CHICAGO — U.S. politics continue to be a chaotic subject, and a new poll finds the majority of Americans are rapidly losing faith in their country’s leaders. From the ousting of the Speaker of the House to the mounting controversies engulfing the current president and his predecessor, over seven in 10 people say there’s no one they trust to save them from an end-of-the-world event. Such problems only push the so-called “Doomsday Clock” to tick closer to end times.
Established in 1947 by a group of atomic scientists, including the revered Albert Einstein, the Doomsday Clock serves as a barometer for humanity’s proximity to global annihilation. It is a metaphorical measure of humanity’s vulnerability to cataclysmic events, such as nuclear war, climate change, pandemics, or asteroid impacts. The closer the clock’s hands are to midnight, the closer we presumably are to a doomsday scenario.
According to a survey of 6,200 Americans conducted by BonusFinder.com, 71.2 percent of Americans say they have no faith in the U.S. government to save them or prevent a doomsday event. Even more unnerving, many respondents believe Doomsday could come within the next year.
Over half the poll (55.8%) think Doomsday will come in the form of a climate change-related catastrophe, while a third believe another virus will sweep the globe and a quarter of respondents fear the start of World War III. Another seven percent are betting on an alien invasion, while the same number believe 2024 will finally be the year zombies walk the Earth.
When it comes to the lack of faith in the U.S. government, researchers found that this growing distrust appears to be a bipartisan issue. Researchers found that a staggering 82 percent of respondents in the swing state of Arizona don’t trust the government to protect them from Doomsday. Moreover, 43 percent of these Americans have stored up supplies for a potential disaster.
Following Arizona, the top five states with the least amount of trust in the government include Kansas (78%), Alabama (78%), Pennsylvania (77%), and Oregon (76%).
As for what’s causing so many people to get ready for the potential end of the world, over 16 percent of respondents say social media and the content they consume on these platforms has convinced them to take action. One in 10 say watching the news led them to start doomsday prepping, while 7.7 percent cite their family and 4.6 percent credit watching certain movies.
Who is Doomsday prepping in America?
If you’re thinking of creating your own Doomsday checklist, researchers found that the most popular items people are stocking up on include water (41.2%), warm clothing (39.3%), and extra food (38.2%). Interestingly, one in five are making sure to have extra pet food ready and one in 10 think they’ll need some extra cash when the world ends.
To decipher which U.S. states are prepping for doomsday, surveyors examined the extent of Americans’ preparations and survival plans. A “resilient citizen,” as defined by The Prepared, can survive over 31 days without external aid or utilities. The study utilized this metric to assess the number of resilient citizens in each state.
Leading the pack, Nebraska emerged as the most prepared, with 51.35% of respondents indicating they’ve begun or are considering doomsday preparations. Additionally, 37.84% of Nebraskans are classified as resilient citizens, having stored enough provisions for at least a month.
Montana and New Mexico also rank highly on the list of states preparing for catastrophic events, with 50% and 47.50% of their residents, respectively, making or contemplating preparations. However, in both states, only 30% can boast the status of resilient citizens. On the flip side, Oklahoma appeared least prepared with a mere 28.38% of respondents indicating they’ve stored or intend to stockpile supplies. Idaho followed closely with only 29.41% contemplating preparations.
Interestingly, while Nebraska tops the preparedness chart, it also emerged as the state most confident in surviving a doomsday event. An impressive 64.86% of Nebraskans believe in their survival capabilities in such an event.
Diving deeper into demographics, the survey revealed that men are more likely to prep for doomsday than women, with 18.1% of male participants indicating preparedness compared to 8.8% of female participants. Financially, the majority of respondents invested between $1,000 to $4,999 in disaster preparations, with a few in states like Montana and New Mexico splurging up to $10,000. For those feeling the urgency to prepare, researchers emphasize the importance of storing water, food, shelter, medical supplies, and hygiene items.
You might also be interested in:
- Best Doomsday Vehicles: Top 5 Rides For Escaping The Apocalypse Most Recommended By Experts
- Devastating 100-year floods may become annual events by 2100, study warns
- Ghosts over government: People believe in spirits more than they trust the government
Survey methodology:
BonusFinder.com conducted a uStats.org survey of 6,200 Americans between the dates of Wednesday, May 3, 2023 and Monday, May 8, 2023.
*Please note the following states have been excluded due to less than 20 respondents:
- Vermont
- Wyoming
- Alaska
- North Dakota
- South Dakota
- Delaware
A recently published book is very helpful on this topic, The Last Days Are Behind Us, Our Best Days Are Ahead, #1 on Amazon new releases in Eschatology.
I think obesity will get us all before the nukes.
No matter who is in charge. government will always fail the people. Politicians only care about their pockets, that’s it. Doomsday is going to happen regardless and government will 100% fail either way.
Why do you do what they say, then? Why do you pay THEIR taxes and expense? And if you work for them what are you doing there?
The government’s official policy is that they will NOT sound the alarm in the event of a nuclear exchange / war. The reasoning is not to create wide-spread panic in the +/- 20 minutes from detection to detonation of a sub-orbital nuclear warhead. Hypersonic and regular cruise type missiles are all but undetectable until very close range and there will be no time (>5 minutes) to prepare for anything.
The solution is to find out the primary, secondary and tertiary targets and relocate as far away as practical and work at a remote job. If that is not possible, learn what it takes to survive near a target area.
The government is most likely going to be the cause of the next calamity.
The US govt is the biggest terrorist organization in the world, right now pushing global genocide. So OF COURSE the government isn’t going to save anyone from ‘doomsday’ EXCEPT for themselves! Thank GOD for the 2nd Amendment and Americans owing 475 million+ guns!
That means 71% of us have eyes, ears and a brain.
for those with well water; a generator wired only for the water pump could be a lifesaver. run it for 5 minute to bathe and fill every water container. forget heating or refrigeration. draw water only. the limited generator energy source would last so much longer.