Something to read

Not that I want to come across as consistently spreading a negative message, but I had this one scheduled for awhile before I realized I should write about the one before it. They actually do go together.

The following link is a comparative history of what happened in the Soviet Union with what appears, to the author, a Russian immigrant who is now a citizen of the United States, to be happening here. If you don't have time to read this entire essay, skip to the end as it has some possible suggestions to consider if the worst happens. The way we are going-- left and right, the worst might well be here sooner than we might have wished.

Post-Soviet Lessons for a Post-American Century by Dmitry Orlov

People who think something like that could never happen here are those who have never studied the history of other cultures. It seems to me that a lot of our country has not only gone soft but nutty without a real grasp of what it takes to survive in the world. People think they can live forever on past techniques for prospering.

Chaos from our information sources is almost total. You can choose to listen to somebody who will tell you exactly what you want to hear (Fox & MSNBC equal opportunity anger machines), but can you get real information?

Some folks are counting on a cosmic Santa to provide for them (and that isn't just among believers in a god). People feel removed from a more elemental time of cause and effect where consequences were more apparent or came faster. It's kind of amazing how fast this happened, how few generations it took to get here. If you assume the way it always was is the way it always will be, you are unprepared for change.

Politically, I think there is a lot wrong with our system for dealing realistically with any problem. Everything is phrased in partisan terms which makes it hard to fix anything which means most of it won't be fixed even though it will publicized that it was-- until the next catastrophe. The divide between rich and poor grows. The divide between left and right has widened. Frankly I am not thrilled with for what either party stands leaving people like me in a kind of unmarked territory-- political orphans.

Ignoring the current political paralysis, just think about the economic travails, climate shifts, possible pandemics, natural disasters, violent bomb attacks, and who knows what could come. I hope Orlov is wrong, but he's worth reading just in case he's not. It's not about paranoia. It's about preparedness, a practical awareness that sometimes we have to look after ourselves and nobody else will do it for us.

Most people are woefully unprepared for any kind of difficult time. They count on grocery stores always being open, gasoline in plentiful time, safe water from their tap, mass communication, banks supplying trading cash, electricity, police showing up to protect them, and medical care that works. It has not always been that way. For an assortment of reasons, there might come a time ahead where it won't be again.

I know people prefer reading something more upbeat. It can be enervating to think on how vulnerable our way of life might be; but not facing things won't help if bad times lie ahead. Having a plan, being prepared might make the difference between sitting and waiting to die or surviving, and it doesn't do a thing to ruin today.

The pair of geese at the top have been coming (or their offspring) to the farm in the spring for years now. Last year there were six of them but this year I have only seen this pair. They are always so alert to danger even when seemingly resting. If one does nap, the other watches. The cattle and sheep mix with them and no problem; but they know where the real risks might come-- and it's from humans.