2011-06-08

The Titanic's Cognitive Dissonance

On April 10th, 1912, the largest, most robust ocean liner of its time, the RMS Titanic, set out on its maiden voyage.

Thanks to White Star Line's advertisements of the ship claiming to have scores of fail safes and water-tight compartments, it was dubbed unsinkable. Required lifeboats on board were stripped to carry only about half of the passengers, and were there more for show than anything else...

Four days later, on the night of April 14th, 1,517 passengers would learn a hard lesson.

A little after 11:30pm, the ship hit the infamous iceberg, poking several holes into the ship's hull, far beneath the surface...

The next two hours defined three types of people:

The few who sprung into action and either jumped on lifeboats, or took whatever buoyant material they could find and made their own.

Those who knew they had to do something; but instead of working on anything productive, they panicked.

The majority that, after hearing the loud screeches and feeling the trembles, continued on with their evening plans, keeping full faith in the boat's ability to stay afloat.

Titanic And The US Dollar


Today, many people — on faith alone in the dollar and the U.S. economy — don't think it could fail.

They don't believe that, with 45 million Americans and on food stamps, city and state governments in more debt than they can pay off, and a federal government that's more than 14.5 trillion dollars in debt, the Fed's cycle of printing money is leading us on the path to a complete dollar collapse...

They think we're unsinkable.

Just like the holes ripping into the Titanic's hull, the writing is already on the wall.

And as our currency nears collapse and prices continue to skyrocket, you're going to see runs on grocery stores, gas stations, and retail outlets.

As it escalates, gangs of rioters will storm neighborhoods on a violent stealing spree like they did during Hurricane Katrina... only this it will be on a nation-wide scale.

Only a few people — those who saw it coming and took the right action — won't be left penniless.

The good news is that the entire process, while escalating by the day, won't happen overnight...

So while there's still time for you to act, let me show you a few simple steps that I — along with some of the country's richest investors — are taking.

Similar to the dollar today, it was pure faith in the shipbuilders' claims that convinced passengers and the Titanic's crew that it was the safest ship in history. One such passenger, Thomas Beattie, wrote:

“We are changing ships and are coming home in a new, unsinkable boat!”

Sadly, it seems 99.9% of citizens don't realize this crash has already started. Either that, or they're in complete denial... living as though we can keep adding to our debts and printing money to no end without consequence.

As it escalates, they'll be struck in disbelief, unprepared and unable to act quickly enough.

It's a defense mechanism our brains activate when reality becomes too overwhelming.