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| Yes, water, the most important life sustaining element in the world. |
Both of these polar opposite positions have been created because of the uncertainty of life and in some ways fear of the future and what the unknown holds. I am not in total disagreement with the Preppers, I really do understand their concerns, and the possibility of an event which could cause us all to be at a distinct disadvantage in not being prepared. OK, fair enough, that may just be the way to go, honestly, I cannot see the future, being prepared is very prudent. I do think that to concentrate on so much hardware and gear, maybe a bit self-defeating, unless if the entire enterprise is set up in a secure place and ready to go. If it is not, and a catastrophic collapse of society does occur the logistics of hauling all the stuff a hundred miles or more may be a none starter. I'm fairly certain, most of the preppers have had enough foresight to arraign for that situation. To concentrate on gear, guns, and ammunition may be a mistake, it may be more prudent to place the attention on seeds, rootstock, and farming equipment. I will direct you to my blog on that. (Link). It goes into all of this in detail, I am not so much in disagreement with that movement, I am more in disagreement with how it is being presented, I will explain what I mean later in this blog. It is prudent to remember history, of the first homesteaders in Montana in the 1800's, most did not make it through the first winter, they starved. That is what I base my reasoning on.
I am an advocate of being prepared for that catastrophic disaster, however in a much different way. I advise people to prepare slowly, start by making sure you have at least enough water on hand for a few days. We survive longer without food than we can without water, to keep a case of water on hand is very easy to maintain. Most people in our country, 60% of our friends, neighbors, and family are not prepared at all, 40% are in some form or another. That means for the first few days after a flood, earthquake, wildfire, or any multitude of events, the 60% is dependent on Government, or Neighbors, friends, and family. This is where the preppers set their anchor at, it's the very real possibility the unprepared will be coming for our "stuff". It's not based on fantasy, it really could happen. But still, in the light of all of that, we need starting points, places to rest, and a final goal. There are four steps as I see it:
1) Be set up for the first 3 days as recommended by FEMA, (Link, once again to the family planning templates)
2) After being set up for 3 days, set it up for a week, it doesn't take much more expense or any more equipment, just food and water for the 4 additional days.
3) Over a period of time build your supplies, to last one month.
4) Continue adding to your supplies until one year's supply is realized.
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| To put together a 72-hour survival kit doesn't take a lot of effort or money. |
When we achieve the 4th step, we will be in a position to care not only for ourselves but our neighbors as well, it's a fact they will not be ready.
I refuse to deal in fear, I am not afraid, you shouldn't be either, and for me to try to manipulate someone with fear is not fair. Words have consequences, those consequences for me are the fear of to not be taken seriously, and worse to be found out to be untruthful. It does nobody any good, that's where the large stockpile of ammunition and guns starts at, fear. What causes the fear? It's my opinion a lot of it comes from Government, they have always tried to scare us to control the population, you know, only they can save us. (self-reliant people do not accept this concept.) OK, that's fair for them to say after all to a certain extent we do elect them to make sure our country is safe from foreign invasion, or domestic civil unrest. If they do their job we would not have to worry about a natural disaster, only the human-induced events.
I will say right up, I don't think there will be a breakdown of society on a scale where us citizens will have to take up arms against our Government. Could it happen? Sure it could, it's happened countless times throughout history, but I feel our Government, no matter our opinions of it, will not fall. (A really good example is the English revolution, where parliament went to war against King Charles) With that being said, in a perfect world we would not have to have anything in reserve for an emergency because the Government will be "Johnny on the spot", they won't be. That is the reason I am an advocate of the 72-hour kit (either set up yourself or a commercial kit, it doesn't matter, each has its advantages), to get us the heck out of Dodge in a hurry. During that first impact of the disaster, long-term survival takes a back seat to getting to a secure place. We each must accept responsibility to enable ourselves to be self-reliant enough to get to an evacuation designated area. That self-reliance is the ground center of my beliefs, let's be prepared for that first three days in advance, everything else will come later. As an example, I live in a flood dangered area, it's an island if the levee fails I can stay in my house most likely because it's on "stilts", but only for a while. To evacuate I have a 2-1/2 mile walk down the levee and off the island, I need to have at least enough water to make it that far. A healthy person can walk 3 miles per hour, I'm disabled, I cannot walk so either I drive my mobility scooter or stay home, and wait. Either way, I will need 3 days of water, if I stay home, lights, radio, shelter, and food will be needed as well.
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| We will still be in lines, but at least we will have water to drink. |
There is a world of difference between what I am an advocate for and what the Preppers goals are, maybe you see what I mean when I say they are not wrong. Extreme, I don't think they are any more than the people that have no preparation at all, is there a right and wrong? That's a hard one, no there is no right or wrong, there is only prepared and unprepared. However there is a problem with the preppers message, it's not that many in the public think they are extremist, the problem is they are trying to sell a "lifestyle". Once a person is dedicated to becoming a prepper it is an all-encompassing existence, it takes considerable training, education, and of course gathering of all the equipment that is needed to continue life as we know it. It's also expensive, it involves the entire family to buy into, if I were to tell my wife I bought a survival bunker in the Sierra Nevada's, I would get resistance. However, she is all in on my 72-hours set up theory. The preppers are OK, they may appear a little eccentric, but hey so am I, in different ways. They don't understand people that do not prepare as much as the unprepared people don't understand them, that is a clash of cultures.
So how does setting up a 72-hour emergency kit differ from being a prepper? Well, it too is a lifestyle change, however, it is not as drastic, it is a slower process that may be halted at any point. I tell people that are considering moving onto our island the same thing, this is a lifestyle choice, it will change your life. Most of them come from the "City" (slang for San Francisco), and think it's an easy adjustment, it isn't. Neither is setting ourselves up for long-term survival, and it can be very expensive as well. We do need to realize to prepare for 72-hours is a mild life change that is easily taken in stride, it's not earth-shattering. A short-term set up will get us to a safe area in a reasonable amount of time and hardly impact the families budget. To prepare for a 10-year survival plan with no one to rely upon except one's self and family, is a very tall order, one a person has to prepare for mentally as well.
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| A survival shelter, pretty nice. |
Self-reliance is dependent on Self-awareness, and the preppers excel in that aspect, they train, trade ideas with one another, ask a question of each other and create situations they ask others to comment on. I understand all of that, however, my comments do not jive with their ideas and convictions to a tee, and that's OK. To be self-reliant one has to know what their limits are and what they excel in, no matter if you are a prepper or not. Most preppers are very self-aware, that is why there are so many videos on the subject on Youtube, and discussions on forums. I am afraid the 60% of us that are not prepared tend to possess very little self-awareness when it comes to surviving a catastrophic event. Most people from the "City" are concerned with how to keep raccoons out of their property, I tell them that the critters own it here, we just share it with them. All preppers get that, most unprepared people don't, I'm sorry they just don't, even as far as how to make safe drinking water from a pond or a river. There are a lot of skills that need to be learned to be a prepper, a lesser amount to survive for 3 days until we are able to reach safety, but still, there are lessons to be learned. There are habits that need to be formed as well, plug in your cell phone each night before retiring, and setting up clothing next to your bed in the case something happens in the night, these are normal nightly activities to people who are prepared. Many of us were taught at a young age of many basic survival tactics.
It's a positive experience to become prepared for that first three day period, I stress people to do it if an event does happen it will be less pressure on the ones who are prepared. Normally I have found in most things in life the 33% rule applies, 33% prepare, 33% want to but don't and 33% don't even know what it means. It was the same in Nazi Germany, 33% supported him, 33% resisted and , and 33% didn't care, and did nothing, it's human nature. Unfortunately, it will be up to the 40% of us that are prepared to assist the 60% that are not, either that or become a prepper and head for the hills or store a little more for our family, neighbors, and strangers as well. In the chance that there is a catastrophic event, I am sure I will not be able to deny anyone a drink of water merely because they did not prepare for 72 hours. (That's self-awareness) One 24 count case of water will enable 8 people to walk 2 miles on the hottest day, consider it, and be prepared for it. (That's self-reliance)
Thanks for reading and sharing, I welcome your comments, point out where I am wrong, I'm pretty bull-headed so I just may be on the wrong track, but I don't think so. Thanks again
jacquesandkate emergencykitsplus.com
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