Preparing for the worst is always a good idea. The thought of widespread war was inconceivable to me until recently. It astonishes me how quickly that possibility changed from ludicrous to possible. Thank you for waking me up.
Amy, it was to me as well, but one does have to prepare oneself. I am discussing with friends where I live what we can do to be prepared. One shared with us how to make useable drinking water with natural filters. https://youtu.be/0DlnAq5UAqY?si=-0cV4iv0o7_ImEIB
Thanks for that YouTube tutorial. I hope never to need that info, but at least it’s in my “toolkit” now. Your subsequent commentary on moving to other countries struck home for me. I’m 68, newly retired and doubt I will move, choosing instead to resist in place. My kids, however, have a different perspective. Two of my 3 young men (twins, age 34) have asked me to apply for Irish citizenship (ie: EU) by virtue of my grandparents’ place of birth, so that they (my kids) can then apply as well. I’m in the process now, but I seriously wonder whether it will be that much better there than here? My kids are Jewish, and understandably want options. It never occurred to me until I read your post, that a time might come when emigration could be strictly controlled (prohibited) by the US gov’t. I will continue to follow your posts closely. Thank you so much for sharing your insights.
Thank you for your kind words Amy. A friend of mine in Chicago, who is turning 67 in September is Jewish and gay and does not want to be defined by that, but he says he is looking into South America to retire. He does not speak Spanish. You should read John Howard who was in Ireland for a while before moving to France. He also had Irish citizenship which is why he headed there first. You can ask his opinion, but I don't think he is Jewish. https://leavingamerica.substack.com/
I think one can research that. Here is one article.
Wonder whether countries which are less friendly to Muslims are more safe feeling for Jews. I would imagine that Hungary would not have many Muslims given their lack of tolerance for immigrants
Germany has a large Muslim population and Islam is the second largest religion after Christianity. Since the war between Israel and Hamas every demonstration has had a contingent flying the Palestinian flag. There is open hostility to Jews as if they represent the position of the Israeli government. Still, there are also dialogues between the two groups.
I have Brown skin and chose Germany. I visited Germany every year most of my life, so I have been watching until I felt it could be comfortable for me. I don't go to the deep South and I also don't go to the former Eastern states in Germany very often. Even with the AfD, I feel as safe in that way, as I would in the US in certain communities. Instead, I have chosen to live in a part of Germany that is very progressive, and welcomes immigrants. I am not viewed as an immigrant by the Germans I know, but as German. I am both. I moved here on retirement, and by one criteria you could say that I moved to a place that has a lower cost of living. It does. It is also safer and has cheaper health care, which is sliding scale according to income if one is in the public program.
What your your young men can do is move to Ireland, see how it feels, and travel around Europe to see where they feel better. As long as they are in the EU they can move anywhere.
My mother's family was divided by the building of the Berlin wall in 1961. I grew up with the stories of my mom running over the border to go back to the West and being shot at in the no mans land zone between the two countries that were once one after visiting her favorite aunt. That is why I know that keeping people in is part of an authoritarian bag of tricks. It seems like that will be in the works for women in certain states. On the other hand, watching this talk this morning was hopeful to me.
This video embedded in the Substack INK from Anand Giridharadas called "WATCH: An *actual* plan to beat fascism. A masterclass from political sage Anat Shenker-Osorio on how you can fight back against Trump II, create "social proof," mobilize your community, stop waiting for Democrats, and start getting it DONE"
Anand was introduced to be by Prof. Ruth Ben-Ghiat. He and she started doing a Monday lunchtime podcast together. She mentioned that he has a lot of great guests, and so I checked this one out and felt that she lived up the the hype, although it took them a while to get into the specifics. Anat is really inspiring. She is the kind of creative problem solver we all need to be.
I used to tell clients "hope for the best; prepare for the worst" -- the worst was never before the possibility of near total annihilation of life on earth as it looks to be now. I understand the need I see in many around me to "hunker down" and I assume "wait it out"; I'm not sure that's possible or effective but it may be the best option.
I had an actual dream about year ago that I was being bombed in my home outside San Antonio. Tx. Then the Canadian Air Force came to our rescue. Is it possible that my dreams are trying to forewarn me?
Oh, Linda...thank you again. Your posts are so important, and I am so very sorry, for all of us. The Mad king does seem intent on spreading the madness. I will now search for European preparedness plans.....sigh.
Thank you Melissa. I am going to be discussing emergency preparedness more as my group in Democrats Abroad discusses it more. I am in the early stages of preparing for war.
Not the most jolly post, but probably the most realistic assessment of where the US is headed under King Trump.
Thank you.
Preparing for the worst is always a good idea. The thought of widespread war was inconceivable to me until recently. It astonishes me how quickly that possibility changed from ludicrous to possible. Thank you for waking me up.
Amy, it was to me as well, but one does have to prepare oneself. I am discussing with friends where I live what we can do to be prepared. One shared with us how to make useable drinking water with natural filters. https://youtu.be/0DlnAq5UAqY?si=-0cV4iv0o7_ImEIB
Thanks for that YouTube tutorial. I hope never to need that info, but at least it’s in my “toolkit” now. Your subsequent commentary on moving to other countries struck home for me. I’m 68, newly retired and doubt I will move, choosing instead to resist in place. My kids, however, have a different perspective. Two of my 3 young men (twins, age 34) have asked me to apply for Irish citizenship (ie: EU) by virtue of my grandparents’ place of birth, so that they (my kids) can then apply as well. I’m in the process now, but I seriously wonder whether it will be that much better there than here? My kids are Jewish, and understandably want options. It never occurred to me until I read your post, that a time might come when emigration could be strictly controlled (prohibited) by the US gov’t. I will continue to follow your posts closely. Thank you so much for sharing your insights.
Amy
Thank you for your kind words Amy. A friend of mine in Chicago, who is turning 67 in September is Jewish and gay and does not want to be defined by that, but he says he is looking into South America to retire. He does not speak Spanish. You should read John Howard who was in Ireland for a while before moving to France. He also had Irish citizenship which is why he headed there first. You can ask his opinion, but I don't think he is Jewish. https://leavingamerica.substack.com/
I think one can research that. Here is one article.
https://jewishmuseum.ie/jews-of-ireland/
Here is an interesting study. .
https://www.timesofisrael.com/which-european-countries-are-best-for-jews-a-new-study-offers-unexpected-answers/
Wonder whether countries which are less friendly to Muslims are more safe feeling for Jews. I would imagine that Hungary would not have many Muslims given their lack of tolerance for immigrants
https://www.edwest.co.uk/p/where-are-jews-safest-in-europe
https://ejassociation.eu/
Germany has a large Muslim population and Islam is the second largest religion after Christianity. Since the war between Israel and Hamas every demonstration has had a contingent flying the Palestinian flag. There is open hostility to Jews as if they represent the position of the Israeli government. Still, there are also dialogues between the two groups.
I have Brown skin and chose Germany. I visited Germany every year most of my life, so I have been watching until I felt it could be comfortable for me. I don't go to the deep South and I also don't go to the former Eastern states in Germany very often. Even with the AfD, I feel as safe in that way, as I would in the US in certain communities. Instead, I have chosen to live in a part of Germany that is very progressive, and welcomes immigrants. I am not viewed as an immigrant by the Germans I know, but as German. I am both. I moved here on retirement, and by one criteria you could say that I moved to a place that has a lower cost of living. It does. It is also safer and has cheaper health care, which is sliding scale according to income if one is in the public program.
What your your young men can do is move to Ireland, see how it feels, and travel around Europe to see where they feel better. As long as they are in the EU they can move anywhere.
My mother's family was divided by the building of the Berlin wall in 1961. I grew up with the stories of my mom running over the border to go back to the West and being shot at in the no mans land zone between the two countries that were once one after visiting her favorite aunt. That is why I know that keeping people in is part of an authoritarian bag of tricks. It seems like that will be in the works for women in certain states. On the other hand, watching this talk this morning was hopeful to me.
This video embedded in the Substack INK from Anand Giridharadas called "WATCH: An *actual* plan to beat fascism. A masterclass from political sage Anat Shenker-Osorio on how you can fight back against Trump II, create "social proof," mobilize your community, stop waiting for Democrats, and start getting it DONE"
https://the.ink/p/watch-an-actual-plan-to-beat-fascism?r=f0qfn&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false
Anand was introduced to be by Prof. Ruth Ben-Ghiat. He and she started doing a Monday lunchtime podcast together. She mentioned that he has a lot of great guests, and so I checked this one out and felt that she lived up the the hype, although it took them a while to get into the specifics. Anat is really inspiring. She is the kind of creative problem solver we all need to be.
Wow! You packed a lot of valuable information in this post. Thank you for the post and for the links.
I used to tell clients "hope for the best; prepare for the worst" -- the worst was never before the possibility of near total annihilation of life on earth as it looks to be now. I understand the need I see in many around me to "hunker down" and I assume "wait it out"; I'm not sure that's possible or effective but it may be the best option.
I had an actual dream about year ago that I was being bombed in my home outside San Antonio. Tx. Then the Canadian Air Force came to our rescue. Is it possible that my dreams are trying to forewarn me?
It is possible - I have had dreams that warned me of things that happened.
I wish American civilians could get some war and weapons training. After Kash Patel was confirmed today, we're seriously going to need it.
Oh, Linda...thank you again. Your posts are so important, and I am so very sorry, for all of us. The Mad king does seem intent on spreading the madness. I will now search for European preparedness plans.....sigh.
Thank you for sharing this deep perspective. Truly valuable. Praying for peaceful resolutions and also thinking about emergency preparedness.
Thank you Melissa. I am going to be discussing emergency preparedness more as my group in Democrats Abroad discusses it more. I am in the early stages of preparing for war.