World Governments Say to Prepare

In recent days, numerous governments have advised their citizens to prepare for conflict, climate change, cyber-terror, earthquakes, etc. The UK has their Be Ready campaign, which advises Britons stock food and water for 72 hours. It also nebulously states there will be calls for civilian volunteers but is pretty skimpy on the details. The other calls for preparedness from other governments are similar.

In the UK, this call has caused a run on canned food and a paucity of hand-crank radios. Which some people think is perhaps the point–drum up the fear of future danger to make the public dump cash into the economy. There is probably not a lot to be had in canned food, and considering the preparedness recommended is fairly limp, I'm not sure what the point really is. And it's worth noting that the US, for instance, has had similar recommendations in place for years.

Other Signs

Here's where things get a little more worrisome: US military bases have been tasked with becoming prepped for 90 days of independence from civilian supply chains. That's disconcerting. It is a reasonable call generally speaking--the sort of thing one would imagine was already the case, really--but coming now, ahead of ominous midterms, anxiety is an understandable response.

Shifting the focus a bit, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth has called for the procurement of ketamine for soldiers in light of increased risk of CBRN (chemical, biological, radioactive, and nuclear) attacks, as well as overall high-intensity combat. Those of you who have taken ketamine are probably thinking "huh," right about now. This leads us toward the real problem.

Senator Chris Murphy advised that plans to attack Iran are "insane." This is what has me worried, with the above. Calls for preparedness are evergreen, and it would be weird for me, a guy calling for preparedness to say that calling for preparedness is worrying on its own. But the war against Iran is real, as is the Russia-Ukraine war. These conflicts have very real repercussions and escalation will not impact only those in the region. Iran, for instance, has suggested they may attack internet infrastructure and broaden their response in general. Murphy suggested the Trump administration's escalation threatens severe reprisal. Murphy, oddly, was hospitalized for a stroke days after making this warning.

The obvious concern here is that, following a defeat in the midterms, Trump will nuke Iran. I don't know how likely that is, nor how likely retaliatory strikes would be from other nations. But they have suggested openly they'll do everything but a nuclear strike, and in the opening salvos of the war we saw the US strike a school. Let's not minimize any hostility, nor the very real possibility that any distraction of the US public or world means that Israel has more license to expand their genocide. Attacks and pressure in the West Bank have increased quite a lot recently, and it seems obvious that is the next focus–all the while Gazans continue to be bombed, sniped, and starved.

What We Know

Ultimately, if you somehow follow me without actually following any of my recommendations, I would suggest you change that. Not because of what we've heard recently, but because of what we already know.

Climate change is worsening hour by hour. Bolivia has declared a state of emergency due to the super El Niño and it's accompanying droughts and floods. We will see the same, and the rest of the world will see the same, into 2027. AMOC is on the verge of collapse, though speaking on a planetary timescale. Thwaites, the doomsday glacier, be dooming.

There's no telling what will happen after the midterms. Trump may lash out or become more of a traditional lame duck. To some extent this doesn't matter–what has been put in motion is enough fascism for us. There is plenty there to fight against and the government, having seized this power, will not surrender it willingly, democratic victory or no. To be clear, I don't see a blue wave restoring order insofar as we used to have it.

Finally, we are squeezing the last drops of blood from the planet. We are swiftly reaching a threshold at which the world ceases to operate as we knew it. Ecosystems will fail. Resources we rely on, as simple and foundational as groundwater and topsoil, will falter. This collapse is coming surer than the mail.

We don't need any new news of the apocalypse to give us reason to prepare. What's already falling apart in front of us is sufficient. I don't think anyone can disagree dark days are ahead, and we are on the precipice of some particular turbulence with the midterms. Something that all these calls for preparedness forget is what we know to make the focus of our work: relationships, community, mutual aid. Have friends over tomorrow, watch a movie together, have a fire. Talk about anything and everything, talk about what's worrying you. Talk about nothing. But do it together. And remember that we can fight whatever comes together, too.