How to Prepare for The End of The World (As We Know It)

A geopolitical, philosophical, historical, and practical guide

Photo by Catalin Pop on Unsplash

Let’s begin with the obvious: people are worried about the state of the world.

Or more accurately, they’re worried about America. Between COVID, social unrest, income disparity, political upheaval, and our tech overlords, there’s cause for concern.

Everyone has a hot take, whether journalist or part-time blogger, with many leaning toward a futuristic hellscape. Medium’s own hit essayist, Jessica Wildfire, even dropped two articles lamenting the issues within the United States. In them, she addresses first world entitlement and how Millennials are planning and panicking. One of them begins with an ode to Cormac McCarthy’s dystopian novel, The Road, and how we’re walking toward that end. The articles carry a blend of nihilism, cynicism, and, to some degree, defeat. Most people like their articles with a little pep and rah-rah, but with Wildfire’s more recent articles, she calls this toxic optimism.

It’s important to note that Jessica and I interact and read each other’s work. We both cut our teeth on Medium, and I contacted her prior to writing this article. This is not an attempt to get in some weird author feud, but to provide a more nuanced approach to problems she…