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Generally, it is our philosophy at SurvivalOutpost.com to stay out of the prediction business, to steer clear of radicalism and fanaticism, and to shun notions of conspiracy and intrigue. We believe that the world will unfold in unpredictable and mysterious ways and that attempts to predict future events, and/or to assign blame or responsibility for life's tumultuous ride, ultimately makes one look both foolish and wrong; indeed, the very act of predicting the future can alter that which is being predicted, making the effort meaningless as well as a waste of precious time and energy. Likewise, while it is arguable that there exist hidden agendas, secret mysteries, and powerful forces that are at work in our lives and world today (and it is seductive and fun to think about such things), trying to figure them out and attribute 'blame' or 'responsibility' to any one group is equally as futile as predicting the future.
Sometimes Shit really does just happen, and there is no clear reason and no clear logic for why. It's just the world we live in.
Take the Japan earthquake for example. Japan is the third largest economy in the world and it was brought to its knees by a devastating act of nature, crippling its economy, destroying vast tracts of infrastructure, shattering lives and families, and, quite likely, poisoning the region with a toxic radioactive stew. A thinking person would predict that this horrible event would result in a severe shock to the global markets, similar to the contraction that followed the events of September 11, 2001 -- Japan is the THIRD largest economy in the world after all. But, here we are two weeks later...and the Dow Jones Industrial just keeps going up, and the Nikkei rebounds. That was not predictable. And on March 12th, while we were watching the mind-boggling videos of nature run amok in northern Japan, had you told me that the markets would continue to surge forward in their unrelenting pursuit of false profits, I would have laughed in your face. Surely an event of this scale will rock the global economy...
Nope. At least not according to Wall Street.
And while it is seductive to blame the counter-intuitive moves of the markets on Wall Street racketeering and investment bank machinations, (after all, the so-called 'fundamentals' of the economy apparently aren't so 'fundamental' any more), can you really prove that? Isn't it equally as possible that humans make irrational decisions in the face of unpredictable events, and the aggregate of those irrational decisions make for some pretty wild realities? Isn't it equally possible that investment bankers aren't really inherently evil, but are doing what all of us would do given the chance -- make a profit? As long as the system allows (encourages?) them to continue to do what they are doing, so long as it is profitable, do you blame them for doing it? Is it really possible to predict anything so long as humans are involved given that we are all imperfect co-creators of our own collective reality?
I think not...
So here is a summary maxim for you to live by: Predictions Are Always Wrong. Period.
But, Preparing for an uncertain future is Always Right.
If we have learned anything from our journey in this world, it should be that while the future is unpredictable and uncertain, we can still take steps to prepare for it. How? By recognizing that our world reveals patterns, probabilities and synchronicities in its wild ride, and that each of these tells us a compelling story (sometimes the story is screaming in our face, but we are too busy watching American Idol to hear it). Furthermore, we have the historical record to guide us in our journey.
So consider this:
There is a pattern emerging in the Middle East.
There is a pattern emerging in the global economies (debt!).
There is a pattern emerging in the Pacific Ring of Fire.
There is a pattern emerging in American Politics and its system of governance.
There is a pattern emerging in the world's geopolitical arena.
There is a pattern emerging in the world's weather and climate.
There is a pattern emerging in the precious metals markets.
There is a pattern emerging in the Main Stream Media.
There is a pattern emerging in space.
None of these patterns are new in the global experience, and they all have a rich and exciting history in the world's historical narrative. Perhaps you should research them? And as you do, ask yourself an honest question: What should a reasonable person do to prepare?
