24 JAN 2025
A Citizen's Guide for Navigating a New American Normal
Do not go gentle into that good night.
I have spent far too long contemplating the series of events that have led us to where we presently are as a nation. Through multiple bouts of speculative analysis as to the how and why, I have reached the conclusion that regardless of where you may land on the political spectrum, maybe it’s time to concede that the last four years were maybe more fucked up then we’d care to admit. However, there is no use in debating the past, now we must address the future – and the uncertainty that comes along with it.
For those of us unironically wishing to make America great again by ridding ourselves of the monster that has usurped control of our government. I have some bad news – we can’t. It’s gone. We have to learn to adapt to this new normal and lessen the impacts of the hyper-normalization that is being thrusted upon us at an alarming pace.
The purpose of (what will possibly become a series) this essay is designed to alleviate the woes of what is undoubtedly to come. A survival handbook of sorts to better prepare you for what I, and many others, see as a drastic change in the reality of life in the United States. Understand that NO ONE IS COMING TO SAVE YOU. This isn’t an “end all be all” style guide to help you survive the zombie apocalypse, nor is it tailor-made to address every person's specific needs. However, this is general advice and good practices that can be pulled and leveraged from à la carte. Do with this information what you will.
Now let’s get into it.
Bottom line, up front: 12 months. If you weren’t already planning for a worst-case scenario, it’s going to take you 12 months to be ready. There is a silver lining to this; everyone should understand that even the most efficient of governments operate relatively slow. Even when political rhetoric appears to be Mount Vesuvius, in reality it almost always results in a less impressive effusive debut. You can and absolutely will survive these next four years. What follows is a 10-step guide to use over the next 12 months to prepare yourself for the future. I don’t have a magic eight-ball to predict what the world will look like a year from now, but sure as shit, I think this will be a benefit to any and everyone willing to heed my advice.
Step One – You need to SHUT UP. Outrage is the fuel of MAGA. They’re goading you into conflict and they’re desperate to “own the libs.” Anger feeds their insatiable appetite, and they want you to give into their cravings. The need to disengage from online discourse is threefold.
· The almighty algorithm depends on your outrage. It drives engagement and creates a negative feedback loop to keep you locked in a cycle of madness. If you can’t understand why social media wants you in a perpetual incensed state, it’s because they make money off you.
· Mark Twain once said, “Never argue with stupid people. They will drag you down to their level and beat you with experience.” Anonymous internet trolls and even worse, genuine morons can be found in every corner of the internet. Save yourself the time and energy, there is nothing to be gained from winning any internet argument. Stoicism is the name of the game here.
· Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake is an extremely useful principle to live by. The MAGA movement, for all its lofty goals, is laughably ineffective at policy making. Further, the most ardent believers are exceptionally slow to realize that the very political objectives they champion will inevitably come to harm them too. Don’t try to warn the rats of the Titanic that the ship is going to sink, let them enjoy the ride all the way to the bottom of the Atlantic. It’s what they wanted, let them have it.
Step Two – Make yourself a hard target. The goal is to vanish without vanishing. Develop a mindset that you are being monitored and need to find ways to prevent an adversary from discovering everything they can about you, your loved ones and your way of life. The overwhelming majority of people overshare personal information via their social media accounts. If you can, delete your social media. If that’s not possible, do as much as you can to turn it into a dead account. Remove information that can identity you or render that information extremely vague and therefore useless.
Some practical advice:
· Aoid cloud-based services for anything personal. Use removable media such as thumb drives, SDD or HDDs to store important information.
· Avoid commercial email accounts. Proton.me is a good example of a free encrypted email accounts service. Have different emails for different purposes. (i.e. the email account you use for banking shouldn’t be the same you use for Spotify)
· Use a VPN to browse the internet. Set the location far, far away from you.
· Use BitWarden for secure password management.
· Services like Onerep and Privacy Bee help delete your personal information from google and reduce the amount of information that gets sold to data brokers and cyber criminals.
· Use 3rd party text apps like signal to communicate with friends and family. Do NOT use WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Android SMS or iMessenger. Here’s why.
· Call instead of texting.
· Turn location tracking services from google OFF.
When traveling, get in the habit of communicating with family or friends. Let them know where you are going and the duration of your trip. Provide them with planned activities and locations you plan to be. If you feel at risk, avoid traveling solo when possible. If you’re overnighting outside of your home, check-in with family and let them know when you’re in for the night. Prevent yourself from becoming a victim of easy targeting and circumstance.
Step Three – Arm yourself. The idea of self-defense shouldn’t be controversial. Do you need an AR-15? Simple answer is no. However, understanding the functionality and employment of any rifle, shotgun or pistol cannot be understated. I’m not advocating to recruit people into militias but adopt the same mindset as they do. Equip and train yourself appropriately for your environment and do so with the attitude that you are doing what is necessary to defend yourself. Obtain a firearm and a concealed carry permit, train and develop proficiency. It is a constitutional right that must not be overlooked.
Step Four – Health is wealth. Your ability to survive in virtually any environment is tied directly to your personal health. Being healthy is less about vanity and more about self-reliance. Being physically fit reduces your dependence on things like medication, grants greater mobility and access to more being able-bodied and foregoes challenges that exist when you can’t support yourself physically or mentally. Additional benefits as you become more physically resilient are the boosted immune system and significant improvements to stress levels and emotional well-being. Endeavour yourself and encourage those around you to become more physically active. Make goals and work towards achieving them. If you have no clue where to start, look here.
Step Five – Organize yourself. Take inventory of the items immediately available to you and your family. One of the rare moments where a scarcity mindset is appropriate, determine what you would need to be more self-reliant and secure. Divide those items into two categories: essential and frivolous. For the essential items, include provisions such as food and water, hygiene products and clothing. Frivolous items should include items such as lighters, spare batteries, flashlights, various tools, emergency radios, mementos and etc. More information can be found here.
Step Six – Gather supplies. Clothes should be kept to a minimal and layered based upon the time of the year and environmental conditions and durable enough to be worn for a few days before changing. Sleeping bags, hammocks, and tents are handy. Food should be dry goods and non-perishable. Maintain a small set of cooking utensils to be able to prepare and eat. Enough to sustain each person in your home for two weeks is ideal. If medicine is a necessity, find ways to acquire about a 30- or 60-day supply for essential medications.
You’re only as useful as what you can take with you, so don’t overburden yourself with extraneous supplies that you can’t carry or transport in your car. Create a go bag, that has the essentials; passports, few hundred dollars in cash, basic hygiene, maps, a portable battery charger, and enough clothing, food, and medicine to last 72 hours with whatever additional small items you feel you need to keep with you. Example here.
Lastly, with the mindset of you have three days to achieve it, identify a destination to reach. You will need a primary, alternate, and tertiary route to get there. Know the limitations of your vehicle and identify multiple check points that will help you arrive at your destination. Rehearse this plan on paper and in real life when possible. Share your plan with others that will be traveling with you or are expected to meet you at your destination. Brief those people when you depart and when you expect to arrive.
Step Seven – Learn to be resourceful. Be prepared to do more with less. The days of convenience with things like Amazon, Door Dash, etc. must come to an end. In a surveillance state, these “luxuries” just become another means to control and inevitably break people. Free yourself from the spell of instant gratification. Become knowledgeable and use local resources. Repair, recycle, reuse or repurpose old items. Buy secondhand goods, use local marketplaces and buy from individuals. Look up the farmers’ almanac for your area and grow your own food. Support local businesses over big box stores as much as possible.
No man is an island, and nobody can be expected to manage all their needs. However, we live in communities that for now offer collective resources from which we can all benefit. Fully leverage and involve yourself with your local library, community college, and volunteer fire departments, they offer a lot of underutilized resources or at least can point you in the direction of where to find them. They’re also great places to meet likeminded individuals.
If you are unsure where to begin, consider exploring these subjects:
· Medical
· Carpentry/shop
· Automotive maintenance and repair
· Urban farming & agriculture and food preparation and cooking
· Firearms training & self-defense
· Basic electrical engineering
· Plumbing
· GMRS and HAM certification
Step Eight – Get educated. Ever read the United States’ Constitution in its entirety? Read it here. Are you familiar with your state and local laws? Look up your state or county’s website to find their municipal codes and ordinances. Learn about what’s truly happening within your local government and raise awareness of those issues to others in your community.
Additionally, there’s tons of books that will provide a wealth of information about American society. Pick one up and learn something new and be excited to share what you’ve learned with your family and friends. Start a book club, get people engaged and when someone pushes back, ask them why they’re okay not being educated about their home country.
Two personal recommendations of mine:
· Howard Zinn’s A People's History of the United States
· The Way We Never Were by Stephanie Coontz
Step Nine – Support political change. It’s an uphill battle to get people to care, but it has to happen if we ever wish to see meaningful change in this country. If there’s a local representative who is doing an amazing job, acknowledge them! Let it be known when someone is for the people and doing what’s best for the country and never be afraid to call them out if they’re not. If they refuse to do the work of the people, vote them out and replace them with someone who is willing to do the work. If you can, challenge those incumbents in local office and replace them with representatives that are aligned with the needs of the people and not those beholden to MAGA or corporate interest.
Research your city’s boards & committees and get active in the conversations. Know who your state’s delegates and senators are and hold them accountable. Do not let your voices go unheard, get involved. If you can’t, support those who are willing, and if there is no one, encourage people you know to get involved. Do not allow yourself to become apathetic to politics. We have to step up.
The Final Step - Become a role model citizen. As the culmination of all other preparedness steps, this is the hardest to implement and ironically, it starts on day one of this 12-month journey. In a time where most of us have serious contempt for our political leadership and disdain for those who seemingly blindly follow them down the path of fascism, we have a moral duty to reclaim what has been unjustly taken from us. The United States of America isn’t perfect. It is far from perfect and always has been. Our country’s history is mired in racism, sexism, contempt for the poor and downtrodden, and rife with corruption and greed that rival ancient Rome before its collapse. That is not to suggest that I, nor should anyone reading this, hate America. Regardless of all its controversy, I love this country and the beliefs and principles for which this country’s founding fathers base the United States on. The United States of America will always stand as a paragon of freedom, equality, and right to self-determination that should be embraced and celebrated by all. It is incumbent upon all of us to reflect the best of what America has to offer, and that is our duty, lest we watch it slip away into the clutches of those who seek to turn our country into a fascist state that caters to the demands of the oligarch that preside over its citizens.
The American flag should be raised high and displayed proudly by all who strenuously reject the ideals of the Make America Great Again party. Confront the malicious by outshining them with our love for the country and for one another.
As role model citizens, we participate. We involve ourselves with the plight of our communities. We help one another and are active wherever a lending hand is needed. As President John Fitzgerald Kennedy once famously said, “Ask not what your country can do for you, but for what you can do for your country.” This is the spirit we need to embrace as we take back America. If you’re not already, get involved in your local community. Be it as a volunteer firefighter, or member of your PTA, or someone helping the homeless or those befallen to tragedy during an environmental disaster. YOUR PARTICIPATION IS REQUIRED.
MAGA operates under the assumption they can bully and intimidate their way into power. They believe their threat of force will make everyone capitulate to their demands. DO NOT GIVE IN. We have a right like everyone else to be here, anywhere that may be. Be present and be seen, don’t cede territory to them. There should be no public space available where any far-right asshole feels comfortable enough to reveal themselves, and if they do, immediately confront them on their bullshit. Remind them that real Americans don’t tolerate their fascist bigotry and shout them down until they’re embarrassed to be seen. Support each other at every opportunity for truly there is strength in numbers.
It seems like a lot, and honestly, it is, but it is not impossible. 12 months is not a lot of time to act, but rarely does an adversary grant you the opportunity to get your shit together. What you choose to do with your time now is going to determine the future for generations to come. When people reflect back on this period of history they will ask, “What did you do in this moment?”
Think about how you want to answer that.
Welcome to the Resistance.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Major DAD, out.