Don't worry about being on a list, you're probably on several already. And almost all Ham people I have met are conservatives, so you'll find like minded people.
A few more thoughts on licensing and gear.
Go get your tech license right away. The questions come out of pool, and all the questions and answers are available to download. Read the questions and memorize the answers. Drill and Kill. You went public skool, didn't you? They already taught you how to prepare to take tests. It's not the recommended way, but given the short time window, it's a good way to go. Test taking tip, if you're not sure, choose the longest answer.
As to gear, yes, get good gear if you can afford it. Everyone complains about the chinese hand held being hard to program. If you learn how to do it, you can program them from the keypad and it isn't that hard. I've bought 5 chinese hand helds for the price of an entry level name brand. The nice thing is I'm not worried about loosing it or dropping it or lending it out. They are only about $25 bucks.
For that reason, the local county EOC bought 100 of the chinese hand helds so they could be lent out in case of an emergency without fear of breakage, loss, etc.
If you're on a budget, get a two pack of hand helds, the upgraded whip antennas, an antenna adapter to plug into an external antenna, and a magnetic mount antenna.
You will only probably need to program in two frequencies, the repeater closest to you and the simplex frequency used by the locals. If you can get the signal from the repeater, that's all you need. And you can put the magnetic mount antenna on a pizza dish or similar and stick it out your window or on the roof of your house. You'll be amazed how much distance you will get over the little rubber ducky antenna on the hand held.
If things go down, I don't think we're talking long term and I don't think potus and Q team want long term chaos. I don't think they are talking grid down situations, necessarily. I'm thinking more along the lines of comms being down, like phone and internet.
But, that means no emails, no business, no bank transactions, no credit card/debit card, no phone calls. So, better have cash on hand, make sure your monthly payments are all taken care of, maybe even pay a month in advance if you can, and have food and water for a few weeks because the supply chain will likely be disrupted.
The boe