But may have enough gravity to them to potentially change the outcome and reshape the world going ahead.
The reversal of roles
Back in the early 20th century, U.S. was a booming, production-based economy, the biggest creditor in the world thanks in great part to money lent during WWI.” “Made in the U.S.A.” was a valuable slogan and motive of pride. Today, about 70% of the private U.S. economy is based on services and consumption, mostly of imported goods. The American production has been almost entirely exported to Asia and other countries, with China being the largest U.S. supplier and its principal creditor.
Trading deficits are mounting. The Debt-to-GDP ratio has soared to 130% and is growing fast. Since the U.S. is the largest economy globally, this turned it into the biggest world debtor. But the USD remains the reserve currency, and the U.S. still holds the biggest military power. That may take some time to change, even if no reaction is put in place, which is unlikely if we take history as an indication. (Again, hopefully, a peaceful response, for the good of everyone).
The COVID-19 pandemic
Another big difference between the 1930s and today is the pandemic and the subsequent set of bamboozled responses by authorities everywhere. When the crash of 1929 hit, the world had rid of the Spanish Flu for over a decade. Nowadays, we still have COVID-19 wreaking havoc on the economy and everyone’s lives. There’s no telling whether it will mutate or vanish, whether vaccines will work, or whether elites and politics will use the virus, cure, and prevention to impose even more restrictions on production, work, traveling, commerce, entertainment, and freedom. The reality is that COVID-19 is a significant factor now and should remain one for at least a few years ahead.
War risks
Between 1934-36 the world was exiting The Great Depression. Shortly after Europe was engulfed in WWII.” “War is all hell,” as defined by Gen. Willian Tecumseh Sherman during the Civil War. But it has an undeniable impact on the production and economy of all countries, involved or not. The effect of more activities and trading in demographics helped the entire world, mostly the U.S., to get out of the hole a few times throughout history. That makes some political parties and elites (not to mention the military) quite fond of armed conflicts, unfortunately. Whether a war is in the cards or not, and to what extent (can be a currency or trade war, hot war, cyberwar, local or widespread conflict) remains to be seen. These things happen.
Technological advancements
Technology is always viewed paradoxically as both salvation and doom: it brings conflicting feelings of admiration, fear, hope, and despair. There’s currently a host of new tech evolving at a dizzying pace: A.I., Big Data, 5G, advanced mass surveillance, crypto, blockchain, bio, Taas, electric vehicles, interplanetary rockets, etc. Collectively, this is being touted as The Next Renaissance. It’s also being called a potential threat to freedom, the environment, humankind, and life in general. While technology cannot be discarded, it must be noted that technological development is a constant. Meaning, every age has it playing a part in events. The early 20th century, for instance, had its own set of technological threats. Just as the Industrial Revolution had before. It repeats throughout history, and the most important is, it can’t be stopped. Keeping up is optional, of course. But avoiding or escaping its effects is not.
Finally, there isn’t much we can do against these greater forces and historical movements. But individually, we can keep doing our best, keep ourselves informed, in good shape (physically and mentally), and prepared as much as possible.
About Fabian
Fabian Ommar is a 50-year-old middle-class worker living in São Paulo, Brazil. Far from being the super-tactical or highly trained military survivor type, he is the average joe who since his youth has been involved with self-reliance and outdoor activities and the practical side of balancing life between a big city and rural/wilderness settings. Since the 2008 world economic crisis, he has been training and helping others in his area to become better prepared for the “constant, slow-burning SHTF” of living in a 3rd world country.
Fabian’s ebook, Street Survivalism: A Practical Training Guide To Life In The City, is a practical training method for common city dwellers based on the lifestyle of the homeless (real-life survivors) to be more psychologically, mentally, and physically prepared to deal with the harsh reality of the streets during normal or difficult times.
You can follow Fabian on Instagram @stoicsurvivor
Maybe but not everything everywhere is bleak.
We’ve been open a long while in our state now and many of our businesses are doing ok. Some are suffering still as is the nature of close proximity things.
There are still a lot of job openings.
It’s just daily life here and I know it’s not elsewhere because I was going deer hunting in November and stopped at Loves for gas n lunch and this lady was standing there with her mouth hanging open saying “y’all got bananas, at a gas station even!”. I said lemme guess Kalifornia. She said yup and I said welcome to Free America.
Spending is a huge difference you didn’t see back then.
Back then you didn’t see a lot of frivolous spending but now it’s still sports junk, high dollar shoes, gaming, jewelry, hair n nails etc.
Chevy is having to build a new plant because they are selling so many trucks. You sure didn’t see that in the 30s.
Companies are still doing research and development for the future.
We all know guns and ammo ain’t suffering from lack of business lol. Folks sure enough got money for body armor and LTS food.
We ain’t done. We are just going through some times.
Half of what you are seeing is manipulation so someone can make a profit or gain more control. It ain’t real
The Heartland is surviving for now while the Globalists/Communists work on consolidating their control over the nation by stealing our elections, sabotaging our economy and making traitorous deals with our adversaries. Our elitist, and fraudulently elected officials, live in a bubble, behind fences protected by National Guardsmen…it’s only a matter of time before they find themselves on their own and have to answer to their constituents who are starting to feel real economic pain and desperation. When the economy crashes and the uprisings start the Democrats will predictably call the Globalist U.N. Peacekeepers into the cities and from there the conflict will escalate. We still have a little time but I doubt we make it six more months based on current events…PREPARE NOW.
I do the research on our family’s history. I found a number of family members who were doing well on the 1930 census and then not so well on the 1940 census. A couple of them owned their own businesses in 1930 and were reduced to working in a menial job by 1940. One was a pharmacist working for someone else’s drug store in 1920, then he owned his own drug store in 1930, and ended up as a janitor in a school in 1940. Not yet having the 1950 census to look up, I don’t know how his story changed a decade later.
As far as the observation of people leaving the cities for the farms at the time, my dad (1921-1999) told me that the farmers there in Iowa were usually in pretty good circumstances as they could have their own meat, milk, butter, eggs, etc. from the animals on their farms. People in the cities, who had yards, could do gardens for veggies, but not have livestock, so they would have to spend their dwindling money on things like that. In fact, he said that back then, when one was talking about a person who looked prosperous, they would say, “There goes a butter and egg man.”
The effects of a stock market crash didn’t hurt business for months to years. As the stock market lost nearly 90%, the economy stuttered, and bleed for 3 years..don’t think that buying the dip did you any favours.
The census took a snapshot on that year. By 1931, your ancestor was out of a job.
Read the book, it’s horrible…no work, no prospects, political chaos, and war….this is the prime of your life, what will the next 5….7, years bring, even if we don’t end in war?
Thanks, Fabian this helps change my thinking from a catastrophic conclusion to a possible survival situation.
Two questions I have are how is the suburbanite more or less affected than the city dweller and how Church
congregations can survive the worst situations.
Thanks @tomnchrist. I honestly don’t know, IMHO the less dense the area the better for various reasons. Much easier to form a strong and collaborative community in suburb and smaller cities than downtown in a big town.
That’s a general rule, people need resources so more people = more resources, more people + less resources = more trouble.
So perhaps getting engaged in forming a tight community in your area or congregation and start discussing strategies and putting some preparations in place can be a good idea.
Good luck there, stay safe and have a nice day.
While there are similarities, there are differences.
As Matt in OK noted, some people and places are faring either just okay, or even well.
On the other hand, there are others whom have job loss, behind on rent, and a number of small businesses have been forced closed and many are not coming back.
If I recall correctly, America did not actually recover from the Great Depression until shortly after the end of WWII.
Will the COVID induced Depression take equally as long? This could be just the early stages of this Depression. The impacts could be felt by some for years to come.
And never underestimate the ability of the government to make things worse.
This time, the entire world has too much debt. COVID was just a way for TPTB to escape responsibility for the ponzu scheme they have created.
What does ponzu have to do with any of this?
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Kikkoman-Ponzu-Sauce-Bottle-10-Ounce/888220129?wmlspartner=wmtlabs&adid=22222222222363595189&wmlspartner=wmtlabs&wl0=e&wl1=s&wl2=c&wl3=75247956585452&wl4=pla-4578847493901681&wl5=&wl6=&wl7=&%20wl10=Walmart&wl12=888220129_10001050327&wl14=ponzu%20sauce&veh=sem
Communism is very patient and it doesn’t take over all in one night, or even in one decade. It will take what it can get from the productivity of others just like cancer lives in its host. Like treatment of cancer, when it is resisted, it goes into remission. Then when no one thinks it is a threat, it takes more ground, more rights, more liberty, more taxes, more religious freedom, more food, more land and more power. Then people wake up for a few months and fight back again to repeat they cycle. Soon that generation dies off and their offspring deal with the same old forces, but they have come to accept as normal the things that their parents abhorred as communism and loss of all things. The cycle continues sometime for several generation until one day as Krushchev told Nixon, “Your grandchildren will be communists.” But Krushchev was wrong. The generation of Nixons own children became communists and don’t even know that it happened.
I am surprised that people that are on this site are so poorly informed of what is going on, this isn’t communism, it isn’t socialism it isn’t even democrat versus republican. Folks you are watching “The Great Reset”. We are in a class war, this is nothing that we have seen before and the threat is far greater than we have seen before. This is a global elitist take over and it is not just in this country. Americans are so self centered they think that the United States is the world, it isn’t, we are a small percent of the worlds population.
Look up “Biden: The Great Reset” and start your journey. Look up “The Great Reset for Dummies” and see what the battle really is. I am not saying your preparations are not relevant, they are. What I am saying is that you should know your enemy and understand what you are fighting. This will not be a battle of weapons as much as a battle of ideas. If we lose, it will be a total loss. We don’t have to lose. However, we have to stop finding ways to tear our country apart and start putting it back together. I understand operational security and God know in this toxic atmosphere it is essential. Some have already gone underground and think they can hide, that is not going to happen. Let me put it this way in 1986 I attended the Cleveland Counsel on Forign Affairs, Henry Kissinger was the main speaker. He stated any military equipment that we know about is ten years behind what there is. The example he used at the time is that U.S.satellites could read the license plates of cars parked at every Soviet Embassy in the world. Technology has accelerated faster and faster and God only knows where it is at now. My reason for stating this is that you can’t really hide anymore.
I hope and pray we will come together to fight what is happening, I think we will have one more window of opportunity, if we can protect our vote. That is a very big if. Some states are moving towards that and we only have about 18 months to do it. House Bill 101 will destroy our voting rights, Bidens immigration policy will dilute and make it difficult to hold on to states. We all know Biden isn’t running this country and he doesn’t know what day it is let alone what he is doing. He is the perfect scapegoat. That being said what is it that we can do. We have to push hard to protect our vote, we can try to stay prepared for hardships, we have to protect our 2nd amendment rights on a state level. Maybe more importantly we need to pray. Not for deliverance but for unity of purpose. It should be obvious by now that our institutions and politics are infiltrated by people that believe in what they are doing as much as we believe they are wrong. I believe if we can bring “The Great Reset” out in the open we can defeat it.
I am hopeful for unity of purpose and believe we can do it and I don’t believe if people understood what “The Great Reset” really is people would be for it. We need to inform not just America but the world as to what is going on. The world is being lied to in a big way. Look up “Kerry: American voters chose “Great Reset’ over nationalism, these are the type of lies the world is hearing. This should be the number one story in the world not just in our country. It isn’t and that may be the biggest problem.
I hope this helps people understand and I hope to see you all in the fight to get this abomination vetted. If not I have already resolved myself to this fight because I would rather live free or die. I will not hide or shelter myself from this fight and damn the torpedos. As with most of my life I will do what I feel I have to do because I am an American and I will never give that up.
God Bless Protect and guide our country and our people.
When you say “the threat is far greater this time”, you refer to what exactly? What threat, and greater as compared to what other time?
I ask because history is too long a time to compare. The world has seen a lot even if we consider only the last 2.000 years: crusades, endless wars, slavery, colonialism, dark ages, empires falling, holocausts, famines. And that’s leaving natural disasters out of the list.
If we narrow that down to U.S. and the period since 1776, we have quite a long list of threats too and yet America has survived each one. I’m not saying it cannot be different this time, because it can of course. Just not if we judge by its history, that’s all I’m saying. “The Great Reset” is a threat sure, but so was the Revolution, the Secession, the WW2, 9-11.
The only significant, realistic threat I see as really “new” when compared to every prior to the Cold War, is perhaps a nuclear conflict. We sure have now some serious destructive capacity installed, not only in U.S. but many other nations and that’s damning. And hey… it has been used once let’s not forget that.
But other than that, we’ve seen it all before. And we’re still here.
Stay safe have a nice weekend.
The threat I am talking about is “The Great Reset” to put it simply what is being pushed is a elitist global control under one government where control of the population becomes complete. The old term “cradle to grave” socialism might apply. However, it will be on steroids, with tracking and controlling technology, indoctrination of our children, food supply, a society that is controlled. The idea is not new the concentration of wealth and control of the media, social media and the China Virus has made it it possible. I refer to John Kerry”s statement about what Americans voted for. Of course he lied and what he said was covered up. If you take the time to truly research “The Great Reset” the Global control will truly start with the destruction of the United States. This country is the last obstacle to world government.
Even the poster boy for the pandemic Anthony Fauci is all for it. Read “Fauci: Cell Science Journal 9-3-20, if you can find his speech he outlined his brave new world. I checked yesterday there are way over 100 pages of topics just on the”The Great Reset” and hundreds more when you add a name ” Gates and The Great Reset” the articles all contain what is being pressed on governments and society. This is not a political movement it is a class war that people have bought into. Division and anarchy are there short term goals and Biden will weaken and bankrupt the country with the executive orders no one voted for
If you have further questions after, I will check back on the blog or e-mail me at [email protected].
God bless, protect and guide our country.
You are correct that this time is different in significant ways. The governments and elites didn’t have the technology that they have now. The Great Reset is all about a new type of feudalism instituted world wide with complete control of the masses. It also includes the killing off of billions of people. Just check out the Georgia Guide stones to get an idea of the evil planned. Before they just killed millions. Now they will kill off billions to get the world population down to where they want it. Starvation? Not a problem to cause with GMOs and the control they have over the food supply. Bill Gates himself is the largest owner of U.S. farmland. They will also destroy the U.S. dollar, go digital and then be able to lock your finances easily. No money makes it harder to get food and don’t expect a robust black market with today’s surveillance technology and the possibility of citizens being put into facilities like Gitmo and branded as domestic terrorists.
Also, do your research on the so called COVID ‘vaccine’ which is really gene therapy meant to give you an autoimmune disorder and to sterilize people. Also research transhumanism. Those in power both visible and in the background have no intention of improving our lives and letting us live free.
COVID19 is taking a toll on a more than a few more fragile humans, but it is the political response that is wreaking havoc on the economy and the society and lives in general over the longer haul. The Spanish Flu was never weaponised and turned against the people as a reason to reset society as they knew it. I lived through the Hong Kong flu of ‘69, and while death rates were elevated, life went on, and the US simultaneously waged an expensive war in SE Asia and landed people on the moon while the rest of US lived it up in the shakin’ sixties. This time, with ‘50 years of government schooling more focused on turning out cohorts of CRT mind-numbed robots eager and willing to dish out the daily two minutes hate to the advertised enemies of the state suggest that freedom is rapidly vanishing from the US and the West in general, and too few of those inclined to are willing to take a stand. That’s a long way of saying that I wish I could share your optimism.
@The Alarmist:
The Spanish Flu was perhaps even more politicized and weaponized as COV19. I’ll tell you why and it starts with the very name of the pandemic. It didn’t start there. It wasn’t Spanish.
Do you know why it’s called Spanish Flu?
Because Spain was neutral during the WW1, it was the only country where the press wasn’t being censored or manipulated by the government, authorities and the military.
Therefore, only in Spain the news about the ravaging deadly flu could be freely published, so it became the Spanish Flu.
All other countries, including U.S., were manipulating the news and bending or covering the ‘science’ because they were at war, and we know how these things run during war.
I still believe the way humankind reacts to this and most other things is always the same. Things change, but people don’t.
This is not really an optimistic view, much less an optimistic forecast because, well, we’ve done and still do some pretty fk’d up and stupid s*#t from time to time, and that’s worrying.
But we’re still here and everything considered, odds are we will be here in the future.
But the fact is that we’ve also thought the world would end quite a few times before, and it hasn’t. Not yet.
Stay safe and have a nice weekend.
Gary, let me be the first to say….you nailed it!
Yes, very true. I have seen it many times. I use to peruse old papers at the library and was SHOCKED how it read exactly like today’s news. Sometimes I almost couldn’t tell if I didn’t double-check the dates.
Try it sometimes and be SHOCKED.
So it’s all bool sheet and people were killing, robbing, cheating sometimes far worse than today. Politics was the same way. Politicians cheating, lying, robbing, destroying have never changed. It’s exactly the same way today.
It’s going to be this way till the dying breath of the last human two humans.
@Leethal.
Absolutely.
Early last year the president here (I’m in Brazil) declared COV19 was “just a mild flu”. I was shocked too when I read in an old newspaper that in 1917, the Health Minister declared the Spanish Flu was “just a cold”.
Notice it’s not just the same response, but almost the same wording.
I’m sure the president wasn’t aware of that fact, and if he was, then all the worse for that (I wouldn’t be surprised). I’d bet though it’s just politics/human typical behavior.
It’s always the same because people are people, and people don’t change. We don’t change. It’s not just the politics, it’s a human trait.
EXCELLENT post, thank you! Americans tend to think that everything that happens is happening for the first time ever, whereas it’s more accurate to believe “there is nothing new under the sun.” If we examine how people handled past crises which are similar to our own today, we can learn a lot about what to do, and what not to do.
My state has been pretty open all along, although we do not have the population of NY or CA by a long shot. I also just read that Montana gubner (the new guy) has lifted the order on face masks but he’s still encouraging the vaccines – – which I think is more problematic by far than the masks. I still don’t understand why Trump was praising vaccines, which have always been known to be controversial for their “inert” ingredients (which, btw, can be almost ANYTHING and pass muster with the medico’s). It’s disheartening to read where we take a step forward and 2 steps back.
People really need to do their research on the vaccines before submitting to them, and certainly before PRAISING them. Good grief.
I can’t believe the number of people I know who are very excited to have had the jab or, on a list to be vaccinated. It boggles my mind that they are so trusting and have not researched it at all. I’ll add, ‘’good grief’’ too.
Interesting read, but a couple of notes:
1. At the start of the Great Depression, a greater percentage of Americans lived on farms and/or had a share in family property. It’s very hard to imagine today, but much of the exodus to the rural areas was a return to a place in which one could literally work for food and board. This is a contrast to now, when it’s more common for people who’ve set aside a little money to purchase property in a more rural area.
Farms didn’t make much money even before the Crash. Also, it was easy to lose one’s property to the bank because of such practices as a mortgage with a final “balloon payment” and short-term loans using the entire farm as collateral. (My great-grandfather “beat the bank” by finding a farm with walnut trees in its windbreak and selling them to furniture-makers in order to pay the balloon payment.) However, a farm usually was self-sufficient in that there was food to be eaten fresh and canned, flour and grain sacks to be repurposed into clothing, and corn to burn instead of more-costly coal or wood. (Kind of shocking, since the US was/is a major source of coal.)
2. The current urban exodus has been going on for some time. I would guess for at least 15 years, young urbanites who want to start families have been forced to move out. (This article says NYC, Philadelphia, and Chicago metropolitan areas grew only because immigration outweighed the urban exodus in the period 2010-2018. https://tinyurl.com/131rba3p )