Now hear me out on this one. I am breathing the same sigh of relief that the Hildabeast didn’t become POTUS as much as you, but I’ve noticed a somewhat disturbing trend as of late. It seems that some folks have closed the chapter on prepping in light of President-elect Trump’s recent win. Don’t do it. Here’s why:
Firstly, the President, while powerful, is not in charge of monetary policy. That’s the Federal Reserve’s job. This unelected, non-governmental group of private bankers controls the money’s interest rate, printing presses, and pretty much every aspect of how our dollar is valued. Of course, the President and Congress agree on a budget and other nuances of how that money is spent and saved (or NOT!). But the reader must understand that the ceaseless printing of money under the pleasant moniker of ‘quantitative easing’ is a major factor in the looming debt bubble’s imminent burst. The Donald may reform the budget, but there are still trillions of extra dollars floating around that will have their eventual reconciliation with reality. When that happens, you’re going to wish you had been more diligent in saving supplies and acquiring skills.
Secondly, our nation is irreconcilably divided. Strong words? You betcha, but they are accurate. These great United States have vast chasms of difference in the way they view gun rights, taxation, moral issues, and the appropriate role of government in the lives of its citizens. In short, we have starkly contrasting and deeply oppositional cultures within the gridlines of this land mass called America. Can the Donald unite them all? Doubtful. Not saying his intentions aren’t there. The real test is this: Do the Mountain People of East Tennessee really want to continue living under the consequences created by renegade states like New York, California, and New Jersey? Do the farmers of Southern Illinois, Nebraska and Iowa really want to tolerate being lectured on their environmental sins by cityfolk in New York, Chicago, the Beltway and San Francisco? Nope—don’t think so.
You are seeing the reemergence of an age-old problem, namely the City-State dominating the countryside. It is a patterned problem as old as Jericho and Sodom and Gomorrah. The Anti-Federalists warned us about this many moons ago and tried to put safeguards against urban tyranny. They have been repeatedly tested, but now the words of Antifederalist writer, Brutus, are eerily relevant and timely
“This [federal] power, exercised without limitation, will introduce itself into every corner of the city, and country—It will wait upon the ladies as their toilett, and will not leave them in any of their domestic concerns…it will watch the mechanic to his shop, and in his work, and will haunt him in his family, and in his bed; it will be a constant companion of the industrious farmer in all his labour, it will be with them in the house, and in the field, observe the toil of his hands, and the sweat of his brow; it will penetrate into the most obscure cottage; and finally it will light upon the head of every person in the United States.” The Anti-Federalist papers, Brutus, December 27, 1787
The Federal government, of which the Donald is chief executive, has indeed been growing at an insatiable pace and has become a great malignant tumor on the vital organs of these United States. We have been warned repeatedly that no one central government could adequately serve the needs of all people or represent their interests without favoritism. Even as early as 1787, Federal Farmer (likely Richard Henry Lee) warned us,
“Independent of the opinions of many great authors, that a free elective government cannot be extended over large territories, a few reflections must evince, that one government and general legislation alone, never can extend equal benefits to all parts of the United States: different laws, customs, and opinions exist in the different states, which by a uniform system of laws would be unreasonably invaded.” The Anti-Federalist Papers, The Federal Farmer, October 8,9, 1787
He further elaborates, with prophetic accuracy, on the state of our current affairs.
“There is more reason to believe, that the general government, far removed from the people…will be forgot or neglected, and its laws in many cases disregarded, unless a multitude of officers and military force be continually kept in view, and employed to enforce the execution of the laws, and to make the government feared and respected. No position can be truer than this, that in this country either neglected laws, or a military execution of them, must lead to a revolution and the destruction of freedom. Neglected laws must first lead to anarchy and confusion; and a military execution of laws is only a shorter way to the same point—despotic government.” The Anti-Federalist Papers, The Federal Farmer, October 8,9, 1787
Think they knew what they were talking about? Undeniably, they did. My friends, money issues and family squabbles will likely be on the forefront of many a Thanksgiving table this week, as they were during the Revolution and the War Between the States. The Donald’s election was merely a blood-transfusion to a failing body. It bought us time, but we are still on the transplant list.
Be prepared.