"Number one, we need to get in shape, number two we need to shoot, number three, we need to learn self-defense, and number four, we need to study small-unit tactics... If you do not have 5,000 rounds of .223, 5,000 rounds of .22 and 1,000 rounds of handgun ammo, as a MINIMUM, you're wrong. We need to train our families how to shoot as well. We need to get food. We need to have a year's supply of food, two years supply of seeds, we need to have a year's supply of sundry items. That's what it means to be an American. We prepare for the worst but hope for the best"
About this Quote
The subtext is a politics of preemption. "Self-defense" and "small-unit tactics" aren’t neutral hobbies; they’re the vocabulary of insurgency and militia culture, implying conflict not just with criminals but with a faceless "they" that might include the state itself. The ammo counts function as social sorting. "As a MINIMUM, you're wrong" converts a lifestyle into a moral standard: you’re not merely unprepared, you’re failing at Americanness. That absolutism is a recruitment tactic. It polices the boundary of the in-group and pressures listeners to escalate, because there’s always another threshold to meet.
Even the softer notes are telling. "Train our families" folds domestic life into a security perimeter, normalizing the idea that children and spouses should be oriented around violence readiness. The food and seed stockpiles borrow from legitimate disaster preparedness, laundering the martial core in the respectability of self-reliance.
Context matters: this sits squarely in a post-9/11, post-financial-crisis, post-pandemic ecosystem where mistrust is currency and doomsday logistics are content. "Hope for the best" is the rhetorical fig leaf. The real message is that citizenship equals constant mobilization.
Quote Details
| Topic | War |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Shea, Matt. (2026, February 9). Number one, we need to get in shape, number two we need to shoot, number three, we need to learn self-defense, and number four, we need to study small-unit tactics... If you do not have 5,000 rounds of .223, 5,000 rounds of .22 and 1,000 rounds of handgun ammo, as a MINIMUM, you're wrong. We need to train our families how to shoot as well. We need to get food. We need to have a year's supply of food, two years supply of seeds, we need to have a year's supply of sundry items. That's what it means to be an American. We prepare for the worst but hope for the best. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/number-one-we-need-to-get-in-shape-number-two-we-184987/
Chicago Style
Shea, Matt. "Number one, we need to get in shape, number two we need to shoot, number three, we need to learn self-defense, and number four, we need to study small-unit tactics... If you do not have 5,000 rounds of .223, 5,000 rounds of .22 and 1,000 rounds of handgun ammo, as a MINIMUM, you're wrong. We need to train our families how to shoot as well. We need to get food. We need to have a year's supply of food, two years supply of seeds, we need to have a year's supply of sundry items. That's what it means to be an American. We prepare for the worst but hope for the best." FixQuotes. February 9, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/number-one-we-need-to-get-in-shape-number-two-we-184987/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"Number one, we need to get in shape, number two we need to shoot, number three, we need to learn self-defense, and number four, we need to study small-unit tactics... If you do not have 5,000 rounds of .223, 5,000 rounds of .22 and 1,000 rounds of handgun ammo, as a MINIMUM, you're wrong. We need to train our families how to shoot as well. We need to get food. We need to have a year's supply of food, two years supply of seeds, we need to have a year's supply of sundry items. That's what it means to be an American. We prepare for the worst but hope for the best." FixQuotes, 9 Feb. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/number-one-we-need-to-get-in-shape-number-two-we-184987/. Accessed 13 Feb. 2026.
