First let’s set the stage and put all the cards on the table.
The American empire and our capitalist American dream is in decline.
Consider the following:
USA lost every foreign engagement since WW2.
Korea was at best a draw.
Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan, all lost military endeavors, all big mistakes. Vietnam and Iraq we should never have been in there. Afghanistan we should have just wacked Bin Ladin and his crew when he was there or when he escaped into Pakistan and be done with it while we still had the support and sympathy of the rest of the world and skip the 20-year war.
Ukraine appears to be another situation of too little, too late lacking clear mission or direction. Likewise, Palestine in particular and middle east in general have been and will continue to be quagmires. Propped up Israel all these years, got them the iron dome and get the hell out.
The USA role and international perceptions are receding. Look no further than USA stepping away from NATO, United Nations, World Health Organization, USAID, etc. Just ask all those who supported the USA over the years only to be let down. I’m referring to the following:
Vietnam: The South Vietnamese in general and the Hmong people (mountain highlands people) in particular
Iraq: The Kurds
Afghanistan: The Northern Alliance and the Afhgan translators
Syria: More abandonment of the Kurds and others who valiantly tried to fight genocide.
Ukraine: Abandonment appears imminent
The only exception to U.S. and NATO promises of support followed by abandonment was the Serbian/Kosovo war where Muslim ethnic minorities were spared from ethnic cleansing back when Bill Clinton was president. Ironically there followed virulent anti-American, anti-Western sentiments and I was always intrigued why we never got more credit for preventing further atrocities by the Milosevic regime. I might plunge down that rabbit hole in a future blog and I welcome any insights and reflections.
On the domestic front…..
American cities continue to languish, poverty levels increase, real wage income declines, middle income shrinks, income disparity expands, polarization and animosity skyrocket and the national and household debt levels break all barriers.
Housing, higher education and health care insurance and pharmaceutical costs have all skyrocketed
Like a ship in rough seas, we are taking on water but what will be the signs that we are sinking below the water line?
I offer the following indicators of imminent demise:
“Your money is no longer good here”.
When our currency is no longer accepted as the worlds dominant currency. When the cost to pay the interest on USA debt exceeds our ability to do anything else and the USA becomes a debtor nation with crippling inflation comparable to Germany before WW2.
“Your word is no longer good here”.
When the lack of trust and a sense of dependability on behalf of USA allies has reached this tipping point. Watch the rise of the BRICKS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, most recently Indonesia and a host of what we consider 3rd world nations) replacing the USA and Western Europe as the dominant force economically and politically.
“You can no longer compete on an equal footing”.
With unchecked climate change/global warming, vast swaths of the USA southwest and the south (particularly Florida and ALL east coastal areas where so much of our population and economic power is concentrated) will no longer be habitable. Even the strongest of empires would have difficulty surviving if a third of their area became desolate or under water. We are already at the point when it’s illogical and unaffordable to issue mortgages and insurance for vast areas.
“You have become the deer in the headlights incapable of accomplishing anything because of paralysis attributed to polarization, partisanship, hatred, grievances, denial, pride, paranoia, misinformation, disinformation and sheer ineptitude”.
Just look at the increasing frequency, duration and intensity of the shutting down of the government and scroll thru social media feeds to conclude that we are steadily descending into hell.
For the record, I offer these observations as a patriot since I’m still hoping and working for the best outcome but I’m preparing for the worst.
And that brings me to suggestions for weathering the storm and hopefully averting the storm.
I summarize these recommendations as follows:
Hunker down and be prepared physically, socially and emotionally. Get into the best physical condition as possible to handle whatever’s coming at us. Harden targets including our residences and our neighborhoods. Have exit plans and alternative courses of action at the ready. Develop a social network and support system of persons we can trust who have our back. Focus our time and energies on relationships based on mutual assistance and common mission rather than wasting time convincing the obstinate or recruiting the unconcerned.
Be able to distinguish who is friend and who is foe. At the risk of sounding the doom and gloom bell, those who have attained a level of self-sufficiency and the ability to protect that self-sufficiency will be those who will have the best chance of weathering the storm. Focus on the basics of food, clothing , shelter, personal protection and networking to increase the chances of surviving and hopefully thriving.
Re-think our goals and lifestyles in general and in particular our housing, working, educating, shopping and social interactions. The reorientation needs to be upon a mutual aid society where self-interest and self-sufficiency is driven by cooperation and collective action.
Break away from the speculation, commodification of the real estate trap by switching to cooperative housing and land trusts. Re-imagine the myth of the American Dream so you can live modestly and comfortably in a shelter rather than in an anxiety driven rat race trying to get onto the first rung of the housing ladder and not falling off the ladder once you struggle to climb up it.
Break away from the higher education inflationary trap by switching to open-source learning, skill training, certifications, internships, skill-trading and mentorships. Become a lifetime learner building on your experience and demonstrating what you know rather than chasing the mirage of the “good school” at tremendous personal and financial expense.
Break away from the dog-eat-dog career trap. Break free of the job rat race and top-down management of the workplace environment never knowing when or if you will be laid off, transferred or otherwise abused in hostile work environments. Replace this sense of angst with cooperative, worker-owned-managed employment and employee-owned stock option plans.
Break away from the economic shackles by trading with those with whom we share interests and beliefs. Develop alternative trading/bartering systems supporting those persons, businesses, agencies, and governments that align with your interests rather than their interests.
Consider all aspects of life (personal, professional, societal) where federations, alliances and mutual-aid, mutual respect are the ingredient to remaining self-sufficient. Refuse to be beholden to the “powers that be” that have no respect or concern for you despite their shallow pronunciations of support and benevolence.
If we reach that point on the event horizon when irreparable differences, polarization and economic blunders toss us into a black hole from which there is no chance of escape, maybe the creation of federations, commonwealths and city-states might be an alternative to total anarchy.
Lastly, on a very granular personal level, consider the following axioms as all hell breaks loose when the systems and institutions we so long have naively placed our faith in deteriorate:
Stay out of….
My property
My bedroom
My medicine cabinet
My bookshelf
My wallet (and that includes my social security, medicare and taxes that fund immoral, unethical, wastefull expenditures)
My personal data, social media, internet and communications
My system of beliefs and perspectives
Thoughts? Reactions?
See more on my website www.dunnwriteswell.com and in my novel Mall Child
Dunn Writes Well 