Meandering through Costco last week, I took a long hard look at a product I never seriously considered in previous visits: the instant emergency food supply bucket. Anyone else have a similar reaction lately?
I recall a few years ago, during Trump I, when he was trading nuclear threats with North Korea’s Kim Jong Un. It was a bit unsettling for a few days. I sent messages to the kids encouraging them to take a few simple steps: fill the cars up with gas, get a few hundred bucks cash out of the ATM, have a bunch of batteries on hand and a battery-operated radio available, and have a few jugs of water stashed in the pantry or the garage.
When the possibility of trading nukes moves from “remote” to merely “fairly unlikely,” those seem like reasonable and easily achievable precautions to take. You might consider having a few extra rolls of duct tape as well (to seal up windows and doors if you end up in a radioactive fallout area). We learned from Covid that it doesn’t take much to muck up modern supply chains and that there’s a fairly low threshold for your fellow citizens to start engaging in panic buying (TP seems to be the first item to fly off the shelves).
Now, during Trump II, he is trading threats with whoever is calling the shots in Iran at the moment — it is very unclear from media reports who that actually is. And there is nothing “remote” or “unlikely” about this scenario — we’re already in the middle of it. Perhaps you have noticed your own “it’s getting worse” developments over the last week or so. Here are my recent items:
- Gas keeps going up. I paid $5.39 a gallon in California last week, and that was for the cheap stuff at Costco.
- Prices in general at the grocery store have gone up again. It sure seems like everything is a dollar or two more in just the last couple of weeks.
- ICE agents now patrolling airports.
- An online lecture course I am following, two lectures per week, went offline. Because the lecturer is in Israel and apparently kept having to evacuate to shelters when missile sirens went off.
- There is simply no good news when you check your favorite media sites. Every. Single. Story. about what’s going on in Iran and the Persian Gulf is either bad or very bad. Statements from US officials about developments and plans are, at best, incoherent. The conflict is widening. It is definitely, assuredly, going to get worse.
What are regular people like you and me supposed to do? It’s not like we can change anything at the global level. Writing letters to your idiot senator or representative is pointless. We’re just passengers on the crazy train. So we do things like buying batteries, stashing cash in a dresser drawer, and pondering whether to purchase a big bin of emergency food. How did it come to this?
Let’s share observations and plans.
- Have you purchased any emergency essentials this week?
- Do you share a sense of foreboding about the future?
- Any family members in the military that you are concerned about?
- When do you think things will things get back to normal? Or is “normal” something we are never getting back to?
- General Conference in four days. Do you expect any speaker to directly address current events and threatening possibilities? Or give any specific counsel to the membership about our current situation? Or will it just be the usual set of recycled topics, stories, and travel reports?
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Wheat & Tares 
No. I have actually not been thinking worst case scenarios.
I went to the No Kings march in NYC last weekend. The tone of the crowd was the chance to air their grievances … more of a freedom of speech than anything. Not a lot of anger. Not palpable dismay. If anything it was net positive because people felt a kinship with being in a crowd of like-minded people. I think this was a different experience (maybe more performative) than say, when people were demonstrating in Minnesota this winter and there was real anger and deep concern about the police state around them.
I think covid taught me what life could be like if things shut down. For me, it’s doable. I know it’s a real hardship for others, but I have a realistic idea of what it will be like and how I’d need to be prepared. So not scary in the sense of unknown.
If Iran, or someone with limited nukes, lobs one in our direction, then the people where the first one hits are goners anyway. Unless it’s China or Russia who are in an all-out war with us, it seems limited. Once the first bomb flies, then the rest of the world (plus us) steps in. We can’t know what happens then. (Again, I live in NYC, so I’ve always felt if a nuke was coming, I’d be in one of the first targets.) You know, you have to live with a little fatalism anyway. At any point any one of us could be shot by a rando with a gun.
If the financial markets are wiped out and I mean digitally gone, then we’re all in the same boat. If the market just crashes, then you’re going to need more cash than a couple of hundred.
Trump is a mess, but he is a classic bully. He bends eventually, hence the TACO. There is really no reason for him to be in Iran so I don’t see him fighting this to the bitter end. At some point he’ll walk away just leaving the mess that he created.
The key to weathering things is yes, preparedness, but also a nimble mindset that doesn’t panic and handles change well. We can’t sort out every possibility so we need to feel like we can figure out what to do when things are not normal, desperate, or catastrophic. At some point, you have to think, even if I lose everything, I can go on.
And yes, I do think spiritually, God can bring you peace even in the worst situations.
My concern is famine.
The weather is especially weird this year. It would not take much drought or heavy storm damage to decimate the midwestern wheat crop. Historically, when one country has a poor crop, they are able to buy from other countries and there are no shortages. Now? Our country has a rocky relationship with Canada. We have a very uncomfortable relationship with Ukraine. If we needed wheat, would those countries trade with us? Maybe yes, maybe no. Southern Brazil and Northern Argentina are major areas of soybean production — but the US population does not use much of that crop.
Trump has changed our relationship with our traditional allies. The US has a reputation for very fat and extremely entitled people. That combination does not lead other countries to see us as very deserving of assistance.
Am I suddenly tucking extra food away? Yes. This is not my norm. I am very concerned about what is next.
Honestly, I think it comes down to focusing on things you can control. In addition, build lasting connection and relationships with the humans around you–even the ones you disagree with. Because at the end of the day, these are the people you HAVE TO get along with and work with to rebuild should anything drastic happen. I’ve found preppers odd, because society is not built on everyone learning to do everything themselves and retreating from society waiting for the hard stuff to pass. Lastly, I don’t know that fear is a useful emotion a lot of the time. The only thing it’s good at is keeping you stuck in one place. But, I’ve never lived under a regime that hunts my kind to extermination either. My FIL was a prepper. His entire life since I knew him was a steady does of conservative fearmongering media. He stocked piled sooooooo much stuff to the point it just became super unhealthy. When he died of COVID my MIL was left with this massive mess. She ended up just giving away most of the food storage they’d collected or made over many many years. I was just left with this sense of sadness over all the time and resources that were wasted because of fear. This is not to say that preparation is a bad thing, but when your entire life is focused around fear, that’s not living. In the end, people, everyone, from all walks, have to set aside their differences and come together.
I was in this Palm Sunday concert in the SLC tabernacle over the weekend. It was super energizing and we had record numbers of people attend this thing. It was people from all walks coming together, just turning off the streams of media garbage for a bit and participating in performance of sacred music from various times in our history. This is what we need more of–turning it off and coming together.
Thanks for the comments, everyone.
I suppose there is an emotional spectrum we can talk about when a bad event looms, from (1) awareness, to (2) concern, to (3) anxiety, to (4) fear, to (5) panic. I think I am at concern, not from any military or terrorist events that would impact CONUS (although they might) but from the delayed but substantial impact on energy markets from the mess at the Strait of Hormuz. It might be a long-term problem.
This is a supply-side shock like the Arab oil embargo of 1973-74, which had a broad negative effect on the global economy that lasted a decade or more. It will affect the price of everything, not just the price of gas. And this economic impact, which will take a few weeks and months to roll through the domestic and global economy, is at this point inevitable. If you want to buy a big pickup truck, wait a few months, prices will fall. If you want to buy an electric car or plug-in hybrid, buy quickly, they will become suddenly popular and pricey.
If changing the two-hour block from alternating RS and SS to having them every week for 25 minutes is historic, I don’t believe there will be any significant proclamations in this general conference. It will be more of the same slow gaslighting admonitions that can be taken two ways, or don’t really address anything that’s happening now. A living prophet who is 94 is barely living and doesn’t see the world as it is but as it was.
About my only reaction this last week was wishing my uninformed, stupid, Trump supporting, idiot, wish I wasn’t related, relative gets stuck in a 5 hour airport line and misses their flight. Sure, it was nasty and spiteful of me, and before the thought was fully formed, I recanted. I really don’t wish harm on anyone. But sometimes the “everything is great” because they really are not paying attention and don’t care about anything but themselves just gets under my skin. They think the reports of long lines at airports are just Democrats trying to stir up trouble and it isn’t a bit true. Trump molesting children, made up lies. ICE killing people, well they should not have been terrorizing agents who were just trying to do their job. Trump was never convicted of any crime, it was just Democrats trying to destroy the country and throwing all kinds of trumped up charges, but none of those charges was legit. He was never convicted. They just fly off to go lay on a Caribbean beach and play golf in sunny locations. Helps not caring when you have millions to burn. So, at their level of wealth, they don’t care if somebody’s medical insurance is canceled or their SNAP is taken away. It isn’t them that gets hurt so they don’t give a sh**.
So, yeah, wishing they get stuck in a long line, but I guess first class rich people don’t stand in lines. They pay extra to walk to the front. They disgust me. It is the not caring about anyone else that gets me.
As for being prepared, we decided that if the US goes down, we will go down with the ship. At our age, we don’t want to survive the first blast.
But, Because of my husband’s military top secret work, he knows exactly where the first targets will be in a nuke attack. We used to live right next to what he said was target #1. The idea is blow up where our nukes are *controlled* before they can launch. Hit the nerve between the head and the arm holding the weapon. That keeps the other country safe. Don’t worry, Russia and China know where that nerve is even if you don’t.
Dave,I have been following the same online lecture course that you referenced so I can identify plus I share many if the points that you were tryibg to make in this post.
Oh come on, Dave. The World (and the U.S.) have faced many, many challenges and threats (much greater than this) for decades. Grow up, live your life, plant your garden, love your family, be thankful for the life you have; and stop your d*mn hand wringing. It’s kinda/sorta unsightly and embarrassing.
I’ve been thinking about the criticism that nothing comes over the pulpit at GC. It’s true. On the other hand, I don’t think the 12/15 are unified. Some are clearly far right and some are left. If things have to be unanimous it’s just not going to come.
At this point, if something did come out, they’d likely lose the other half. And frankly, that’s not what they feel their stewardship is. We can debate the rightness or wrongness of that, but that’s likely the reality and what drives their actions. Also, taking a hard side would drive a pretty deep wedge in Utah. And would be meaningless in many other countries around the world.
So I think it comes down to the fact that you should know the side you should be on. Again, that’s obviously not true, because there are two sides and both claim to be right. But maybe this is the time when we all have to pick our side and then live with the consequences. Either you understand the gospel and right and wrong or you don’t.
Is this not the ultimate test anyway? Not to have to be told every single thing but to take accountability for your choices?
I don’t think things will be as bad as people dear, but there is always a possibility that Trump does actually start hitting the desalination plants of Iran and that Iran retaliates by hitting the desalination plants of the Arab Gulf countries. There is nothing I can do. Just sit back and watch it play out, hoping that maybe there are silver linings to be found: the death of Trumpism, the rise of a new wave of diplomacy and reasonableness out of the ashes of Middle East conflicts.
End of times talks are risky and the leadership knows this. They caution their leaders not to let the crazy out and to seem moderated. And talk of the last days has been something that the leaders have been trying to downplay. I think GC will be the same old anodyne stuff.
I’m at the ‘awareness’ stage and doing my best to not move towards fear. From the news article that I’ve chosen to trust, the attack on Iran won’t result in bombs dropping on the USA. Iran doesn’t have anything that can reach that far. Iran will continue to threaten other Middle eastern countries. Trump will continue to be shocked that no other country wants to help him out. People in the Middle East will suffer. I’ll pay higher prices for stuff as fuel costs drive up supply chain costs. I’ll vote for Democrats and hope that they’ll turn Trump and Hegseth over to the EU to stand trial for war crimes. The Republican party implodes. Free speech gets some sort of limit put on it so that news organizations can’t outright lie.
Internationally, Europe realizes the USA isn’t reliable anymore and they start weaning themselves off NATO. Other countries decide we’re not a reliable market or ally. The balance of power tips a little bit away from the USA. We’re too big, rich, and powerful to become irrelevant, but resentment against the USA becomes more entrenched.
The original post commented about ICE at the airports. Are they doing anything? I’ve been several airports recently as a passenger and to drop off / pick up others. All I’ve seen is a small group of ICE agents, usually 2-3 of them, standing far away from the crowd in a corner talking among themselves. They don’t engage with anyone or appear to be doing anything remotely productive.
I made a snarky comment to a TSA agent about the help they were receiving from ICE. In return I got a giant belly laugh from the TSA agent.
Australia has about 30 days supply of fuels. 10 years ago someone thought it would be good to hold extra supplies in the US. Trump won’t let us have them.
Trump has just announced a 100% tariff on our exports of medicine mostly blood plasma products, because we didn’t send ships to support his war. We send over $2 billion worth. Don’t have an operation. I don’t think we have suitable ships.
Trump continues to destroy America’s reputation in the world!
In the last few months Australia have signed free trade agreements with numerous countries, like UK, Canada, Europe.
We are setting up a free trade system that does not include USA.
We are also having extreme weather which we attribute to climate change. We are not impressed that America is not doing its part to save the world.
Instereo, could the Sunday school schedule changes be a distraction?
Just a few hours prior to the Sunday school announcement, the Chicago Sun-Times published an article about Wade Christofferson.
If that was the intent, it appears to have been effective.
(Sorry to appear cryptic – I tried making a clear comment, which kept being rejected. I don’t know why.)