“Civilization is just a thin veneer. In the absence of law and order, men quickly revert to savagery. As was illustrated by the rioting and looting that accompanied disasters in the past three decades, the transition from tranquility to absolute barbarism can occur overnight. People expect tomorrow to be just like today, and they act accordingly. But then comes a unpredictable disaster that catches the vast majority unprepared. The average American family has four days worth of food on hand. When that food is gone, we’ll soon see the thin veneer stripped away.”- James Wesley, Rawles
The Editors’ Quote of the Day
I certainly agree with JWR in regard to the lack of food leading to the demise of civility. There are just to many examples to ignore. The EBT card failures of a couple years past and they were only for a few hours. One good hack of the credit card system that shuts it down is a distinct possibility that will lead to chaos. I have almost given up on discussing the food stoppage with people, they are more concerned with slow data service on their phones. Most people spend thousands of dollars on various insurances for things that are not necessarily life threatening but the Idea of having a month or two of food on hand doesn’t register. I believe part of this is a weird belief that if you prepare for this you are somehow influencing/promoting the event. There is almost a universal belief that Someone will take care of them, Government, aid organizations, neighbors, etc. Just watch how fast pepper’s lock their doors to people outside their families. When faced with decreasing the odds of my families survival by diminishing their food by dilution. My circle of responsibility will grow very small and social welfare/charity near the bottom of the list for asset distribution. I feel that societal collapse is not far off as most people today take little responsibility for their actions or their own self perseveration.
Quite frankly — before reading “Patriots”, we were the family with less than 1 week’s worth of groceries.
Editing note: “comes a unpredictable disaster” should read, comes an unpredictable disaster.