America vs Americans

Source: https://www.askaprepper.com/

It’s no secret that life in the United States of America has changed in the past several decades.

If we were to look back at life in the 1970s, 80s, or even 90s, we would see a much different country than we do in the twenty-first century.

Of course, we could debate whether these changes are part of a hidden agenda or the natural course that a nation takes after two and a half centuries.

What is certain is that the times are changing.

Erosion Of Civil Liberties

Since the attacks on 9/11, Americans have seen their civil liberties gradually chipped away through several avenues.

The most prominent was the Patriot Act which the government at the time sold to the public as the best option to keep them safe.

Unfortunately, the act led to mass surveillance, increased surveillance powers, and enhanced information sharing between agencies.

Related: 4 Things The Government Doesn’t Want Preppers To Know

Although the government would use these powers against terrorists, the wide-ranging powers also had average citizens in the crosshairs.

It is impossible to be free when any number of shadowy intelligence agencies are constantly surveilling you. Even though most of us have nothing to hide, that does not mean laws will change in the future and result in the intelligence gathered being used against us.

There is a degradation of some fundamental rights that the public should enjoy. For example, freedom of speech has been challenged recently, most notably through online censorship. Social media companies are under tremendous pressure to censor posts that the current government deems inappropriate.

Along with this is the self-censorship that many people exercise to avoid running afoul of internet mobs and becoming ‘cancelled.’

Journalistic freedom has also been under fire with government surveillance of journalists and limits to the level of access that the press is afforded. Freedom of the press is so universally crucial to a free society, and seeing the press being muzzled is very disturbing.

Economic Inequality And The Destruction Of The Middle Class

It is often said ‘that the rich get richer while the poor get poorer,’ and anyone trying to raise a family in America knows how true this statement is. Inflation has dramatically increased, but wages have remained stagnant.

Related: Brace For Impact: Inflation Is About To Explode

Jobs have also steadily been shipped overseas, where labor is cheaper, leaving many occupations almost extinct. This exodus of jobs also pushes against small businesses which are trying to manufacture products within the United States.

As they try to compete with lower-cost products manufactured offshore, they struggle to turn any profit or employ workers at a livable wage.

The United States has the highest number of billionaires in the world. As they get richer, everyone else struggles to ensure they can obtain life’s necessities.

The wealth these billionaires enjoy is always built on the back of the employees struggling to make ends meet and haven’t seen a wage increase in years. The gap between the rich and the poor is massive and getting wider by the day.

The result of a widening wage gap is that the middle class becomes smaller to the point where one day soon, it will cease to exist.

Another factor in the wage gap is the reduction in labor unions. Labor unions give workers bargaining power for wages, working conditions, and benefits.

Unfortunately, many large corporations actively discourage union membership or use underhanded measures to remove union membership from their companies.

A Divided Nation

America is not unlike other countries. Throughout the world, nations have defined cultural or political divisions which separate their citizens.

With the two-party political system that the United States has, the political divide is stark, leaving people feeling that they must align themselves with either side.

While the parties are Democrat and Republican, people often use the terms Liberal or Conservative instead of the party names to let others know which side they are on.

One of the major issues is that people are uncomfortable occupying a middle ground between the two political wings.

If someone identifies as liberal, they do not want to voice any conservative ideals because they fear being ostracized. The same is true for conservatives who have some liberal ideals.

This polarization causes people to stick with one end of the spectrum or the other, which only serves to widen the divide between the two sides.

The division doesn’t stop at politics; there are definite and unfortunate divisions along race, gender, or ideology.

In many ways, America is also divided geographically, with certain regions being perceived to have specific political or cultural affiliations which clash with those of other areas. All these divisions have been weaponized and made worse by news media, social media companies, and the government.

Related: 10 Things You Should Do To Stop The Government From Tracking You

One of the most effective ways that people are kept divided is to keep all the information being presented to them aligned with their worldview. These are commonly referred to as ‘echo chambers’ and only serve to reinforce their prejudices.

Using Poverty As A Weapon

Those at the bottom rungs of the economic ladders are often used as pawns in political games or as weapons to achieve specific objectives.

It is not difficult to convince a population that relies on the social assistance that the government provides to either vote along that party’s lines or to support initiatives that claim to benefit people experiencing poverty, but only serve to increase the tax burden on the shrinking middle class.

The poorest members of society are also more likely to be roused into rioting or participating in mass protests that will inspire programs, laws, or ideas that will continue to tax the middle class into oblivion while promoting the agendas of the government or other entities.

The assault on the average American is not limited to one political party or the other. It is a systematic agenda to turn the population docile and frightened.

From social media companies to mega-corporations run by billionaires, there is a near-constant barrage with the aim of keeping you poor, ill-informed, and ultimately unprepared.

Fortunately, the best weapon against this is simply staying vigilant and ensuring you are prepared when everything comes crashing down.