Most of the citizenry in the United States has seen at least one of the movie theater box office hits “Armageddon,” “Deep Impact,” or “The Day After Tomorrow.” Those are just movies, but the human brain not in touch with reality doesn’t entertain the thought of these scenarios actually happening in this day and age. But one day, one or several of the things displayed in those movies will. Experts say that so many apocalyptic events we preppers expect have a very low chance of happening; but nothing is a 100% certain, anything could happen at any moment. Experts set out percentages about the possibilities of nuclear war, massive solar flares supervolcanoes, super-earthquakes, EMPs, failure of our nation’s infrastructure, pandemics, asteroids hitting us, etc. and we are always led to believe they are unlikely to occur. But we know for certain that all of the naturally caused ones are 100% certain to occur at some time in the future, we just don’t know when; because they’ve all occurred at many points in the past and the forces that made them happen are just as in motion now as they were then. We must prepare for our friends and family. Most Americans believe that since we survived the “Ice Age” that we can learn from the survivors’ mistakes and the ‘do’s and don’ts’ they made. But do we really have that inner strength to adapt to such harsh conditions for years to come? Modern technology has spoiled us with cell phones, internet giving us access to news and information, and also through television and radio. Not to mention air conditioning and heat to keep us comfortable; as James Wesley, Rawles mentions in his book “How to Survive the End of the World as we Know it”,” the concept of” “The Big Machine” meaning the everyday things we all take for granted in life. Grocery Stores, Law Enforcement, Distribution Centers, Hospitals, and Electricity, he asked the one simple question that fuels the whole idea of ‘prepping:’ “What will happen if the big machine is missing pieces?” Pure chaos of people running down the streets killing others in cold blood for the little food they might have on them.
One thing many government officials and even experts are always reluctant to face is the idea of just how quickly things might happen. Assume that a disaster occurs that leaves “The Big Machine” broken. Most people probably will flock to the supermarkets to get the same things they do right before a known big storm is about to hit any city, and clear the shelves just as fast (typically hours). For those individuals that have waited until that moment to think about their survival through the chaos; they, if they’re lucky, might have expanded the typical one to two week supply of food they may already have in their homes to three weeks. With water however, most people rely on municipal water or well-water which both require electricity to operate and would be non-existent if “The Big Machine” stalled. Whatever water they could get from a store or might otherwise have on hand if they typically drink bottled water might give a family of four a couple of weeks at best. Look at Hurricane Katrina and how quickly society and survival rates devolved over just a few days. The average person will die after three days of water. What you can readily see is that having prepared enough to be able to stay in your homes with the doors bolted and making it appear as though no one is home for three weeks would put any family at a major advantage. They would at least be able to ride-out the initial chaos. After those initial three weeks raiding of other homes by the few that have survived would increase and people would be salvaging for supplies. If we consider the possibility that an un-prepared individual is able to use what they already had in their kitchen and got in their rush to the grocery store and then to raid surrounding houses effectively and steal from others to the point of being able to replenish their stock-pile, they might be able to extend their survival to six weeks. So imagine, if you can simply be able to stock-pile enough water and food, and the ability to defend those supplies, to last you six weeks you will likely out-live the vast majority of the population. By two months, you will likely find yourself looking for other people that are still alive. We like to believe that our government would eventually get enough resources together to help rebuild, but if a disaster is widespread enough (it took over a week for FEMA or the National Guard to get to some areas affected by Hurricane Katrina), the government will be so depleted in its own personnel and had to deal with its own basic survival that a truly widespread Hurricane Katrina level or higher disaster would leave us on our own for at least two months. Just think, 6-8 weeks of survival supplies and skills can get you through the initial chaos and into the phases where communities might be able to have consolidated enough supplies for the survivors so that true re-building and putting society back together can begin. Just be realistic with yourself about how quickly you would run out of supplies and others would as well, how quickly others would start invading other homes looking for supplies, and how long it would take society to recover from something as simple as a loss of electricity. Two months is optimistic, but every week past that you can prepare increases your family’s chances of survival many-times over.
As humans who have had way more expansion and growing of new technologies more than any other decade, we’re too comfortable with our heated blankets and express cappuccino machines during a cold winter’s night. Its small luxuries like that this country and much of the world knows, things being so easy and so carefree with life. People believe that they ‘need’ luxuries like these, they have become so dependent on them. What they need is food, water, and shelter. People in this country don’t have to go out and hunt their own food, process and cook from start to finish; most wouldn’t know where to start when it comes to field dressing an animal you just killed to feed your family for the week. It’s the vulnerability like this that makes this country so unprepared for the tragic scenarios that could face us in the future. When a Global Financial Crisis, EMP, or Pandemic comes into play, average everyday civilians will have no clue what to do or where to start to further provide for their families. When the thought of your children going hungry starts to sink in, that’s when preppers like us become endangered. For those of us who know the survival tricks and tactics from dedicating our time and passion into preparing, we will be the first targets for attacks. As prepper’s, in order to save our own lives, we have to help save others before a global crisis happens.
There are 2 steps to getting your friends and family who may be skeptical of the whole idea of “Prepping”. Getting informed and then getting prepared.
A highly recommended resource to get friends and families thinking about the “What If’s?” is the fantastic book I mentioned earlier by James Wesley, Rawles. “How to Survive the End of the World As We Know It”. This book is a great resource for not only information about any crises that may come to our cities, but it also includes very helpful tips about water filtration, food storage, and medical advice. This book could very well save your and your family and friends lives. It is very important your friends and family have a hard copy of this book, because of course if something were to happen; chances are we won’t have electricity to plug in our Kindles or Ipads to look up survival tips. Calling community meetings and talking to friends and family about the possible situations is one step in the right direction to get a larger group of people informed. The more our people are exposed to this information mentioned in Rawles book, the more they’re minds will start to wonder about the real possibility of these catastrophes happening. They will do one of two things, decide they don’t care and not want to be around for the chaos to happen, or two, they will decided to protect their families and do whatever it takes to get ready. The more information they know about prepping, the better. Not just for them, but for you as well. One more neighboring family that knows how to take care of itself is one less family that you have to fear (and one more potential ally) in a survival situation.
Getting prepared the right and successful way is easier said than done. We want to encourage people, not intimidate them with a thousand dollar stock room of dry goods. Encourage a small “Emergency food” kit, just as most American’s have an Emergency First Aid kit hidden somewhere in their home or car. Something is better than nothing. 20 dollars here, 10 dollars there is a good place to start, slowly building little by little so they can feel comfortable and confident being on their own for a week or two after their pantry runs low. If your budget won’t allow hundreds of dollars for #10 cans of dehydrated food, you’re not doomed for starvation. An easy much less expensive way is to dehydrate your own food and store them in ‘Mylar bags’ since they will help keep your dehydrated food stay fresh for up to 25 years, if done properly. It is a pretty good investment that isn’t very expensive at all! After getting your dehydrator, which they are readily available for around $40 on Amazon.com (no need to spend $1,000 if you can’t afford it) plan a trip to the grocery store and plan to spend 20 dollars. On your shopping list should be boxed dinners like ‘mac-and-cheese’, ‘Pasta Roni ,’ and canned fruits and veggies. $20 dollars spent on 58 cent ‘mac-and-cheese’ and $1.48 pasta packets should get you quite a few dinners to make ahead. This way when you get home, you can pre-make these easy inexpensive meals and dehydrate them, this way they are already sauced and mixed! Not only will it be faster and easier to reconstitute when it comes time to break open the package, but it will cut down on your cooking time because your meal is already sauced and mixed, so you will save on your fuel that needs to be conserved as much as possible.
One thing people do not want to do is get too ambitious in a short amount of time. Don’t start off by having a goal of a years’ worth of food, that is a great goal but it can also get very overwhelming very fast. Start with a small goal. Tell yourself you would like to have a weeks’ worth of food, then when you have conquered that goal, do it again. Water is the most important item to have in your prep kit since you can only survive three days without water, the meals you have are no good if you have no water to drink or to reconstitute and heat them. When it’s convenient with your finances buy an extra pack or two of water and store it away. If you work little by little, you’re prep stockpile will grow before your eyes in just a matter of a few weeks. Along with a stockpile of bottled and jug water, a purification system as a back-up can very well save your life if you happen to run out of water. With a water filtration system you can drink water anywhere there is a supply that you can get to.
Weapons are a very ideal thing to have (and you need to be sure you know how to use them); if you put all this time, money, and work into building your disaster preparation kit for your family, the last thing you want is to be attacked and taken over by a riot or gang desperate for food. You have to be able to protect your family and your chance of survival: your water and food. If you can’t afford to buy a gun, a less expensive alternative is an electric Taser; but, compared to firearms, these are not ideal because of the close proximity needed to do damage. Also, if someone is attacking your house and you tase them (assuming they’re alone, if they’re not then a Taser will leave you defenseless in a hurry), even if you manage to drag the spasming body miles away the person will recover with the knowledge of where you live and that you have something to protect and he can just come back with some of his survival-mates. The price of an electric stun gun can range from $15 to $80 (and a Taser can cost $400 to $550), so it is a good alternative along with knives if you have nothing else but hand combat. Remember though, having a knife or firearm that can actually threaten someone else’s life is useless if you do not physically prepare yourself with the knowledge and mettle to use them.
If you’re a new prepper, these trips should help you get on track on the things you need to do, and if you’re a veteran to prepping maybe a few alternatives and ideas were helpful and more cost effective if you’re on a tight budget. Of course we’re all hoping these unfortunate events won’t happen, but we have to be prepared to survive, and rebuild society when the time is right. My hope for the future is that together, we can inform more people so they can prepare and be safe. If you get one person to start prepping, you may have just saved lives. Let that drive you to inform and save as many as you can. Every person saved is a stronger community when the tough times start. Good luck and God bless.