Now that Trump is in office, however, you might think the tables seem to have turned, and many who were comfortable and happy under Obama have now begun to prep, fearing things like WWIII or a neo-nazi crackdown from President Trump.
While the left might be quite hysterical and delusional in comparing Trump to the National Socialist party of Hitler’s Germany (if anything, Obama was much more similar ideologically), the truth is that just because Obama is no longer in office, we ought not to stop prepping. If anything, we need to be even more prepared.
We seem to be in the midst of one of the most politically volatile periods in American history and the tension is certainly not limited to domestic issues. There are a number of very important reasons the prepper should be more alert than ever in this highly toxic political environment. Let’s discuss some of these reasons:
Riots
Just because the Democrats no longer control the White House, Senate, or House, does not mean their ability to send dog whistles to the angry masses has gone away. After all, they still control the majority of the mainstream media and at the drop of the hat, they could incite the type of violence we’ve seen in Ferguson, Baltimore, Charlotte, and Berkeley over the last few years, not to mention the way much of the public reacted when Trump was elected and then inaugurated.
One of the few languages young, angry, idealistic leftists understand is violence, and there is actually a terrifying rationale for such violence that is becoming more and more common: as The Daily Wire reports, many on the left rationalize using violence against anything they deem “hate speech”. If it seems a bit hypocritical to the peace-loving, tolerant left to burn cars, smash windows, and beat up Trump supports, it’s because it is. But, in their minds, it’s some kind of twisted form of self-defense, because they consider the very existence of ideas that run contrary to their own as violent.
There’s no telling what will set off these angry masses and while they are fortunately not the gun-owning type, if their violence was to escalate to such a level that people felt compelled to defend themselves and their property with firearms, it could end up being very bad for non-leftists everywhere.
Trump’s Instability
Love him or hate him, Trump is certainly unpredictable. With the newly appointed General Kelly at the helm of White House operations, many are breathing a sigh of relief, but we all still remember the crazy week last month in which Trump cyberbullied Jeff Sessions, Sean Spicer resigned, and Scaramucci spent a total of ten days at the White House before going down in flames.
While the fact remains and most likely always will that there is virtually no evidence to indicate that the Trump campaign did not collude with Russia, the path Mueller’s investigation is now taking, he will most likely dig up something on the President in the way Kenneth Starr did when he was investigating the White Water scandal and ultimately discovered Monica Lewinsky. If Trump were to fire Mueller, he would most likely be in no better position.
There certainly seems to never be a dull moment with the President, so between his unpredictable behavior and the Democrat’s undying commitment to bring him down, it remains prudent to be prepared for anything.
North Korea
Speaking on the constant UN Sanctions violations from everyone’s favorite communist dictator in Pyongyang, Trump had some very harsh words.
Vowing to react if North Korea continued with their risky behavior, Trump promised ‘fire and fury like the world has never seen’ in a press conference.
While in many ways, it seems unlikely anyone but the citizens of North Korea face any real threat. But concerns always hover that once the other shoe drops, the West Coast of the US could get hit with a nuclear weapon.
At this point in time, the international community is supporting increased pressure on North Korea, but it hasn’t always been that way, and it might not remain that way, as the US has clashed with both Russia and China over how to react to North Korea’s nuclear program.
North Korea is like a ticking time bomb and one of the biggest reasons we have right now to prep. While it is unlikely the impoverished communist country could do much damage the majority of the US, if the West Coast were to be struck, it could cause some serious chaos in our country for at least some time, and of course if you live on the West Coast, this is an important consideration.
Russia
Speaking of Russia, tensions with the massive northern giant never seem to go away. As the left constantly hurls accusations of election hacking at Putin, Trump shuts down their collusion narrative by posturing against the famous oligarch at times.
Conflict over the outcome in Syria has both brought our two countries together and pitted them against each other, and while things seem relatively civil now, there’s no telling what the future might hold.
In many ways, the Cold War never ended with our biggest military rival on the globe, and they certainly are the most likely contender in the next world war. It’s always prudent to hope for civil relations with Russia, but this is one important factor to watch in the news if you want to stay abreast of the possibilities of war.
Islamic Terrorism
The US has one enemy that has no problem declaring itself as such: Islamic terrorists. While the Trump administration seems to be gaining the upper hand on the fight against ISIS in the Middle East, the nature of radical Islamic terrorism is such that you simply never know when they might manage to strike on American soil again.
Terrorists like the Pulse Nightclub, Ft. Hood, and San Bernardino shooters were living and working in the US, and radicalized one way or another, simply planned out and executed their brutal slayings upon unsuspecting American citizens just going about their daily lives.
9/11 of course being the extreme example, there is also always the possibility of large-scale terrorists attacks as well, even cyberattacks or bioterrorism. Terrorism should remain high on your lists of reasons to prep, as well as a specific scenario you should be prepping for. Make sure to add training situational awareness and crisis response to your preparedness regimen.
Second Civil War
We have not had such a politically polarizing time in recent memory as we do right now, and as we continue to see, people on the left are getting more and more militant. The elephant in the room, of course, is the fact that people on the right tend to be far better well-armed.
As we have seen in Berkeley and now Charlottesville, there are many people on both sides of the political spectrum who are ready and willing to brawl over differences of opinion, and this is not unlike the public violence seen in the Weimar Republic between the fascists’ shirts and the communists.
Emotions are charged right now and that is taking physical form in a dangerous way. Hopefully it won’t amount to much, but until this swell of violent political rivalry passes, it’s best to stay prepared.
Possible Impeachment or Ousting of the Trump Administration
Last but not least, of course, is the hypothetical constitutional crisis that has been on the horizon since before Trump even took office: impeachment or other potentially messier attempts at destabilizing the Trump administration.
There is a mess in Washington right now between the so-called deep state war on the President Mueller’s grand jury investigating the Trump campaign and the Democrats laser-sharp focus on finding even the slightest hint of a chink in the armor of the Trump administration.
The Democratic commitment to upsetting the presidency in any way possible, even at the risk of a huge national crisis are certainly something to be wary of and a very good reason to stay vigilant and prepared.
Presidential administrations and political trends come and go, but if history has taught us anything, it’s that you never do know when you might regret not getting prepared. Now, more than ever, many volatile forces hover on the horizon as potential disasters or crises.
Don’t let your guard down just because Obama is out of office–keep prepping!
