do you trust your stocks?

Lately, I've become a bit disgusted with the state of the stock market, and not only because it has been crashing. I hate to sound like a fatalist, but I often wonder what would happen in the case of a total stock market crash. Seeing as I am still relatively young, much of my 401k is invested in stock - the risky but most lucrative option for investments.

The problem is that things aren't looking so swell with the U.S. economy, and while we've been waiting for some sort of saving development or invention to rescue the country from falling apart, I'm not so sure that it is going to happen. It seems as though we're headed for a precipice and we're just going to have to jump and start over again to get things back to normal.

We need a new president (obviously). We need a more restricted government that follows the voice of the people - not big business. We need free media with an independent voice - not the watered down pap we are served with on a daily basis from television and radio. And while I am waiting for all of this to happen, I can't help but wonder how safe my money would be in stocks...or in any type of invisible investment. If the stock market crashes, my savings are worth zilch. Many of the top investors suggest investing in items like gold and silver, which isn't such a bad idea...but where do you store the stuff and do you trust that storage in the case of massive unrest?

So I've been contemplating buying some land instead. Seeing as I am young, my 401k will be taxed heavily if I withdraw it today, but what might I lose if I leave it in? Even the entire market doesn't crash, there's no guarantee that it's going to go up in value. Whereas if I put my money in a piece of land, even if the land value plummets I still have a piece of land that I can live on and wait with guns loaded for the next apocalypse.

Plus, the land that I buy today has a much better chance of increasing in value (thereby making it untouchable twenty years from now).