Preparedness in Times of War

What we should think about now that the U.S. has entered war with Iran

Before I get into things, I had the honor of co-authoring

Anya Kamenetz

’s weekly news roundup for paid subscribers last week. And what a wild week it was. Just hours before it was posted, the news broke that Trump authorized the bombing of three nuclear sites in Iran; all without congressional approval. Oof, what scary times. But there are some hopeful pieces of news and some actions you can take to help keep public lands public. Check it out here:

June 22: War, and What Else Really Happened Last week

This week’s post is, of course, related to entering the war with Iran. I was on a plane around the time the news broke and a friend sent a text to a thread of old friends noting that she was going to have a panic attack. Thanks to onboard text access, I was at least up-to-date, but it wasn’t until the next morning that the news fully sunk in. And when it did, I was right where my friend was, panic mode.

I have since talked myself down—helps to have spent the weekend with my kiddo in Sonoma County (here to check out a future

Scribente Maternum

retreat site) before we head to Yosemite. But my brain has also been in action mode, especially since it feels like we have so little control (it barely seems this dictator-in-chief has his whole plan under control). But there’s one thing we can do and that is to prepare.

When I came across this @frontlinemedics it hit home the necessity to prepare and how to do it. What it all comes down to is everything I keep writing about: community.

frontlinemedics

A post shared by @frontlinemedics

This post from February about resisting fascism is as relevant now as it ever is. It’s also a way to prepare.

But it’s also time to start preparing yourself and your community to rely on one another lest resources become scarce. That is already going to happen amid the tariffs, but a war can exacerbate this.

But, as the @frontlinemedics post emphasizes, this is not the time to revert back to the toilet paper hoarding pre-pandemic panic. Hoarding resources does nothing for community and, therefore nothing for you.

I do think that in addition to the recommendations in the post—learning to grow food and learning off-grid skills—we can also prepare our homes. It’s time to start thinking about all of the things

Brekke Wagoner

and I talked about in our podcast series (all of which you can find here).

Yet, community is essential. The Frontline Medics post notes that it’s a good time to remember that we are not the first people in history to experience the “downfall of an empire” or a major, apocalyptic disaster, or war. We haven’t experienced the worst , but others—both past and present—have experienced the worst. We can learn from this, specifically that:

“History shows us that those who center cooperation over competition are the ones who rebuild.”

So the lesson here is like all others:

Community and resistance.

That is how we move forward.