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The United States is seen around the world as a bastion of diversity and liberty. It is a nation that is unlike any other in how it is perceived as not only a super power but a free super power. One in which ordinary citizens can protest as they like and vote as they choose.
However, something else that the United States is well known for is violence. Whether it be violence perpetrated by gangs or violence involving repressive action against certain communities, the shame of crime is one that has stained America’s international reputation around the world.
The stark contrast between the American ideals of democratic freedom and the harsh reality of often continual violence is one which has harmed the United States.
Such is the strain of violence that is associated with the USA that film makers have asked the question – what if violence in the US was directed? What if, on one day of the day, crime became effectively legal and permissible for all?
How would that effect the state of the nation? Would it actually reduce crime? This is the scenario that plays out in The Purge series of films. The most recent and presumably final instalment of the series, The Forever Purge was recently released.
In the film series of The Purge, the American government pass legislation that makes all crime including murder legal for 12 hours.
The “Purge Day” according to the series has seen a massive drop in crime throughout the rest of the year and has apparently seen an upswing in the American economy.
Now, whilst the passing of such a bill is unlikely to ever happen in the US, there is always the possibility that it might happen. Things that were thought impossible at one time have ended up happening, so The Purge may one day happen.
This article will not only explore how The Purge could end up happening but also how you be able to protect you and your family if it were to happen.
How Would The Purge Even Happen To Begin With?
As mentioned earlier on in this article, you might be wondering how The Purge would happen in the first place. Well, in the film’s universe The Purge comes about after two serious incidents known in the universe as The Queensbridge Incident and the Covina Alley Murders.
These two particular incidents cause a new political party to be formed called the New Founding Fathers of America.
The New Founding Fathers of America come to power in the United States in 2014 with the election of President Bracken. Following on from this The New Founding Fathers enacted something called The Staten Island Experiment in which crime was legalised for a day on Staten Island.
Despite the Experiment not going as they thought it would, the New Founding Fathers skew the data related to in order to support their nation wide rolling out of the programme they call – The Purge.
Despite the Staten Island Experiment being a failure that the NFF had to make a success by recruiting the KKK, The New Founding Fathers encourage Purges in other states in order to push the message that violence is natural for humans and that a Purge is necessary in order to ensure harmony across the country.
The New Founding Fathers attempts to encourage states to also enact Purges is however not fruitful. Instead, The New Founding Fathers announce a second, nationwide experiment of the Purge a year after The Staten Island Experiment.
Again, The New Founding Fathers are forced to interfere with the nationwide experiment as they did with the previous one on Staten Island in order to make the Purge look like more of a success than it was.
Following on from this the 28th Amendment to the United States Constitution is passed making The Purge a part of American law and enshrining it as a yearly event.
This is followed up other Acts of Congress which focuses on educating America’s youth on why The Purge is needed and how it has saved the country.
The films, being horror films rather than political dramas, don’t give a great deal of detail as to how The Purge and The New Founding Fathers end up winning office so, how plausible is it that The Purge could actually happen and that the events depicted in the films might one day become a reality?
The problem in the films is of course that it is a great leap from America’s current political situation to the one depicted in the films.
This is not only because the film series required the creation of an entirely new political party in The New Founding Fathers of America which would somehow supplant both Republican and Democratic parties as the major political party of government in America but also because it requires there to be little or no political opposition, at least initially, to The Purge.
The creation of a radical political party to rival the Republican Party (and we must presume that The New Founding Fathers must take their support primarily from the Republican Party rather than the Democratic Party simply because of policies and demographics that the New Founding Fathers have) is not impossible.
The Tea Party was such a party and gained a certain amount of success during the same time as the first Purge films were being made.
However, The Tea Party’s support was limited in the same way that the Republican and Democratic Parties often have limited support dependent on their representatives as Presidential elections.
For The New Founding Fathers to replace both political parties required an extraordinary leap which just isn’t properly shown in the films.
Whilst the films do certainly suggest that America’s problems are much deeper in terms of economic misfortune and growing violence, there is nothing to suggest that it is of the same level as might force voters to take such a drastic step as to support a political party that actively wants to kill them.
However, it is possible that if things were to become so extreme that Americans might vote for an extremely populist party. The Purge isn’t, as far as the films tell us, an initial part of the election campaign of the New Founding Fathers so as to what degree of popularity it would have is unknown.
Similarly, when The Staten Island Experiment occurs there seems to be no objection from any local politicians as to it happening in their area nor does the Governor of New York make any objection.
Given that there would of course still have been officials who would not have been elected in the 2014 Presidential Election cycle and thus would have not been members of the New Founding Fathers, it seems strange that their objections are never mentioned in the films or built upon.
Whilst it could be argued that these politicians, coming up for re election and seeing how apparently popular the New Founding Fathers are, might decide that they would rather support the New Founding Fathers policies than go against them this doesn’t seem to make sense either.
One might imagine this was the case if The Purge was already popular but given that it was the first time it had been enacted, it seems highly unlikely.
That the New Founding Fathers are also able to manipulate both the initial Purge on Staten Island and the first “experimental” nationwide Purge and get away with it is highly improbable.
Politicians, though sometimes they do get away with things, more often than not don’t for the simple reason that people like to tell the truth.
Similarly, given at this point there would still be a free press it seems highly unlikely that information relating to the manipulation of The Purge would not get out. Of course, declaring an experimental nationwide Purge would also see a variety of other problems as well.
Keeping in mind that the Purge would not be national law as no vote in the House of Representative or the Senate had at this time passed, it would be highly unlikely that every single state, particularly those that were more liberal, would consent to allow a Purge to happen.
As has been seen throughout American history, the tension between federal and state law makers often means legalisation advocated by Washington doesn’t always become law in particular states.
Given that the New Founding Father further seem to take inspiration from the Founding Fathers it would also seem difficult for them to publicly force states to participate in the Purge without admitting that they were effectively suspending the rights of states to act as they wanted to, a principle that was supported by many of the original Founding Fathers.
This further means that a nationwide Purge would certainly not have occurred with only certain state legislators supporting the move.
In the films universe the Purge eventually becomes law thanks to the passing of the 28th Amendment to the US Constitution. Proposing an amendment to the US constitution is frankly very difficult and very rarely done.
The last time an original amendment was conceived and passed was the 26th Amendment in 1971 with the 27th Amendment being passed in 1992 (though originally proposed in 1789).
This demonstrates how sporadic amendments to the constitution are so for the 28th Amendment to be enacted it would require a great deal of congressional support.
Presuming that President Bracken and the New Founding Fathers not only won the Presidency but the House of Representative and the Senate without ever having previously had any representation in the US system is certainly difficult to believe.
Political parties require time to be fully accepted in certain areas before they gain mass appeal, if they do at all. However, presuming that the Republican Party’s support had deserted them and moved to the New Founding Fathers it is possible that they could have won control of the Senate and House of Representatives.
However, it is unlikely that in such a short time they would have been able to win an outright majority in either chamber. Whilst it is certainly more possible (as Ross Perot proved) to be able to come close to if not win the Presidency on a third-party ticket, it isn’t entirely likely.
Indeed, if we use the Perot example Bracken might rather than becoming President have actually split the vote between the New Founding Fathers and whatever was left of the Republican Party and allowed the Democratic nominee to win, as happened in 1992 and 1996.
But leaving these factors aside for a moment – even if Bracken and the New Founding Fathers had been able to pull off a spectacular victory in the 2014 election, it is still unlikely that a 28th Amendment supporting the Purge would have been passed.
To begin with, there would of course have been opposition members still in place in both houses meaning that they would have certainly debated and tried to use the filibuster to force the bill to not be passed.
This would mean that it would be difficult for the presumably inexperienced New Founding Fathers members, to be able to convince enough opposition members to support the 28th Amendment.
Similarly, even if there was a New Founding Fathers majority in the House of Representatives, it would be unlikely that there wouldn’t be a various attempt to attach riders to the legalisation or similarly change some of the wording to fit their particular constituents’ concerns.
Even supposing that the 28th Amendment managed to get through the House of Representatives and the Senate the fact that it is an amendment means it would be difficult to actually pass into law.
You see, for amendments to become law they have to be ratified by all of the states that makes up the United States of America.
That is why there are several amendments which have been passed by both houses of congress but haven’t actually been added to the constitution because they haven’t been approved by all of the states of the union.
Therefore, the idea that something as controversial and divisive as The Purge would be able to become a part of the US Constitution is frankly laughable. Most states have difficulties agreeing on much which is why amendments to the constitution are so difficult to pass as they require the entire country to agree.
Seeing as we have already gone over why a nationwide Purge experiment prior to the passing of the 28th Amendment would be unlikely to occur given that there would be states that would not cooperate and probably actively discourage participation, it seems highly unlikely that those states would agree to pass such an amendment to the constitution.
The Purge series of course goes on beyond this, making clear that the New Founding Fathers stay in office continually for 25 years before returning to office after having been defeated in the 2040 Presidential Election is again bordering on the ridiculous.
That any political party could stay in office for that long apparently not due to vote rigging (given the outcome of the 2040 election) is utterly ridiculous.
The Purge will never likely happen in America. Though it is true that the United States has faced many problems throughout its history, the way that America becomes the state that it does in The Purge films is highly improbable. The films are enjoyable but not accurate.
However, suppose that somehow The Purge were to become a reality. Perhaps not exactly as is outlined in the films but something somewhat more realistic.
If The Purge happened through an emergency act of Congress or as a result of a devastating war on the US, how would you and your family be able to survive? This piece will now outline some of the key steps you and your family would have to take to survive The Purge.
How To Survive The Purge 1) Good Security
The first thing that is apparent in any of the Purge films is that bad security systems are what often trips people up. Whether it be in the first Purge film or the most recent Forever Purge movie, a bad security system has been the downfall of many of the protagonists.
Given that in most of the Purge films residents are in their houses with people attacking them outside and trying to get in, it seems logical that having a house that is properly secured is the best course of action.
The New Founding Father designed the Purge not to really attack homeowners but those who lived on the street and the poorest – they were attempting a social cleansing of the very poorest members of society for their own greedy reasons.
If The Purge were to happen in real life, then likely a similar explanation would be given by any government that enacted it – that The Purge was needed to make society better for the majority rather than the minority.
This is why having a home that is well protected and secure is vital for surviving any kind of Purge scenario. It’s also useful for everyday life of course.
Having good home security means that you are able to see whatever is going on around your property whenever you want and be able to make sure your home truly is safe.
How To Survive The Purge 2) Be Prepared
Whilst having a good security system is the best option for keeping people out in a Purge like scenario it is of course not an ultimate deterrent. Sadly, you may need to use weapons to defend yourself and your family if a Purge like situation were ever to occur.
This means having parts of your house that would need to be prepared for your house to actually be broken in to by Purgers.
This would include a panic room in which the more vulnerable members of your family would need to go and somewhere for you to keep your store of weapons in order to defend your home. Of course, having both would be an expensive necessity for one day of the year.
However, if we take the scale of violence depicted in the Purge films as that which would actually happen if The Purge were to happen then it seems likely that you would need to be able to have a strong internal as well as external defence system.
Ensuring that whoever was breaking into your home didn’t get to your panic room or weapons store before you would also be crucial, meaning that your internal locking system should be as good as your external locking system.
If you are able to keep the Purgers from getting further and further in to your home then that is pivotal for you and your families safety. Of course, even if the Purge didn’t happen then you should still consider ensuring that you have a proper internal and external locking systems.
Burglars exist outside the Purge universe and therefore it is always wise to make sure that your property is properly defended. This is why good internal alarm, locking and panic room system as necessary if you want to ensure your home is fully secure 24/7.
Similarly, if you believe in the second amendment and your right to defend yourself it is important that you keep your weapons somewhere safe and are responsible for ensuring nobody but yourself or another trusted adult has easy access to them.
This is important because if they are left open they could easily be taken by burglars or other intruders and either stolen or used against you.
Equally, if the weapons are not properly put away then they might easily fall into the hands of a young member of your family who could cause a serious accident by mistake.
This is why, if you do have weapons, it is better to be safe than sorry and make sure that they are correctly locked away and that no one else can get their hands on them other than responsible adults – they are meant to make you safe, not result in more threats entering your home.
How To Survive The Purge 3) Know How To Run
If you are forced out of your home in a Purge like situation, is it beyond important that you know how to run. This might seem slightly farcical – you might think, surely everyone knows how to run?
The act of running is not in of itself the issue but one related to your physical health. Being physically fit and healthy is very important, particularly when you are faced with a stressful situation such as that of a Purge.
This is why making sure that you are constantly physically healthy is key to ensuring your successful surviving of such an event, if it were ever to happen.
As is often shown in The Purge films, those who are most likely to end up coming to harm as a result of The Purge are those who aren’t physically fit and are unable to outrun out run the Purgers.
In a situation in which your life is at stake it is crucial that you can run to fight for another day if it is impossible to fight off your attackers. This applies as much in real life as it does in fiction.
Whilst again the Purge is not real and unlikely to ever happen, crime does still exist and so do rioters and looters. This is why you should ensure that you are fully physically fit in order to combat them and to make sure your family is safe.
Taking up regular exercise such as running or jogging can easily get you much fitter in a short amount of time, giving you the necessary physical know how to be able to survive something like the Purge in the unlikely event that it was to happen.
Getting more exercise is also of course good for you anyway and is a sure means of ensuring you live a healthier and longer life.
This is why exercise is so crucial – not only does it ensure that you are ready and able to ensure that you are safe when facing down a potential threat, it also means that you are healthy all year round, something that will make your life better regardless of what happens during something like The Purge.
How To Survive The Purge 4) Surviving In The Outdoors
The final film in the series, The Forever Purge, depicts an America that is on the brink of complete and utter collapse due to the Purge being unable to be kept to one night and has forced millions of American to flee to Canada and Mexico.
This demonstrates how easily something like The Purge can get out of control. If something like The Purge were to actually happen, the events of The Forever Purge would occur much sooner than they would in the film series.
In the film series this state of affairs only happens after the Purge happening for decades. It is in fact unlikely that were a Purge to occur it wouldn’t soon spill out into a type of Forever Purge.
You would most likely see something like the Forever Purge occur much sooner simply because it is far more likely that once crime was allowed, and laws were suspended that people who were criminals or had criminal inclinations would simply carry on Purging even after they were told not to.
This is why it is important to know how to survive outside and be able to live outdoors. This is something that every American should know how to do, not simply if some catastrophe like the Purge were to occur but also for their own sense of wellbeing.
This is because it is important how to know how to survive for you and your family were something to occur such as a natural disaster or a feminine that you could survive outdoors. The example that will be used in this instance will be surviving outdoors in a wooded area.
It is possible to survive outdoors in a more desert like area but it is much more difficult. This is because in much hotter climates it is far harder to get access to water and to cool down.
Whilst you might think cooling down isn’t something you necessarily want to do, particularly if you are outdoors and exposed to the elements, you’d be wrong. It is important that your body is at the right temperature and not the wrong temperature.
This means you need to know how to cool down as well as keep warm. People think that the main issue with living outdoors is getting too cold. This can be true in a wooded area or one that has a naturally lower temperature but in somewhere like a desert where the temperature is much warmer, heat is as deadly.
This is because if you sweat profusely and cannot replenish your bodies need for water quickly you will likely get dehydrated which will mean survival is much more difficult.
Whereas, if you are out in the woods or at least a wooded area you will be more likely to survive as you will likely have more access to water and to the materials you need to keep warm.
This is why, if you are faced with a situation in which you have to survive outdoors, it is much better to be able to go to an area that is wooded rather than one that is simply a desert.
Furthermore, woods will offer you more natural protection than somewhere like a desert. You will be more likely to be able to build a settle for you and your family if you have to.
It is of course better if you have a tent or some kind of manmade shelter that you can use rather than one that is made from nature. This is simply because a tent for example will be better able to keep the cold out than a shelter made from nature.
Equally important when preparing for yourself to survive outside is to know what you can eat. There are a multitude of berries and mushrooms that grow naturally around and in woods.
However, whilst there are many that you can pick and eat there are an equal amount that are dangerous and can give you food poisoning. This is why you should always take a course in forestry and understand the key differences between plants and shrubs that are edible and those that aren’t edible.
This means that if you have to hide out somewhere during something like The Purge or another disaster for America, you can do so without fear of harming yourself or your family.
Of course, even if you aren’t having to deal with something like the Purge it is incredibly important that you know how to survive outside. This is because it is an American tradition and one that has, sadly, been lost of generations. It is also important if you want to help save the environment.
Knowing how to forage for food is much more sustainable than getting it from Walmart. This is why you should be able to get food for yourself and know how to live outdoors – because it is better for your wellbeing, it is better for your family, and it is better for the environment.
Plus, if the Purge were ever to happen you would be well prepared.
No Purge Here
This article has outlined not only why The Purge is unlikely to happen but also how, if it were somehow to happen, you could survive it.
The Purge franchise is certainly entertaining, but it also accurately demonstrates the worst aspects of all our natures. How violence can sometimes become second nature.
How it is possible to find comfort in going together to oppose a force that it bent on destroying us and yet still feel divided. How we can lose our humanity.
These are all things that are true of humanity throughout the ages and yet we still come through such dark times better and stronger.
So even if a Purge were to happen, it would not be the end. For we are much stronger together than we are divided and through adversity comes common strength and union.
