Why You Should Be Prepping… No Matter Who Gets Elected

by Ryan

The most heated topic of discussion right now is the upcoming election for president.   The general consensus is that neither candidate is ideal.  Neither candidate has the true support of their party or the support of the public. No matter who is elected, expect chaos when the winner is announced.  Whether you are pro-Hilary or pro-Trump, please keep prepping.  There are dozens of reasons why we could face a SHTF scenario no matter who is running the country.

One of the biggest reasons preppers prep is because of the actions that our government may take.  Their actions could set off a chain reaction leading to EMP blasts, nuclear war, economic collapse, mainland invasions, terrorist attacks, civil unrest, and martial law.  Any of these scenarios could require you and your family to board the windows or head for the hills.  That being said, one of the largest influences on government actions are the directives of the Oval Office.

Hillary

We will first look at Hilary Clinton, her past, her stance on the issues, and how she could affect us as citizens.  The first concern we need to address is her track record of horrible recommendations during Bill Clinton’s presidency.  She was placed in charge of making recommendations for the Attorney General.  Her first two suggestions were forced to remove their names from the list of potential candidates and her third suggestions was Janet Reno.

Janet was what Bill called “my worst mistake”, and she was in charge of the decisions leading to the massacre in Waco Texas.  Hillary made suggestions for the head of the Treasury Department, Justice Department, White House Staff, Director of White House security, and Civil Rights Commission. These individuals were forced to resign, sent to prison, investigated for improper access of FBI files, and forced to withdraw.  These are just the decisions she influenced as the wife of the president.  Imagine what would happen if she was in charge of appointing those that run our military or influence our economy.

Perhaps a more concerning issue is her nonchalant attitude regarding the law and the handling of sensitive information.  The most discussed examples of this are her email scandal and the Benghazi attack.  If you are not informed, Hillary was accused of using separate email servers so she could be selective about which emails to turn over to the justice department.  She was also accused of deleting emails with sensitive information.  As for Benghazi, she is accused of risking the lives of US soldiers my misreporting the nature of the attack on the US embassy in Benghazi.

However, there are several examples with which you may not be familiar.  During a television interview she was given a classified message regarding the capture or death of Gadhafi.  She felt it appropriate to joke about this classified information on the air.  She also retaliated against several members of the US Travel Office when they would not approve one of her requests. She had three members fired and arrested.

None of the men were convicted, but they were still out of a job.  Probably the oldest example is a quote from her days as a lawyer in 1975.  She had just defended a man she called a child rapist and had him acquitted.  She was joking about it and seemed happy knowing the individual she identified as a rapist was being set free.  Hillary seems to have no regard for the legal system or proper behavior for somebody in her position.

Hilary is also pushing to control or eliminate our right to bear arms.  She has made it clear that she will appoint Supreme Court Justices that will enforce all-out gun bans.  In addition, she has advocated an extreme tax on gun purchases, an expensive and overly sensitive application process, and the ability for gun sellers and manufacturers to be liable in the case their weapons are used to kill someone.  This would be like suing a car company for traffic deaths or a fast food chain for heart disease.  She obviously has extreme views on the subject.

It is obvious that Hillary will do what is needed to get her way.  She will manipulate the system without batting an eye.  Between her poor judgement of character and her deceptive nature, Hillary’s election could equate to a SHTF scenario quickly.

She would be the type of president that may manipulate the military to control US citizens or to act in other countries on her behalf.  She may also appoint individuals to positions in the military or financial sectors that are not capable of doing their jobs.  This could result in a cold war with Russia, a US financial collapse, or WWIII.  With her stance on the 2^nd amendment, we would likely have no firearms with which to defend ourselves if martial law was implemented or if she drew an attack on the US from other countries.  There are plenty of reasons to keep prepping if Hillary is elected.

Trump

Next, we can discuss Donald Trump, his history, and his general nature.  Trump is confrontational in every sense of the word.  He has a track record of making statements that put other countries on high alert. Trump has no sense of diplomacy and has made many enemies.  These enemies in turn become enemies of the United States.  Despite the image of a successful business man, he has also had his struggles.  He ran three separate business into bankruptcy during his career.  Trump also seems to be a bit too open to the option of using nuclear weapons.  He could just as easily put us in a SHTF situation.

The interesting thing about analyzing Trump is that it is difficult to look at the facts.  He has never been a politician before, so we have no political track record to review.  Because of that, we have to look at what he has done as a businessman and what he has done during the presidential race.  It ends up forcing us to compare apples to oranges, but there are some cues as to how he would run our country.

We can first look at his track record as a businessman.  He has overall been very successful and has generated billions of dollars in profit.  However, there are a few facts we cannot overlook.  First, he is not the conventional American dream story.  He inherited much of his wealth from his father.  He has managed to run successful businesses and the net effect has been impressive, but he has also had several ventures fail.  There have been three major business that were driven into bankruptcy, and several small business he had to abandon.  Also, he has proven that he will do whatever he feels is necessary to be successful.  This includes forcing people out of their homes to build his businesses, going against his general principles to save money, and badmouthing anybody in his path.

Next, we have to look at his overall personality and views. This may be the biggest issue with Donald Trump.  He has made it clear that he does not support minorities.  This could easily lead to civil unrest and even civil war if he applies those opinions to policy.  He has a hot temper and very little knowledge of policy, so the diplomatic process with other countries could be sketchy at best.

Trump has made it clear that he is anti-Israel, anti-Mexico, and anti-Russia.  Voicing those opinions publically could lead to the next world war.  He has the tendency to make promises he cannot keep and has no filter between his mind and his mouth.  Not only could Trump be a diplomatic nightmare, but he could cause us to lose the respect of our allies.  He has even been quoted as stating that he would consider using nuclear weapons on Mexico, Russia, and even our Western European allies if he felt it necessary.  His instability is a major concern.

From this we can look at what Trump might do with our country.  While there is a good chance that he could improve our economy, he is also proposing some very risky moves that could drive us into the next great depression.  Trump is proposing massive import taxes that could ruin our economic relations with countries like China. If his moves in the White House represent his views, there could be rioting to the point that martial law is implemented.  Probably the most likely concern is that he could destroy relations with other countries and push us into a war in which we need not be.  Despite no political record of making huge mistakes like Hillary, Trump still poses a major threat.

So let us review.  Both candidates have made shady deals.  Both candidates could destroy our relations with other countries, either directly or indirectly.  Both candidates could take action that would destroy our economy, and in turn the world economy.  Both candidates have made promises they cannot keep and statements that are not true.  I think it is fair to say that either candidate could cause everything to fall apart.

However, perhaps the greatest reason to keep prepping is that the election is only a small part of the reason why we prep.  Sure there are several scenarios where politics could cause us all to head for our bunkers, but let us not forget that Mother Nature is just as likely to rip apart our society.  There are several ways that natural disasters could send us back to the dark ages.

With increased seismic activity in the last few years, it is only a matter of time before the San Andreas and New Madrid faults produce a major earthquake.  It is impossible to predict earthquakes, but there are some clues that help us determine where and when quakes might happen.  If we look that the location of recent systemic activity, it shows us that a large earthquake in the US could very well happen in the near future.  A large San Andreas quake would wipe out the west coast and displace millions of people.  The last time the New Madrid fault produced a major quake, it reversed the flow of the Mississippi.  Because of the nature of the bedrock in the Midwest, a New Madrid quake could be felt all across the US.  Recently there have been some minor quakes along this fault for the first time in years.  In addition, the US government has publicly posted seismic activity for the last several decades.  Recently they have taken down this information.  One can only assume that their intention is to avoid a panic based on the increase in activity.

Volcanoes could also be devastating in the next few years.  The last major eruption in the mainland US was Mt. Saint Helen, so people may have started to assume that volcanic activity is not a major threat.  Think again.  Scientists have found recent activity in the Yellowstone Caldera.  This is a vast volcanic field spanning hundreds of miles and centered below Yellowstone National Park.

Recently we have seen new steam spouts popping up in the area and have even seen rivers changing color from the sulfur being spewed into the water.  These are indicators that there is new movement below the service.  An eruption of the Caldera could destroy the entire US Northwest and dump 12” of ash across everything east of the Mississippi river.  An eruption could be caused by a San Andreas quake or it could happen on its own.  Predictions are that an eruption will happen in the next few decades, and it would be devastating.

Tsunamis and tidal waves could wipe out our coastal areas.  Seismic activity in recent years has caused an increase in tsunamis around the world.  These events have wiped out several countries and killed hundreds of thousands of people.  It is feasible that one of these could hit our east or west coast and destroy thousands of miles of coastline. Tidal waves are caused by large chunks of land falling into the ocean displacing massive amounts of water, and they are just as deadly as tsunamis.  In some cases the waves are significantly larger.  There are several places around the world where large chunks of rock are hanging by a thread such as the Canary Islands.  With recent seismic activity, it would be very possible for these rocks to fall and create waves several hundred feet tall that would batter our coastline.  Both tsunamis and tidal waves are both very possible scenarios.

Of course there are the more common natural disasters that we have almost gotten used to that could strike any given city at any time.  Hurricanes have been increasing in frequency and strength and have thrashed the US in the last few years.  Hurricane Katrina and hurricane Sandy both did billions of dollars of damage to the areas they hit.  If you live on the east or gulf coasts, plan for this scenario to happen again.

Think you are safe because you live away from the coast? Think again.  Tornados have increased in frequency and strength and are flattening entire cities on a regular basis.  The deadly tornado in Joplin, MO a few years back hit way too close to home for me.  Flooding has also become a major issue and anybody close to a river has the potential for this issue.  Weather patterns are just becoming harder to predict.

Wildfires are burning constantly in several parts of the country and are driving people to evacuate their homes.  The recent wildfire in Canada reminded us all of the devastating force that is possible.  Drought conditions continue across much of the US are causing crops to fail and farmers to go bankrupt.  FEMA recently ran drills to determine the effects of a 10 year food shortage which they predict starting in the next few years.  No matter which way you turn, Mother Nature has a way to make SHTF.

Even diseases seem to be spreading more rapidly.  We can all think of examples of diseases that have consumed several parts of the world.  More and more we struggle to come up with vaccines and treatment for these diseases.  With the recent Zika outbreak, it reminds us that these illness can make it to mainland United States.  It would only take a few mutations for these bacteria and viruses to spread around the world and kill millions of people.

The point is, no matter what happens we do not stop prepping.  We live in dangerous times and the likelihood of a major event causing us to be forced into survival mode continues to increase.  If your purpose as a prepper is to be prepared, then be prepared for anything.  Focus on skills that can help you in any of these scenarios.  Stash supplies that could save your life no matter what causes the disaster. Nobody can predict what will happen in the future, but that is really the whole point.  Just be ready for whatever may come our way.