Tick Tock Tick Tock It is Five Minutes to Midnight Do You Know Where Your Preparations Are?
Called the Doomsday Clock, it is maintained by the Science and Security Board and is recognized worldwide as an indicator, however symbolic, on how close civilization is to complete destruction.
Many believe it represents a countdown to possible politically related global catastrophes. This is in line with other beliefs that humanity’s mere existence on earth will cause earth’s destruction.
Unbelievably humans will cause their own destruction, is this breaking news? Humans have been one of the main causes of their own destruction since humans first appeared. Nuclear bombs, biological and chemical agents can literally kill hundreds of thousands at a time, and thus the reason for the clock. However, it does not take an atomic scientist to figure out we will destroy ourselves eventually.
Essentially technology has created more ways for people to die faster and on a larger scale.
The doomsday clock may be telling us the world will end in a big bang, but remember the world ends for thousands of people every day, (estimated at 56 million yearly), seven days a week 365 days a year.
According to the World Health Organization, (WHO) Cardiovascular disease is the number 1 cause of death throughout the world (WHO, 2014)
Annihilation from nuclear weapons, climate change, biotechnologies, cyber technology and the list goes on. There is no definitive answer as to what would ultimately cause the destruction. What is definitive however, is the belief that the destruction would in the end be caused by humanity whether it be accidently, purposely or simply by miscalculation.
The concept for the clock can be traced back to those that worked closely with or participated in the Manhattan Project. Of course with their inside knowledge and knowing firsthand what nuclear technology can do, they realized it was only a matter of time before someone; somewhere went rouge with a nuclear weapon, a weapon of mass destruction.
The same theory applies to the advancement of cyber technology, biological and chemical agents. Someone, maybe even a country somewhere will use weapons of mass destruction to kill people and possibly end the world, as we know it (Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists., 2014).
The Government is Prepared or is Preparing for Doomsday
The government spends billions every year preparing for the worst-case scenario. Some of the scenarios may be absurd, but the point is that they are prepared and are continually preparing for something.
Some of you may remember the nuclear drills in school during the 50’s and 60’s. Run out into the hallway and duck down against a wall, with the bigger kids leaning over you. Bomb shelters were a booming business during this time as well. Doomsday preparations are not anything new, or unique. Families stockpiled gas masks, food, and water and had a place to evacuate too.
You may believe in a specific scenario and others may believe in something else altogether. The bottom line is something is likely to happen. At some point however, the scenario or event stops being as important as the effects, what will the after effects be. Based on what information is available the result will be a disruption of electricity.
Whether the disruption is caused by an EMP from a nuclear detonation or a cyber attack the results are the same. Of course, the initial destruction of life and property will vary depending on the disaster itself, but if you survive, you will have to survive without electricity for years possibly.
Is the Government Preparing To Save Itself or You the Citizen?
Elected officials (the government) believes in itself and thus has to believe that without it, all citizens would perish. Government doctrine is to survive by any means possible so it can rise and govern. Some may feel the government is too intrusive, and others may feel they do not benefit enough from the government. Of course, the country needs a government but you do not want to be a ward of the government, or beholden to it. The government should be indebted to its citizens.
When a crisis does occur there are policies and preparations in place to sustain the government and this means protecting high-ranking elected officials. Get the government operational first, and then work on providing to its citizens. This is the plan, whether you like it or not and how long this may take and how well the plans work is open to debate.
The fact that you are a Prepper means you are not waiting and will not wait for the government to help. Some people may believe that the government will finally be out of their hair during a crisis but the opposite may be true.
Federal troops and/or the National Guard may be used to get people to safer areas, or what others consider safer. Some believe this would be a way of rounding everyone up so they could keep track of them. This would be a monumental task, and would not likely happen nationwide. It may happen locally however, initiated by local authorities.
What this means is you may be evacuated from your community whether you like it or not. Martial law may be enacted and then any local laws or regulations would not apply, and you could be physically removed, in theory, to a so-called refugee camp if the government so desired, again this would be unlikely on a national scale.
However, if the crisis is nationwide and severe, troops and emergency responders may just decide to revolt and care for their own families. No one will know until it happens, discipline may deteriorate within certain government factions.
The Clock Is Real and Your Preparations Need to be Real As Well
There are simply too many things that can happen for something not to happen. If you have not figured it out by now you should start prepping now. Essentially, during a SHTF situation you will only have yourself and a small community of others to rely on. Do not expect help from the government in the short-term. In fact, you should avoid contact with the authorities if you can in the initial stages of the crisis.
Going to a government relief camp should only be a last resort, and then it may not be advisable but only you can decide based on information at the time. Once under stringent governmental control your actions will be limited. This not to say you would be incarcerated but the authorities in their attempt to keep everyone safe may in effect incarcerate people.
The doomsdays clock started its countdown when the first human appeared on the planet. It is still ticking but has gotten closer to midnight, as of Jan 22nd, 2015 the most recent officially announced setting, three minutes to midnight (11:57pm) was made.
Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. (2014). Retrieved 2014, from http://thebulletin.org/overview
WHO. (2014). Retrieved 2014, from http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs310/en/index2.html