Posted on 06/30/2012 8:17:06 PM PDT by John Leland 1789
“Total collapse can’t happen in America because I don’t want it to. Plus, it has never happened before so it can’t happen. I feel warm and fuzzy about our future.” That is called, the “normalcy bias” and will end up killing many Americans when financial depression and inflation take control.
When hyperinflation smacked Germany in the 1920s, Germans carried a bag full of German marks to purchase a loaf of bread. One family took a wheel barrow full of money to the grocery store for their weekly supplies but could not get the wheel barrow through the door. Leaving the wheel barrow full of money at the door, they went into the store to get bags and discovered upon their return, that their wheel barrow had been stolen and the money dumped on the sidewalk! Prices doubled every two days!
By 1923, the highest German banknote denomination was one hundred trillion marks! The German mark was so worthless, they were literally used for wallpaper, and housewives fed banknotes into their stoves because the banknotes burned longer and were less expensive than firewood!
When inflation was at its peak, it took 4 trillion German marks to purchase one U.S. dollar! One of the printing companies submitted a bill of 33 quintillion marks to the German Reich bank for their printing of the German marks!
In 1946, the Hungarian National Bank issued a bank note for 100 quintillion and in July, prices doubled every 15 hours! In 2008, Zimbabwe prices doubled every five days.
Are Americans and Canadians ready for recession, rationing, rebellion, rage, riots, and rampage? We will experience a time of reckoning and reaping what we have sown. Deflation, stagnation, and inflation will probably ravage the world.
This never-before-seen disaster will bring America to her knees which might be exactly what God has planned for us. When the television is turned off, God will get our attention.
No one wants to believe America and the world are on a toboggan slide to destruction where lives will be irrevocably changed forever but I believe it is coming. I do not believe “America’s best days are ahead of us.” The chaos taking place in Greece (bank runs, anarchy, and joblessness), Cyprus, Italy, and Spain will be replayed in America. It’s a fact that “The rain in Spain falls mainly on the plain” and it is equally true that “The gain in Spain goes mainly down the drain.” That is obviously happening in the US today.
Few Americans will agree with me since a total financial collapse in America has never happened before. After all, this is America! We always come out on top. We are a special nation in God’s eyes. No worry. Be happy. Turn the television on and hand me a drink.
That attitude is called; “the normalcy bias” and it can kill.
The normalcy bias refers to a mental attitude people have when facing a disaster. It causes people to refuse to admit the evident facts they are facing. Because it has never happened here, it is not going to happen. It makes people close their eyes to approaching disaster and the tragic results. They always take hope in any small possible idea of making it less dangerous and less likely for a disaster to happen. They deceive themselves into an almost euphoric state. Their eyes and minds are closed to any possible danger. Like the ostrich with its head in the sand (not in real life), it becomes more exposed to danger. The progressive steps are deceit, defiance, disaster, and destruction.
This kind of thinking (or non-thinking) has been seen in many disasters when people were ordered to evacuate their homes but refused to do so knowing they were in the path of a storm or fire. In fact, studies reveal that 70% of people call others before deciding to leave the place of danger!
The normalcy bias was obvious in Nazi Germany where the Jews knew that their Jewish friends and neighbors were taken away during the night and never heard from again. They had heard about the concentration camps, but the most civilized, even “Christian” nation in Europe, could not stoop to commit such atrocities on innocent people. About 100,000 Jews left Germany by 1935 but about half a million remained. The atrocities continued to accelerate until it was too late. It was impossible, but it happened.
I am convinced chaos is ahead: riots, race wars, no gas deliveries, no food in the grocery stores (as someone said, “Americans are 15 meals from killing for food.”), utilities available a few hours each day, martial law and suspension of civil rights, mass arrests, gang control of many cities, neighbor fighting neighbor, closed highways, etc.
When governments fail along with the economy, authority disappears and the void is filled with anger, apathy, and anarchy. Get prepared for disaster ahead as much as possible: pay off your bills, put aside some food and water, medicines, tools, and plant a garden. After all when God finished creating the universe, the world, all animals, and man–He planted a garden (Gen.:8)! If God planted a garden, don’t you think we should follow His example?
I can almost hear the run-away “train” coming down the track. Get out of the way!
Pass it on if you agree!
Copyright 2012, Don Boys, Ph.D.
(Dr. Don Boys is a former member of the Indiana House of Representatives, author of 14 books, frequent guest on television and radio talk shows, and wrote columns for USA Today for 8 years. Three years ago, the second edition of ISLAM: America's Trojan Horse! was published, and his new eBook, The God Haters is available for $9.99 from www.thegodhaters.com. These columns go to newspapers, magazines, television, and radio stations. His other web sites are www.cstnews.com and www.Muslimfact.com. Contact Don for an interview or talk show.)
I wondered the same thing.
I’ve read it in scores of places, but it never made sense.
on = one.
I won’t pay a darn thing of major finance dealings
Look up back to eden gardening method. Amazing. there is a you tube video on this. cant believe it took a year to come across this.
This myth is up there with the likes of...
Pearl Harbor is the impenetrable Gibraltar of the Pacific!
One American can beat ten Japanese soldiers!
America always wins her wars! (forgetting the War of 1812).
FDR saved America from the Great Depression.
Big September Surprise - It’s just around the corner.
I believe that the only reason we don’t have a full blown revolution going on right now is that people are more concerned with their credit rating than their freedom. We need leadership in this country and we have none.
Agreed. I've seen many homes with less than that. Many people today order out and have no clue how to turn their stoves on and a fridge is for chilling beer and water bottles.
Not that I can find.
That was prepping because there was no other way to live. The country went from that to what we have now, seeing preppers as nut cases. I remember those grandparent houses but most people today never lived that way so they can't relate to it.
I can't depend on our infrastructure to keep working as it is so intertwined that if one sector fails, it will all fail. The grandparents depended on themselves and I have gone back to that thinking. I can take care of myself and a few family members if the supply lines fail.
Days without power due to hurricanes have proved to me that I can live well without power companies and water companies and gas companies and closed stores, including drug stores.
Most other people don't prepare, thinking it will be fine - that is their choice.
I looked up back to Eden gardening. It is essentially the same as “lasagna” gardening. Right now I am experimenting with biointensive gardening which requires double digging 2 ft. depth and filling in layers of different materials. Right now all I can do is water because of the heat. I do mulch everything. Everything.
“Even though I’ve been 100% debt-free for the past 23yrs, I don’t understand this on aspect of prepping advice:
“... pay off your bills...”
If the world/US economies collapse, what the heck does that matter? Are credit reports, bill collectors etc even a consideration if anarchy and chaos are rampant? Just asking.”
I’m guessing that if times are really bad, you don’t want to be beholden to anyone who may try to collect in some form or other.
Some folks won't make it. I expect I'll do just fine.
I just got an invite to a bat mitzvah from old friends I haven't seen in forever. Having a good network of like-minded folks can help.
Now to find a gift. I may be in over my head on that part.
/johnny
Good question. I'm guessing that the answer lies somewhere in between a nasty full fledged depression (best case scenario) and anarchy.
My preparations are based on my belief that much of the West will have substantial civil disorder for a relatively short time with very large disruptions of commerce, utilities and services. Follow that with essentially military rule in most countries including USA with rationed essentials for years to come. 1 or 2 fairly large regional wars and scores of little ones.
A lot of grudge settling will take place. Not just between countries, but between ethnic groups. THE USA INCLUDED. I believe that the level of racial hate that has been instilled in much of the black population in this country will become very nasty violence when order breaks down, even for a period of weeks or a month or two. Picture south LA riots in 50 major cities and scores of smaller & mid sized cities. Except that the rioters will head for the white sections of town.
I'm sorry to believe this, but I see the racial hate on the black side of the equation to be around for several generations. The Obamas, Jacksons, Farakans and Sharptons have, with the active assistance of the Democrats and the left, poisoned 2 generations beyond redemption.
I’d like to echo Duke’s thoughts.
Next time you have the discussion, Ponygirl, ask them “What ARE you willing to live through?” And if they give another nonsense answer, then as Duke says, write them off.
“For those of you learning gardening i just found the most amazing video. its called back to eden”
Here’s the link: http://backtoedenfilm.com/
The film is nearly two hours long and could have been shortened to about 10 minutes but it’s still interesting. Basic idea is not to till the mulch in but to leave compost and bark mulch on top of the soil. The guy is big on wood chip mulch. When planting, move the mulch out of the way and plant the seeds in the soil. Once the plant comes up, move the mulch back around the plant.
A major draw back is it looks like a wonderful hiding place for copperheads. We killed 3 this last week alone.
WWIII.
Yeah, in the same boat. Had to pull the squashes because of the bugs and now everything is burning up. The corn and green beans are done. The cukes will be finished this week. The peppers and tomatoes are still going but slowly and hardly any new blooms. You can get started on a fall garden by getting some seeds started indoors in a couple weeks so you can get them outside when this 100 degree temp breaks.
When it gets too hot tomato blooms will fall off. And if it doesn’t get cool enough at night, the low to mid 70s, the green ones won’t ripen. Okra loves the heat and that’s all I got left.
I’ve got a friend in eastern Tennessee who always has a big garden. This year he’s fighting the heat and the drought.
“For those of you learning gardening i just found the most amazing video. its called back to eden. its a man of God who had a epiphany of sorts. if you are planning to garden and want Jesus to take the wheel, look this video up. God bless and good night.”
Do you have a link?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.