In Montana we didn’t pay much heed to the lockdowns after the first month.  In three months everything was basically back to normal except for the mask mandates which most people ignored.  With more data available on the virus it was clear that the chance of death was being greatly exaggerated.  What scared us far more was the rampant talk of vaccine passports in 2021.  The proposed state and federal restrictions on people that refused to take the jab were familiar – This was the beginning of full blown tyranny unless we stood firm.

In the meantime there was a public rush to buy up as many necessities as they could afford.  And of course, the covid stimulus measures finally triggered a stagflationary crisis that had been building in the US for many years.

In the face of so many potential threats, preppers were still well protected.  If vaccine passports became the norm and access to public places was blocked then we had food storage to get us through for a long time to come.  If the buying panic and inflation led to a supply chain disaster then we were well placed, along with the guns and ammo and training needed to keep what we had.  If a fight was coming then we had the means to defend ourselves.

I have long been convinced that it was the prepper factor that caused the government to rethink their strategy of perpetual medical lockdowns and give up on vaccine passports.  We represent an unknown element, something they can’t predict, a possible monkeywrench in the gears of the machine.

With our own supplies we are not dependent on the system to keep us alive, and the harder they push the more we are compelled to organize into an even greater obstacle.  Just as NATO sanctions have pushed Russia, China and the BRICS closer together, openly authoritarian policies in the west during covid pushed liberty movement people together.  The establishment backed away because they had to.

This is why I have to laugh whenever I see some idiot online say:  “What’s the point of prepping when nothing ever happens?”

Have these people been living under a rock since 2020?  We just dodged one of the biggest Orwellian bullets in our nation’s history with the defeat of the pandemic mandates.  Or, do they not realize that the pandemic was just the beginning?

If that’s the case then it pains me to remind everyone that nothing has fundamentally changed.  Yes, we beat back the mandates but all the same elites are still in power, all the same globalist institutions that exploited covid to create a panic still exist, and the event has acted as a domino in a chain leading to other calamities.  Here’s just a few reasons why you’re going to be needing your survival preps in the next few years…

The Stagflation Crisis That Wouldn’t Die

The stagflationary problem is persistent despite all the media claims that it’s under control.  Readers familiar with my economic analysis know that I predicted stagflation several years ago as the inevitable outcome of the Federal Reserve’s quantitative easing and near-zero interest rates.  I also predicted the Catch-22 problem of rate hikes vs inflation and debt.  And when I said a couple years ago that the Fed wasn’t going to return to rate cuts for some time, I was right about that too.

Given this track record, trust me when I say that stagflation is here to stay.  Any move to cut rates will automatically trigger an even worse resurgence of inflation and the fed will be forced to hike once again.  And, high interest rates will continue to create a national debt crisis as debt payments skyrocket.

In other words, the economic situation is getting exponentially worse with each passing year.  There is already breakage in the system, but that’s nothing compared to what we face in the next five years.  Any preparedness items you buy today should be considered an investment in the future because all of those items will be far more expensive or harder to find.

Political Riots Are Assured

Recent campus protests have reminded people that they shouldn’t get too comfortable with the fizzle of BLM.  The same leftists that rode the wave of racial division back in 2020 are going out and finding new causes to co-opt.  They’re looking for any excuse to riot, even if it has nothing to do with them personally.

With the 2024 election incoming I have no doubt that civil unrest will be the norm once again no matter who ends up in the White House.  With riots follow the threat of looting, property destruction, political violence and even martial law.  Then there is the public reaction to those circumstances, including the possibility of civil war.  Don’t assume the country will calm down after the election.  In fact, assume the opposite.

The War In Ukraine Is About To Become A World War

Again, I have mentioned in multiple articles the danger of western involvement in the war in Ukraine including the danger of a wider world war should NATO directly enter the fray.  As I write this, France is pressing for “military advisers” to go to Ukraine to train recruits, which is exactly what the US did in Vietnam right before we officially went to war.

Multiple NATO countries also want to give Ukraine the green light to use long range NATO missiles against targets deep in Russia.  If you are an avid student of history you know as I do that this only goes one way.

That’s probably why countries in Europe are suddenly talking about draft procedures and forced conscription laws in order to shore up their ranks. How many people will actually submit to a draft?  I don’t know, but I do know this is not the kind of talk that governments engage in when their goal is diplomacy.  It’s the kind of talk they engage in when they’re getting ready to antagonize the enemy.

A larger war with Russia comes with a host of difficulties that would take me too many pages to cover here.  To summarize, war with Russia means war with China, war with Iran and most of the Middle East, tragic supply chain disruptions, the end of the dollar’s world reserve status and a good chance of a limited or regional nuclear exchange.

I have serious doubts that global nuclear war is on the table because the establishment has nothing to gain and everything to lose from it.  However, a war between East and West is more than enough to cause absolute havoc in every nation on the planet.

The War Over Gaza Is Quickly Leading To A War For The Middle East

I’m not going to cheerlead for either side in this conflict.  My concern is America and Americans.  That said, it’s clear that actions on both sides are forcing the war to expand well beyond Gaza.  Recent Israeli strikes on Syria and scuffles with Egyptian troops are concerning.  Lebanon is highly involved and Iran has already traded missiles with Israel.  Israel has stated their offensive will continue through at least the end of 2024.

In terms of how this all affects the US or Europe, the immediate consequence will be a shut down of oil traffic through the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea.  That’s 30% or more of the world’s oil trade slowed down or eliminated.  Energy prices will explode along with prices on everything else.  The price of everything you buy is affected by the price of oil.

Agriculture, for example, relies heavily on fuel and oil based fertilizers.  This means high oil prices will trigger high food prices.

Prepping Isn’t A Hobby, It’s A Duty

Frankly, preparedness should be a social mainstay – An integral part of American life. It’s not a hobby, it’s a duty.   The more prepared people are the safer every American will be.  Most prepared people don’t panic because there’s no need.  And people who don’t panic are less likely to harm others out of fear and desperation.

Think of food storage like a big battery.  A battery is energy storage for later when you need it.  Think about how much time and work and energy goes into growing just one month of food for your family. Isn’t it far better to store all that work in long term foods so that you don’t have to worry about it later during the worst of conditions?  Every bucket of stored food is a battery that saves you precious time and labor.

Growing food and living sustainably is great in peacetime or in the middle of a large, well organized community.  Growing food at the onset of a national crisis in a place where too many people are unprepared is almost impossible.  If a breakdown occurs then your best bet is to hunker down, work with family, friends and neighbors, and live on your preps until there is a large enough community in place to securely grow food again.

There are too many variables right now around the world that can cause catastrophe, and even events on the other side of the globe can cause problems for you at home.  I see very little chance of the situation improving in the next five years and a very high chance of things spiraling out of control.  Take your prepping seriously, even when oblivious naysayers claim “nothing’s going to happen.”  Those will be the same people crying for help before long and you don’t want to share their fate.

Over the past couple of weeks, there have been so many alarming developments.  The following are 11 signs that global conflict could soon spiral completely out of control…

#1 Russia just signed a deal to deploy tactical nuclear weapons to Belarus…

The defense ministers of Russia and Belarus on Thursday signed a document on the deployment of Russian tactical nuclear weapons on Belarusian territory, the state-run TASS news agency reported, citing the Defense Ministry of Belarus.

Russia will retain control over its non-strategic nuclear weapons stationed in neighboring Belarus, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said at a document-signing event with his Belarusian counterpart Viktor Khrenin in Minsk.

“Russia will not transfer nuclear weapons to the Republic of Belarus: control over them and the decision to use them remains with the Russian side,” he said.

#2 U.S. and Taiwanese officials have reportedly been talking about bringing Taiwan under the “nuclear umbrella” of the United States.  Needless to say, such a move would make war with China much more likely…

There seems to be a growing demand for a US ‘nuclear umbrella’ in Taiwan amid increasing belligerence by China in the Asia Pacific region.

The desire for such a ‘nuclear umbrella’ against a potential invasion by China – which is already provided to Japan and South Korea by the United States (US) – has reportedly received support from defence experts in Taiwan.

The US ‘nuclear umbrella’ will not see the deployment of atomic weapons in Taiwan, but will see the world’s ‘sole superpower’ respond in kind to a nuclear attack by China during an invasion of the island nation.

#3 The Russians have just issued an arrest warrant for U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham…

Russia’s Interior Ministry on Monday issued an arrest warrant for U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham following his comments related to the fighting in Ukraine.

In an edited video of his meeting on Friday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that was released by Zelenskyy’s office, Graham, a Republican from South Carolina, noted that “the Russians are dying” and described the U.S. military assistance to the country as “the best money we’ve ever spent.”

#4 A senior Taliban commander is boasting that “we will conquer Iran soon”…

The Taliban threatened on Sunday that it could conquer Iran as tensions increase over water disputes between Afghanistan and Iran, leaving at least three people dead.

In a video released by the Taliban, a senior commander in the terrorist organization running Afghanistan warned that the Taliban would fight the Islamic Republic’s Revolutionary Guard “with more passion” than they fought the US forces. He added that the Taliban “will conquer Iran soon if the Taliban’s leaders give the green light.

#5 Israel has doubled the number of attacks on Iranian targets inside Syrian territory in recent months…

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on Monday said that he has “doubled the attacks on Iran in Syria” during his several months in office.

Gallant also revealed Tehran’s secret sea war against Israel, presenting new photographic evidence of five different ships it is using to establish another front against the Jewish state.

#6 Hezbollah just conducted major military exercises very close to the border with Israel…

The military exercise was unusual not only because it was made public — nearly 400 people attended, including Hezbollah supporters and several journalists — but also because it was conducted only 12 miles north of the Israeli border, just outside an area where militias are not allowed to operate under a UN Security Council resolution adopted in 2006.

#7 Most Americans don’t realize this, but U.S. troops will soon be deployed in Peru…

Unbeknown, it seems, to most people in Peru and the US (considering the paucity of media coverage in both countries), US military personnel will soon be landing in Peru. The plenary session of Peru’s Congress last Thursday (May 18) authorised the entry of US troops onto Peruvian soil with the ostensible purpose of carrying out “cooperation activities” with Peru’s armed forces and national police.

#8 Violent clashes in Kosovo have resulted in more than two dozen NATO troops being injured…

NATO-led troops and police clashed with protesters in Northern Kosovo Monday amid an ongoing standoff between ethnic Albanian authorities and local ethnic Serbs who ignored warnings not to seize municipality buildings.

The violence comes after Kosovo’s police raided Serb-dominated areas in the region’s north and seized local municipality buildings over the weekend. The demonstrations have led to injuries on both sides, which more than two dozen NATO troops injured.

#9 The U.S. military is building a brand new base in northern Syria.  Apparently the U.S. occupation of large portions of Syrian territory is not going to end any time soon…

The US-led anti-ISIS coalition is building a new military base in Syria’s northern province of Raqqa, The New Arab reported, citing a source close to the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).

The US backs the SDF and keeps about 900 troops (officially at least) in eastern Syria, allowing the US to control about one-third of Syria’s territory. The report said there are currently about 24 US-led military sites spread throughout eastern Syria.

#10 North Korea is claiming that the U.S. and South Korea have just conducted an “invasion rehearsal”…

The South Korean and U.S. militaries conducted large live-fire drills near the border with North Korea on Thursday, despite the North’s warning that it won’t tolerate what it calls an invasion rehearsal on its doorstep.

The drills, the first of five rounds of live-fire exercises through mid-June, mark 70 years since the establishment of the military alliance between Seoul and Washington. North Korea typically reacts to such major South Korean-U.S. exercises with missile and other weapons tests.

#11 Due to “security concerns”, dozens of “satellite phones for emergency communication” are being issued to members of the U.S. Senate…

Amid growing concerns of security risks to members of Congress, over 50 senators have been issued satellite phones for emergency communication, people familiar with the measures told CBS News. The devices are part of a series of new security measures being offered to senators by the Senate Sergeant at Arms, who took over shortly after the assault on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

The satellite phone technology has been offered to all 100 senators. CBS News has learned at least 50 have accepted the phones, which Senate administrative staff recommend senators keep in close proximity during their travels.

We have never seen such a dramatic measure ever be taken before.

Are they preparing for something? I wish that I knew.

But what I do know is that we are certainly living during a time of “wars and rumors of wars”, and it definitely isn’t going to take much to push us over a line that will never be able to be uncrossed.

But for now, most people in the western world simply are not paying attention to what is going on.

Most of them just assume that our leaders are wise, competent and will be able to keep us out of any sort of nuclear conflict.

Michael’s new book entitled “End Times” is now available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com, and you can check out his new Substack newsletter right here.

Article cross-posted from End of the American Dream.