If nothing else, COVID-19 has proven that a severe threat can come when we least expect it and are least prepared to deal with it. So, how do we fix this for the future? What is the Next Great American Threat?
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According to Donald Trump, no one saw the coronavirus coming. However, The New York Times is reporting that not only did the World Health Organization warn Trump about the virus months before he acted, but officials have been predicting for many years that a deadly pandemic of epic proportions was inevitable.
We can’t turn back time and prevent COVID-19. However, we can look ahead to recognize new threats on the horizon and start preparing now on ways to prevent future disasters.
So, what is the Next Great American Threat? Let’s take a look at the possibilities:
THE DEATH OF PRIVACY
If we thought we gave up our right to privacy following 9/11, we ain’t seen nothin’ yet! The coronavirus is about to introduce us to a whole new world with new rules that will be very different from the life we left just a few short months ago.
Imagine a world where you’ll be required to spit into a vial and have your DNA stored by the TSA just to travel on an airplane again. Picture a day when you’ll be required to carry a photo ID as well as a COVID-19 negative health certificate (or subject yourself to an instant coronavirus test) just to cross state lines or national borders. Consider a time when every cell phone in every city will talk to every other device so that the government can monitor where you’ve been and exactly who you’ve been around — all in the interest of public health.
No, that’s not an episode of “The Twilight Zone,” but the very likely privacy-killing future Americans will face just to resume a normal life. Since a coronavirus vaccine might be years or even decades from fruition, the only way to successfully contain it will be for governments to monitor how and through whom it spreads — which means they’ll be watching our every move and tracing our every connection via technology.
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WHITE SUPREMACY
The Next Great American Threat of terrorism won’t come from a foreign actor but from a home-grown white supremacist.
Just take a look at the words and deeds of the white male protestors who marched en masse in Charlottesville. Or the gun-toting/swastika-promoting protestors who stormed the Michigan state capitol building and issued death threats against the governor just to demand that the state immediately reopen. Or the 2 white men who stalked then shot and killed a black man in Georgia for daring to jog in his own neighborhood.
Does anyone honestly think that if Donald Trump loses the election he will accept defeat and just go away quietly? Or that his white-nationalist minions will accept the election results and bend peacefully to democracy? Does anyone believe once Trump is out of office all the racists will crawl back into their caves and hibernate? NO!
Trump opened Pandora’s Box and emboldened white supremacists with the green light to proceed full speed ahead. We can’t put them back in the box now. With open carry gun rights and “Stand Your Ground” shoot-to-kill laws on their side, white supremacy in America poses perhaps the biggest threat to mankind since the rise of Hitler.
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CONFUSED REALITY
Knowing the difference between what’s real and what’s fake is already a huge problem in America and high on the list of The Next Great American Threat.
You’ve seen those coronavirus press conferences where noted medical experts such as Dr. Fauci and Dr. Birx would say one thing, then Donald Trump would come behind them and say exactly the opposite. Or, when CNN reports a story, but Fox News reports the facts completely differently, if at all. How do uninformed Americans read a headline or catch a 30-second news blast and know the difference between truth and propaganda?
Another example is the Trump inauguration which was so poorly attended, techies were hired to doctor photos just to make it falsely appear as if it were (in Trump’s words) the “biggest,” “the best,” and “the most attended” inauguration ever.
The purposeful confusion of reality is not just a political tool used by Donald Trump and Fox News. Now, ordinary people are able to create confusion via the relatively new art of deepfake videos.
For example, deepfake creators are able to take the real video of a politician, then completely alter it to appear as if they’re saying something they never actually said. The resulting video is so seamlessly produced, it’s nearly impossible to tell fact from fiction.
Since a video could be created to make a world leader appear to say he or she is bombing another nation, this technological confusion of reality is not just some harmless fun but rather a tool capable of causing deadly consequences.
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BIOSECURITY
If there’s one thing the coronavirus should have taught us, it’s that we are vulnerable when it comes to biosecurity. Natural events (such as the Covid-19 pandemic), lab accidents, bioterrorism, and biological warfare are very real and could occur at any time.
What if a rogue nation or independent actor working on a biological weapon right now was to unleash a deadly virus by accident? What if they did the same on purpose? What if someone was able to infiltrate our water supply, turning all of America into Flint, Michigan?
The argument is not a matter of if, but when — making the topic of biosecurity a life or death must-have for our future.
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TECHNOLOGY HACK
Almost as dangerous as bioterrorism is a grand scale technological hack.
Think of the havoc a terrorist could cause if they were able to hack into the US electrical grid. Not only would the power be out in our homes, but so would our WiFi access to cell phones, cable television, and other means of general communication. ATM’s and credit card transactions would cease to work. Refrigerators and freezers would abruptly stop operating, spoiling meats and causing mass hunger in a manner of days. Traffic signals would be out. Mass transit would come to a halt. America would be in chaos.
What if someone were to hack into the Wall St. Stock Exchange? Or the banking system? Not only would the markets crash the economy, but all our bank accounts could be hacked to show a zero balance.
Millions of hackers from around the world are feverishly at work every day coming up with new ways to bring us down just for funsies and the bragging rights to boast they could do it. With that thought in mind, the very real possibility of a successful hack is extremely high on the list of The Next Great American Threat.
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A TRUMP 2ND TERM
Donald Trump has proven time and again that he’d rather be a king than a president. This was never more evident than on Friday night when Trump fired US State Department Inspector General Steve Linick, making him the 5th government watchdog to be removed within just a few short years. So, why did he do it?
Trump doesn’t want anyone watching over him or requiring him to follow the law. He also wants to create his own reality and tell the American people his version of the truth instead of the actual truth. If Donald Trump is re-elected in November with a Republican-controlled Senate, he will have nothing standing in his way to rule America like a ruthless dictator and exact revenge against those who dare to question him. His victory will also hand racist white males with guns the permission to ramp up their white supremacy without recourse.
For the man who says there are “good people on both sides” when discussing racists versus anti-racists, another 4 years of Donald Trump could be the death knell for America.
Very good post DJ, All very credible points and all points are well made. For me the “great next American threat” is “White Supremacy.” In other words the same threat that’s always been there and will continue to be at least for the foreseeable future. As DJ correctly noted: Trump has worked hard to “embolden” that deeply fearful, fragile and troublesome group. They won’t just “go away” peacefully IF Trump loses in November because Trump won’t just “go away” peacefully. That dangerous fool will raise all kinds of H*ll and make-up all kinds of BS claims as why the election was “stolen” from him. His minions will PRETEND to believe him when they’ll know d*mn well it’s just a load of crap. But they’ll do their damnedest to tear up this country anyway because that’s just WHO they are. But here’s the deal – Come this November, I hope and… Read more »