As an observer of contemporary politics, economics, and emerging threats, I have come to the conclusion that the last three years of Donald John Trump’s second term as President may provide a potential window of opportunity. If we were now living under a Harris-Walz Administration, we would surely be out of time to prepare. I have my doubts about Trump’s sincerity when he talks about scaling back the size and power of government. Alarmingly, the gains of the DOGE project were wiped out by the huge deficit spending included in the recent “Big, Beautiful Bill”. But I don’t consider DJT as much of a threat to our personal liberty as either his Democrat predecessor or his possible Democrat successor. (See my previous essay describing American politics operating in pendulum swings and a possible pendulum freeze.)
I believe that we may have a three-year window of opportunity to get squared away for whatever happens next to our nation. Of course, if the global stock markets crash, then there will be little or no time to prepare. If World War 3 breaks out, then there will be little or no time to prepare. And if we enter a time of Tribulation as described in Biblical prophecy, then obviously there will be little or no time to prepare. So perhaps we might only have a three-month window of opportunity to get our families prepared.
Draconian Measures
The Woke Left is currently screaming “martial law” and harping on the Trump Administration’s renewed immigration enforcement. But to date, the ICE arrests have actually been on about the same scale as the arrests and deportations during the Obama Administration. I believe that here in the United States the greater risk of draconian measures by the Federal government will come from the left rather than from the right. This could be something analogous to what happened during the three-term presidency of Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR). That included wage and price controls, confiscation of gold, registration with a high tax on machineguns, very large-scale military draft, and the mass internment of many Japanese-Americans from America’s coasts and a much smaller number of non-citizens from various Axis nations.
I predict that if there is a deep recession and/or a return to high inflation that the Democrats will prevail in the 2026 and 2028 elections, giving them control of both Congress and the White House. If this happens, then they will quickly reverse nearly all of DJT’s executive orders and reopen the borders to illegal immigration. Instead of scaling back government and curtailing spending, they will launch a whole raft of new FDR-style socialist “recovery” programs, with enormous budgets. That massive spending will only exacerbate the Federal debt and budget deficit.
A Three-Year Window?
Assuming the economy holds together and peace prevails, the next three years could represent a window of opportunity to prepare. This could and should include getting right with God, stocking up on your prepping logistics, teaming up with like-minded family, neighbors, and friends, taking some important training, and perhaps making a strategic relocation of your family to a lightly-populated region. I will briefly discuss each of these, in turn.
Look Up
First and foremost, I implore you, my readers, to accept Jesus (Yeshua) as your savior. To put this succinctly: Look up to heaven for your hope in perilous times. Confess and repent of your sins. You cannot expect God’s covenantal blessings, guidance, and providence unless you are in covenant with God.
Stock Up
A key part of prepping is stocking up to be ready for times of famine, various crises, and supply chain disruption. The SurvivalBlog Lists-of-Lists spreadsheet covers a variety of storage items in detail. These include long-term storage food, cleaning supplies, paper products, hygiene items, water filtration, various containers, livestock tack and supplies, fuel, and so forth. The Lists-of-Lists spreadsheet is editable, so you can tailor it to suit your own needs.
Team Up
Please prayerfully consider creating a small local network of like-minded individuals as your “group”. It doesn’t matter what you choose to name it, or how you organize it. The key factor is having folks whom you can count on to be reasonable when times get unreasonable.
Train Up
Take advantage of this potential window of opportunity to also get training in advanced first aid, ham radio communications, firearms, home canning, gardening, outdoor survival/fieldcraft, motor vehicle mechanics, home wiring (both AC and solar DC), carpentry, and plumbing. Do so as time and your budget allow. Note that many of these skills will require just one member of your family or group to get trained, and then they can cross-train others.
Move Up
Lastly, I’d like to discuss “moving up”. That is strategically relocating your family to a lightly-populated region.
An aside: In the Jewish world, they use the term Aliyah to describe relocating to Israel. Aliyah literally means “To go up”. This originally meant relocating to the holy city of Jerusalem, which is on high ground. But in the current context, making Aliyah means emigrating from any country to anywhere in Israel. The inverse term, “Yoridah” means “To go down”, and refers to emigrating from Israel.
In these perilous times, wise families should each find their own defensible high ground, or other safe ground. I’ve written about this topic at length in SurvivalBlog and in my books, so I won’t go through the detailed criteria for selecting a safe retreat locale in this essay. One key reference is the book Survival Retreats and Relocation, that I co-authored with my #1 Son, Jonathan. That book has some very detailed analysis and maps.
But in short form, the key discriminating factors for you to consider in selecting a locale should include:
- A good church home or Bible study group
- A State with an unpretentious government and low taxes
- Low-population density
- Isolation from major population centers
- An inland region with a low risk of natural disasters
- Like-minded neighbors
- A predominantly agrarian economy
- A viable vegetable growing season
- A low-crime area
- Plentiful fresh water
- Favorable laws on guns, homeschooling, home livestock keeping, et cetera.)
- A nearby source of home heating firewood or coal.
Note: Your own criteria may vary, depending on your family situation, your health, and/or your stage of life. For example, you may have a need to be close to medical care facilities.
What If We Don’t Have Three Years?
Reading the recent news reports about the re-escalation and possible broadening of the Ukraine War, you may be asking yourself: What if we don’t have three years? If we have just a few weeks or months to prepare, then what should we do? This would require sharpening your pencil to re-prioritize your prepping budget. Stick with the greatest essentials, namely: Food, water, shelter, and self-defense. If you don’t already own a rural retreat or have the opportunity to relocate, then at least have a viable bugout plan. Hopefully, you have some “country cousins.” – JWR
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