Foto: Imad Clicks / PexelsGermany Must Stop Calling War Preparedness Fearmongering
Why stigmatizing war preparedness as fearmongering is dangerous. An opinion piece on rational risk assessment in a changed security environment.
There's a reaction I observe increasingly often: someone speaks about war preparedness — emergency supplies, evacuation options, family emergency plans. The response from those around them: eye-rolling, "not more doom and gloom," "this just makes people anxious."
This reaction is understandable. But it's wrong. And it could be dangerous.
The Shift in the Security Landscape
In 2014, you could say: war in Europe is an abstract possibility. In 2022, the largest land war on European soil since 1945 began. In 2024, European governments openly debated reinstating mandatory military service.
The security situation in Europe has genuinely changed. Acknowledging this isn't alarmism — it's realism.
What Fearmongering Really Means
Fearmongering would mean: triggering a response disproportionate to the risk. Hysterical behavior, excessive measures, irrational fear.
Is stockpiling two weeks of water hysterical? Is knowing your family's next emergency meeting point irrational?
No. That's prevention. The same kind of prevention we practice with fire insurance, health insurance, and financial reserves for bad times.
What European Neighbors Are Doing
In Sweden, the government is again distributing booklets to all households: "Om krisen eller kriget kommer" — "If the crisis or war comes." Not alarmism. Sober information on what to do.
In Finland, civil defense is part of school education.
In Estonia and Lithuania — with immediate proximity to Russia's sphere of influence — civil defense is state priority number one.
Germany is still struggling to say the words "war preparedness" without being labeled an alarmist.
The Cost of Inaction
The social stigmatization of crisis preparedness has a real price:
- Households without emergency supplies are immediately dependent on state emergency services
- Overloaded state systems cannot care for everyone
- People without information and plans spread exactly the panic they hoped to avoid
Ironically, suppressing crisis preparedness creates the very panic it claims to prevent.
Conclusion
War preparedness as fearmongering is the more comfortable reaction — it costs no energy, thought, or money. It gives a feeling of superiority. But it doesn't make us safer.
Preparation makes us safer. And that is never fearmongering.
