Editor's note: Longtime Digest readers know all about gold's role as a "chaos hedge"...

It's a way to protect your wealth during times of uncertainty in the economy and stock market – like right now. So... if you don't own some gold, what are you waiting for?

Today's Masters Series essay comes from the April 29 edition of American Consequences' free daily e-letter. In it, Steven Longenecker, the online magazine's publisher, details the "mirror world" we're living in... discusses the "death of trust" in our nation... and explains what you can do today to protect yourself...

Our Upside-Down Coronavirus World... and Why Gold Matters More Than Ever

By Steven Longenecker, publisher, American Consequences

The upside-down, "mirror world" we've been warning about is here...

Across the nation, jails and prisons are releasing tens of thousands of hardened criminals to the streets. From a face-tattooed fellow in Florida previously arrested on 35 charges who murdered a rival the day after he was released... to a violent offender who attacked his girlfriend's grandmother after being released for $50 (rather than the $50,000 the prosecutor requested).

Expect dozens, if not hundreds, of these stories in the coming days. And keep in mind that many of these released prisoners already have COVID-19 and are now free to spread it in your community.

Yet, even as cops across the nation let these convicted criminals loose, they're conducting sting operations on "social distancing offenders"...

Two women were recently arrested for the crime of running a nail salon out of their house. Texas police went undercover to pose as customers before charging them with a maximum penalty of a $1,000 fine and 180 days in jail. Yes, the same COVID-infested, dangerous jails that they're releasing inmates from.

A paddleboarder alone in the ocean is chased down by police boats... A mother is dragged off a playground... In Washington, D.C., members of the national guard wear bulletproof vests as they patrol a local park to enforce social distancing. We can only wonder at the dangers they face from the twenty-something doing yoga by herself.

The world has gone mad...

Wall Street Gains Versus Main Street Pains

Pot shops are open... as long as you wear a mask that doesn't actually protect you from a virus. But in Michigan, stores were required to rope off their seed sections so you couldn't grow a vegetable garden for yourself.

In the time of COVID-19, cannabis is an essential purchase. Radish seeds are not.

The governor only rolled back some of these insane and arbitrary restrictions after massive protests and a letter from several sheriffs that said they wouldn't enforce these rights violations. Still, now the governor of Michigan wants to extend her emergency powers by another 28 days.

This pandemic and the mass compliance to inane government orders has woken up every Big Government supporter out there... After all, if Americans will simply go along with being locked up in their homes for months at a time, what other decrees will we comply with?

Nothing is normal. And it won't be again for some time.

Over on Wall Street, the carnival funhouse of mirrors continues – where what you expect to see is reflected back in odd and horrible ways.

In the six weeks since the market bottomed on March 23, the S&P 500 Index is up nearly 30%. Lobbyists are feasting on their share of trillions in government aid. The government and the Federal Reserve have crushed small businesses and given tens of billions to the largest companies in America.

We called it the "gluttonous feast behind the curtain" in the days after the market bottomed. And we were right...

Today on Main Street, there is nothing to see but pain.

The mirrors in the real world do not distort. They simply show what is... personal tragedies reflected in dozens of unique, terrible ways.

Domestic violence around the world has soared... Child abuse is surely up by similar numbers... Small businesses are failing by the hundreds of thousands. More than 30 million Americans are already out of work... and millions more are simply unable to register thanks to clogged phone lines and unworkable websites.

Yet, most journalists and TV personalities sit at home... tapping out words of support for the government's most inane restrictions, laughing at an Oklahoma redneck, and singing along with tone-deaf celebrities in 12,000-square-foot mansions.

The real world is a harsh place. It does not get easier when it collapses to the size of a one-bedroom apartment.

What the Death of Trust Means

This pandemic is exposing the fault lines in our nation.

The foundation of modern civilization is trust. Trust in community. Trust in government and its many agencies. Trust in hospitals, schools, and banks...

Yet today, all of these institutions have squandered the public's trust.

For many, this erosion of trust will be an unrecoverable disaster. The folks who count on the government to take care of them... to keep them safe at night. They are in for quite an awakening.

But for others... for those willing to take the time to prepare... this major shift in American institutions represents an incredible opportunity.

Because the fact is, what you and I think of as the American way of life is dying...

It has been going on behind the scenes for some time. But this latest crisis has shown the true face of government, of our central banks, and indeed, of the average American.

Where does this all lead?

The final stage of the death of trust is as simple as it is inevitable.

Without trust, there is no money. The value of the dollar depends entirely on all of us continuing to believe in it. Without trust, paper currency is nothing more than worthless colored rags.

When trust dies, there is also no accessible credit. The plastic cards in your wallet won't work like you expect. You won't be able to get a mortgage or a business loan at a reasonable rate.

Without trust, all the things that we believe in here in America start to fall apart.

Without trust, there is no fair rule of law. There is no safe community. There is no prosperous Main Street. There is no opportunity on Wall Street. And there is no investment in the future.

As trust fails, ordinary people like yourself assume the entire system is corrupt. And you are absolutely, 100% correct.

Never has that been truer than today.

It's Crucial to Own Gold Right Now

As we mentioned earlier, divergence between Wall Street and Main Street has never been greater. Stocks are up nearly 30%... while more than 30 million Americans are newly out of work.

Since we launched American Consequences, our advice has been the same – rely on yourself, not the government. As we have written time after time...

We recommend that you do what the government won't... pay off any debt you might have, save rather than spend, and invest in strong businesses that will survive the next crisis.

Today, we are altering our advice slightly... We recommend that you take a portion of your invested capital and buy gold and gold stocks.

The exact amount depends on your own personal tolerance for risk and safety. But owning some portion of gold makes sense in today's chaotic world of incredible Federal Reserve actions and government stupidity.

Think of it as a hedge against the death of trust.

Because personally, we think trust is already dead. The world hasn't realized it yet. But when the corpse twitches, we suspect maggots – not a miracle.

If you buy gold on your own, we recommend that you simply buy bullion for as close to spot price as you can get it.

That's because if you're interested in buying gold stocks, you must either know what you're doing or have a guide who can keep you from blowing up.

As legendary gold expert John Doody put it this past Monday during his "Gold Rally Kickoff Call" videoconference...

Randomly buying a gold stock is a recipe for disaster... Most gold stocks are a waste of money and terrible to own. Mark Twain said a gold stock is a hole in the ground with a liar standing next to it. And that can be too often the case.

(If you haven't done so already, you can watch John's videoconference for free right here.)

Not long ago, Doody was a broke college professor making $40,000 a year. That all changed when he started focusing on gold...

In 2008, I sold every stock that wasn't gold-related, and went totally into gold and gold stocks. And these stocks – they outperformed everything. I made so much money in that three-year period from 2008 to 2011 that my wife and I now live in a custom waterfront home in Florida, I drive a red Ferrari, and I own a 45-foot Italian speedboat with 2,000-horse engines.

I don't like to say this to brag, though... This is a realistic example of what could happen this time around with your gold investments. And I expect they will again.

Back in 2008, the Fed was doing the same thing it is doing now: printing money, bailing out companies, buying bonds. Now it's even worse. The Fed head, Jay Powell, said the Fed will do whatever it takes – unlimited quantitative easing. They didn't say that the last time. The day he said that, at the market's open, I sold every non-gold stock I owned and I bought gold [exchange-traded funds] with the proceeds.

Frankly, I think now might be an even better time to own gold than in 2008.

Now, I haven't personally owned gold or silver since 2011. But I'm planning to add some to my own personal portfolio... And I'm seriously researching the recommendations that Doody has made in his Gold Stock Analyst letter.

His audited track record is incredible... especially in times like today.

• After the massive amounts of quantitative easing in 2008, his model portfolio went on to post gains of 601%, with the top performers soaring as high as 2,021%.

• After the Fed cut rates in response to the dot-com crash, his entire portfolio went on to soar 368%.

• And even after the severe acute respiratory syndrome ("SARS") outbreak in 2003, his entire portfolio went on to post gains of 202%, with top performers soaring even higher.

John laid out the many reasons how this post-crisis gold story could play out... and how he has made a lot of money from staying a few chapters ahead of everyone else. It goes like this...

A major crisis happens... Stocks and the value of many other assets crash... The Federal Reserve or other global central banks step in with unprecedented stimulus or stabilization measures, flooding the world with dollars, yen, or euros in the process.

In these times, gold goes through an initial "confusion stage" with the broader market – which is what we saw last month, when it sold off along with almost everything else. But ultimately, the market responds appropriately.

Because suddenly, it takes more dollars, yen, or euros to buy the same amount of gold (or silver) that existed before, either above or below ground.

And today, the conditions are present for the next great gold bull market to unfold, one unlike anything we've seen since the 1970s.

Regards,

Steven Longenecker

Editor's note: John believes the gold price could surge to $3,000 per ounce – and maybe more – as the next great bull market unfolds. He recently joined his business partner, Garrett Goggin, and Stansberry Research Publisher Brett Aitken for a "Gold Rally Kickoff Call" to explain why... and to detail a simple method you can use to potentially make triple-digit gains in the sector over the next few years. Watch the free replay right here.