Nobody Is Coming To Save You

321: Natural Disasters, Port Strike, Security Considerations

It’s been a rough several years for normies as things continue to get more real. I talk about the hate and critique that I’ve experienced for choosing to talk about and focus on things that actually matter in the world today. I wasn’t going to only make financial/early 20’s lifestyle memes forever.

Eventually (during Covid) I woke up to just how serious things are getting in my country and across the world. Moreover it became apparent to me just how many things we know as truth are in fact lies.

Some of those things are unpopular or what normies consider “conspiracy” but I don’t really care. I’d rather seek out the truth and talk about things that have a real impact on our lives than drone out on pop culture, corporate bullshit, or meaningless status games, worried about what people perceive me as and where I fit in the rank and file.

I’d rather talk about the real risk of escalation in Ukraine or the Middle East than talk about my fantasy line up. I’d rather prepare as best I can for what I know is likely coming in the next few years as a result of the political environment in the US than go drink 20 beers at a random bar and stay out until 4am. I’d rather build my own business and work towards true freedom than play politics, achieve a meaningless title, or endure woke social games in the corporate world to be “liked” by peers.

As they say online, once the red pill has been taken you can never really see things the same way again and I genuinely feel that way, for better or for worse.

Not to say I don’t enjoy hobbies, good fun, or dicking around sometime — but I am trying to paint a picture of why I focus on the things I do here at Arb Letter. These aren’t exotic or edgy topics — they’re just raw accounts of what’s going on around us. If you find yourself thinking these topics are wild or unconventional it’s probably because you ingest too much corporate media, which notoriously AVOIDS talking about things that actually matter.

I’m interested in what’s actually going on — not the PG rated, widely accepted, feel good bullshit that so many people eagerly slurp up, because it either makes them feel better about themselves or it calms their anxiety about being completely unprepared for what we are watching transgress.

As things ramp up politically, socially, and financially, many are going to be in for rude awakenings. The world is not going to be what they want it to be anymore — not that it ever was, but the veil that we all lived under is lifting, the consequences of feckless policy idealism are surfacing.

Socially — we are living in a low trust environment now. Trust is low for institutions, for fellow citizens, and even with communities. People are on edge.

Financially — markets may be chugging along, but costs are rising, inflation is not gone for good, and the wealth gap is growing quickly. National debt is unsurmountable. Now we have a massive port strike that will impact the economy negatively if it drags on.

Politically — the US no longer is recognizable. It’s highly partisan — both sides playing like this is the last election that matters, because it very well could be. The agendas presented are full 180s apart. Violence is being used. State level voting rules are being altered, and the arrival of 10M+ illegals throws a curveball into the mix.

Erik Prince, founder of Blackwater, a private military company, said recently on a Podcast that a country or nation is only a country or nation when people can agree on a common set of values or truths. That is very much not the case in the US and other places now. People cannot agree on what we should represent, support, do, or even say anymore.

That creates a much more unpredictable environment for these events to play out in as opposed to one in which everyone can agree on common courses of action in the best interest of the country.

Today we’re going to cover the following events that will or are impacting all Americans:

• The devastating storms and floods in the South, particularly in North Carolina, Tennessee, and South Carolina which is underreported by the media despite instances of looting, complete power loss, and a striking lack of response from the Government or politicians. As of Monday, the Hurricane Helene death toll could rise to 600 per US homeland security chief

• The explosion at a BioLab chemical plant in Georgia, the most recent of many similar instances over the last several years (Georgia Emergency management and Homeland Security Agency issued EMS warning re: air quality)

• A potential strike by longshore workers in major East Coast ports Tuesday — this could SEVERELY disrupt US supply chains

• Verizon is currently facing a widespread outage impacting millions, as reported by users and outlets across the United States.

Neil How and William Strauss, co authored two books (that I highly recommend) by the names of Generations and the Fourth Turning. In Generations, and in more detail in The Fourth Turning, they describe what they say is a four-stage cycle of social or mood eras which they refer to as "turnings". The turnings include: "the high", "the awakening", "the unraveling", and "the crisis"

According to the authors, the fourth turning represents a period of crisis. It is an era marked by destruction, often involving war or revolution, where existing institutions are dismantled and rebuilt in response to a perceived threat to the nation's survival. Following the crisis, civic authority is restored, cultural expression shifts toward serving the community, and individuals start to identify themselves as part of a larger collective.

I believe we are living through this Fourth Turning, and more evidence this is true surfaces with each passing day. The combination of adverse events playing out and the capacity for future ones to emerge in the coming weeks and months should drive you to thing pragmatically about what this means for you and for our country.

This is uncharted territory and there it’s unlikely we get out of these waters without things worsening and forcing change. Let’s start with the potential Longshoremen strike which could have devastating impacts on supply chains, costs, and jobs in the US.

Fourth Turnings lethally fracture our paradigms by chipping away bits and pieces of their foundation until staggering cracks suddenly run clear through them.

— The Fourth Turning

Longshoremen Strike & Verizon Outages

You can add this potentially lengthy supply chain disruption the mix in the coming months that could make prices soar on various goods and create panic buying across the country.

So how fucked are we? How disruptive is this port closure amid a backdrop of societal uncertainty and a key election?