by Daisy Luther, The Organic Prepper:
Last year, International Man published an intriguing article by Jeff Thomas about American society during the Great Depression period. Duly named Duesenberg In A Barn, it opens with a story about shifts in culture and the lifestyle of wealthy individuals and families during the 1930s and beyond (Duesenberg produced luxury sport cars between 1913 and 1937).
He recounts how the riches that didn’t get snuffed out by, or even profited from, the 1929 Stock Market Crash, kept flaunting their wealth trying to outcompete each other, in an attempt to extend the 1920s Jazz Era hedonism and largesse into Depression times.
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However, as the crisis aggravated, these individuals and families started to realize that such behavior amidst the rampant misery was quickly becoming a liability.
“Whatever the psychology involved, in 1930, those who had fared well soon learned that it was unwise to be conspicuous in their continued wealth. At that point, an interesting but little-remembered development occurred. Such people put their mink coats in the closet, their jewelry in a safe place, and found barns in the countryside into which they could park their Duesenbergs, Cords, and Auburns.”
The rich toned down not from sympathy or compassion but as adaptation. Contrary to what many think, the wealthy have a sharp survival instinct.
That’s a crucial distinction, with the keywords being “adaptation” and “survival”, and the main takeaway an important social dynamic typical of all crises: the nail that stands out gets hammered.
Those born and living in unstable and hostile contexts are constantly reminded of all the unwritten rules that keep us, our kin, and our stuff, safer. From criminals, sure, but also from tyrannical, greedy governments and corrupt authorities.
I call that Thirdworldization OPSEC. It applies to criminality and government overreach mainly, but as Thirdworldization expands, it’s now applicable to other areas of social existence. Illegal immigrants, as well as political, religious, and ideological extremists from our own society, must now be added to the list of official (i.e., state) and criminal threats.
Threats are increasing and modern OPSEC is important.
There are periods in history when the number and diversity of potential enemies and hazards around us rise, and that’s the case in most of the West right now.
People are financially insecure, afraid of the future, confused, and lost. Those feelings lead to anger and revolt. Add all the leftist/woke indoctrination and brainwashing of the last years, and we get a mass of utterly discontent and unhinged folks out there.
The majority cannot put a finger on, much less process what’s happening. Nevertheless, the sentiments are there and everyone starts lashing out at everyone else, resulting more frequent and intense episodes of violence and increased friction.
I’m talking about gratuitous, random, and now targeted and coordinated violence coming from all sides and for a variety of reasons. I warned about this in 2023, and it’s now coming to a head.
Let’s examine some facets of this phenomenon and how to deal with this new reality.
Starting with what Thomas addressed in his Duesenberg article: lifestyle, status, and ostentation
There are many similarities between the 1920s and now. The risks of a grave economic or financial event are sky-high. Growth is abysmal, inflation is rising, and living standards are dropping.
And critically, the concentration of wealth is growing at an accelerated pace. The haves are getting fleeced and may be outnumbered by the have-nots at some point, which is bad.
Economic disparity begets political polarization, which begets the undoing of the social fabric, which begets cultural degradation, which begets the undoing of civilization.
More people are living in the streets (I’ll return to that in an upcoming post). Drug and alcohol abuse are skyrocketing, and mental illness is exploding. Those things are happening across all demographics, which is concerning and one of the points of this post.
“Thou shall not flaunt.”
Even though we’re not yet at the stage described by Jeff Thomas, the words of late philanthropist George Peabody – “Ostentation is a target you hang on your back” – already come to mind as a survival rule in a declining society.
Nonetheless, everybody’s trying to keep up with the Joneses, something evident in both the real world and the web. Social media is a carousel of Dubai trips, fabulous resorts, fancy restaurants, luxurious dresses, plastic surgeries, and Lamborghinis.
That’s not the reality, but a facade. This is the age of gambling, easy money chasing, glorification of ignorance (Dunning-Kruger and “influencer culture”), fake lifestyles, and blatant ostentation. It’s a bubble, and the bill will come due.
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