the only way to keep you and your family safe is to engage actively in community, politically and otherwise. we are far too interconnected for any but the very, very rich to be safe if things REALLY go to hell. the economy, the environment, and your state and city culture are all things that you cannot escape from.

i love american individualism most of the time, but i hate the implicit belief that comes with it that we can just stake ourselves out on a few hundred acres in the middle of nowhere and ride out the storm. like the government won't come with high-tech weapons and take your resources. like corporations won't pollute your air and water. like the starving and homeless won't climb over your fences and loot your stuff.

the only safety is in effective community action. and i know you're not in a good place for major political involvement, and i'm not either. but really, "keeping my family safe" and "figuring out how to fix things" require exactly the same set of actions, unless you're ready to pack up and leave the US. make good friends, vote, keep an eye on local and state politics, write letters to your representatives, help make your city a place that's a haven for people like you. learn organic gardening and rely less on modes of transportation that are subject to gas prices. teach and educate, and reach out to people with whom you have something in common, but also some disagreements, and remind them that you're a human being too. then you and some thousands of others like you, all concentrated together, will make as safe as a space as anyone can manage.