The New ‘Survivalism’: The Long-Haul Trump Resistance

Weare all familiar with apocalyptic images of grim, determined ‘survivalists.’ Over the past forty years, it became de rigeur among ‘doomsday preppers’ and end-of-the-world types to focus almost exclusively on ‘disaster prepping’: doing everything possible to survive impending social and economic collapse.

‘Everything,’ in this case, usually includes hoarding immense amounts of food, water, cash, gasoline, candles, batteries, guns, and ammunition. Amassing and protecting one’s ‘stash’ becomes the central purpose of life.

But this is a lonely, indeed anti-social approach to ‘survival.’ That this approach would arise and thrive in the US is not surprising, though, since this country is probably the most individualistic, least socially-oriented ‘society’ on the planet. Our intense individualism is our pride and joy, yet it is also proving to be our downfall.

Under the ‘reign’ of uber-individualist and super-capitalist Donald Trump, and especially since Trump 2.0 embarked on its blitzkrieg reign of terror, I sense a new form of ‘survivalism’ taking shape. Under Trump, our national situation has become SO dire that it’s calling forth a whole new set of priorities and a new mindset as well.

That mindset is: we Americans are all (stuck) in this mess together, and the only way we’re going to survive (and maybe even thrive) is to band together and act together.

There are no good, viable alternatives left

This statement may seem simplistic, but consider: what is the alternative? To hunker down, bunker down, and ‘protect’ my own tiny corner of the world? To surrender to the new ‘Axis of Evil’ — Trump, Putin, Netanyahu, Orban, etc. — and just give up, withdraw, and hide away? To grimly pursue my own selfish survival at any cost?

To me, none of these alternatives is the least bit appealing. Cutting myself off from my fellow humans and society itself does not seem like a rational or enjoyable option — especially over the long term. Nor does knuckling under and hoping to just survive this shitstorm.

Meanwhile, Trump 2.0 — and all the social horrors it is unleashing — is presenting us with ever-clearer, ever more distressing challenges. It is also prodding us to dig deep into ourselves and find new ways to imagine our future.

Remember the hackneyed line, “The darkest hour is just before the dawn?” Well, I’d say that’s only true —with ‘dawn’ just around the corner — if we choose to ‘grow up’ and IF we open our minds and hearts and re-imagine our lives together in society. And for us Americans in particular, that has to start with unlearning our absurd over-individualism and learning (again) to work together.

Trump 2.0 is forcing us to evolve, ‘grow a pair,’ and resist tyranny

Of course, it’s a crap shoot whether enough Americans will even be willing to tone down our intense individualism and engage in ongoing collective activism. Yet that seems like the only viable way forward, which is why I’m calling this path ‘the new survivalism.’ To ensure even our short-term survival as a nation and society, we are being forced to re-imagine our future. And self-centered, greedy ‘survival prepping’ is not the answer.

The Trump regime is goading us into action with all its intense oppression, hatefulness, anti-science biases, and overall anti-truth, anti-democracy stance. It is pushing us into a very nasty corner and shows no sign of stopping or slowing its assault on human decency anytime soon.

So, the ‘new survivalism’ arises: we act together, or we die. And if we don’t actually die in the physical, bodily sense… we’ll still suffer a thousand ‘inner deaths’ on deep emotional and psychological levels. That’s not a version of ‘survival’ I would ever choose. It’s closer to endless, agonizing torture.

Yet acting together for the common good is not something we modern Americans are very good at. We’ve been trained from birth to be mindless, disconnected ‘consumers,’ so working together toward shared goals is not easy or comfortable for us. But we’ve done it before, during the era of massive strikes and labor protests that curtailed the ‘Gilded Age’ and the age of the robber barons and led to the rise of labor unions and other worker protections. Such collective actions are still possible, indeed crucial now — though our lazy, entitled ‘consumerism’ has eroded our capacity for concerted social planning and action.

The truly great thing about Trump 2.0, weirdly, is that it’s forcing us to ‘wake up’ and quickly revamp our priorities and ‘needs.’ The crazed hatefulness, backwardness, and overt oppression of the Trump regime are propelling us into trying something new and better, together.

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Photo by Mike Newbry on Unsplash

The ‘No Kings’ protests are a good start — but are just the beginning of a long struggle

Yesterday, October 18, massive ‘No Kings!’ rallies and protests (over 2,700!) took place, all across America — and in much of the rest of the world as well. This marked an inspiring and energizing beginning — but that’s all it is: a beginning.

The depredations and cruelty of the Trump regime are so ruthless and determined that even massive public protests and a rising tide of social opposition will not stop this regime. They might not even slow it down much (if at all), since Trump and the GOP now control every aspect of our federal government.

What will slow this regime down, and perhaps eventually stop it, are ongoing collective actions on a massive scale. Protests are important, but they only set the stage for what should come next: organized sit-ins, strikes, walk-outs, and other persistent, collective actions. Without such intentional, concerted actions, NO amount of civil protest will ‘save us.’

That’s because Trump and his followers do not believe in either democracy or modernity, and in truth are only committed to one very anti-American goal: cementing their own power and (White) dominance. They are quite willing — even eager — to sell out the truth, our present, our future, and our entire society for their own short-term gain and power.

The only way to meet and defeat such amoral power is with equal or greater power.

Trump seeks unlimited power — and may use the Insurrection Act to get it

This sounds like quite a daunting task — and it is. Yet, we are being forced into this task, more and more with each passing day. It’s a formidable task, yet it’s also an opportunity for a massive social ‘re-set’ and renewal.

However, assuring our social and economic survival may come at a heavy cost. In the past, when the common people united against greedy tycoons and robber barons, the ‘leaders of industry’ linked forces with the federal government, which often used our military to go after protesters and, especially, strikers and forcibly put down ‘uprisings.’ Hundreds, even thousands, of strikers were jailed, injured, or even killed.

Not surprisingly, Trump is already floating using the ‘Insurrection Act’ to go after his political opponents and use the military against ‘Democrat-led’ cities and states. Several courts have ruled against Trump’s outrageous flaunting of presidential power, but it remains to be seen if his regime will obey the courts. [Note: on 10/20 the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Trump can deploy the National Guard in Portland, OR.]

The odds aren’t good, since MAGAts everywhere are now labeling the courts ‘corrupt’ and advising Trump to disobey any rulings that limit his power. Plus, he is eager to just ‘declare’ insurrections in Democratic areas — which the Insurrection Act allows — and then use this as a pretext to send in troops or the National Guard.

A long and dangerous struggle lies ahead

Thus, we can confidently expect a long, dangerous, and at times bloody struggle to reclaim our country and ensure our own social and economic survival. Once again, tyrants and authoritarians are on the rise, while democracies around the world are reeling and fading — foremost among them, the United States.

It’s increasingly apparent that the only way we’re going to get through this — and have our society survive in any meaningful way — is to learn (fast!) to work together collectively and effectively. A true ‘new survivalism’ is needed now — one based on collaborative thinking and ongoing social action.

The big question is, can or will Americans make this adaptive leap and pledge our very lives to ensuring much-needed and sanity-preserving social changes? The remainder of this decade will tell the tale.

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This post was previously published on MEDIUM.COM.

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