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I have been a “prepper” since 1975. In those 32+ years, I have met all sorts of “prepared” people. Some of them have been casual acquaintances. Some I’ve corresponded with but have never met face to face. Some have been fellow church members. Some have been consulting clients. A few of these have been close and trusted friends. But only a subset of all of them have pursued what I consider well-balanced preparedness. I don’t intend the following to be a castigation of anyone in particular. I’m merely trying to illustrate that many of us could benefit from better balance. Here are some of the extremes that I have encountered:

Kruger-centrics. These folks put the majority of their funds into Krugerrands, American Eagles, and numismatic rarities, at the expense of food storage and other practical preparedness measures.

Electronic Gadgeteers. The gadgeteers usually drift into survivalism by way of amateur (“ham”) radio. Typically, they spend their evenings chatting with fellow survivalists hams. Hopefully they’ll have an “Ah-ha” moment that leads them to the conclusion that true preparedness means more than just keeping 10 gallons of gas on hand for their generator set for The Big Field Day.

Secret Squirrels. About once or twice a month, I get an envelope with no return address. Inside it is a five dollar bill, often wrapped in aluminum foil. Usually there is no explanatory note. Without a return address, there is no way for me to sent a thank you. (So let me say here and now: Thanks for your donations!)

I have one friend in another state that I have not been able to contact for more than five years because he is afraid that even if I use a cash-purchased calling card and if I call him from a pay phone, that we might be “monitored”. By isolating themselves, Secret Squirrels cannot take advantage if teamwork and strength in numbers. There is risk versus reward ratio for associating with others. Weigh it carefully.

Eschatologists. Then there are the folks that spend more time studying John’s Revelation than they do all of the other books of the Bible. Eschatology (the study of “End Times”) is all well and good, but it has become an obsession to some. They forward me umpteen e-mails with modern prophecies: “I had a vivid dream about cities on fire…” They quiz me as to whether or not I believe in a pre-Tribulation Rapture and whether I’m pre-millennial, post-millennial, or a-millennial. Here is my answer, short and sweet: I’m Pan-millennial. Having read the Bible, I believe that it will all pan out in the end. Seriously, the Bible teaches that there will be a time of tribulation. Be ready for it.

As for the modern-day prophets and their adherents: To the best of my knowledge the gift of prophecy ended with the death of the last of the Disciples. Trust in God’s providence, but don’t expect absolute protection for the faithful. The Bible does not promise that. If you have doubts about that, read Foxes’s Book of Martyrs. Rowland Taylor, one of my great grandfathers (16 generations back) is described there. He was burned at the stake for holding to the inerrancy of scripture. But he died singing hymns.

Gun Nuts. I’ve known lots of people that own dozens of guns, but that have hardly have any storage food or medical gear set aside. Sadly, when things get Schumeresque, some of them may resort to looting once their scanty food supplies have been exhausted.(“When the only tool you have is a hammer, every problem start to look like a nail.”) Instead of being part of the solution in restoring commerce and and law & order, they will be part of the problem. I used to be a bit of a gun nut. But thankfully, after marrying the Memsahib I have become far more balanced in my preps. I gradually pared down my gun collection by more than half. (And I made a tidy profit in the process, since guns only seem to go up in value.) Just don’t ask me to part with my shelves full of ammo cans. That ammo is better than money in the bank. And, hey, it even doubles as good gamma shielding.

Granola Idealists. The other end of the spectrum from the Gun Nuts are the incredibly naive folks who eschew all means of self-defense. Many new converts in the Peak Oil camp fall into this category. Some of them profess that merely living in a tight-knit community will protect them. Others hope that extreme geographic isolation will spare them from the depredations of looters.

Conspiracy Theorists. I get an amazing number of conspiracy e-mails every day, and they all sound so sincere. Among other things, they describe: mysterious lingering chem trails, lack of plane wreckage at the Pentagon, black helicopters, thermite and cutting charges in the World Trade Center buildings, George Bush is actually a Gray Alien, railroad box cars equipped with handcuffs and shackles, Area 51 anti-gravitation hovercraft, MK-ULTRA mind-controlled assassins, the CFR, chupacabras, massive underground bases and tunnels excavated by atomic power, Chinese troops stationed in North Dakota, the secret base on the dark side of the moon, you name it. My advice for the Conspiracy Theorists is to stop spending so much time analyzing and re-analyzing the threats and start actively preparing.

Mall Ninjas. You probably know at least one Mall Ninja. To them, looks more important than substance. They insist on having all of their gear in a matching camouflage pattern. Typically they own several guns, but have never zeroed any of them. They have research files full of magazine clippings from Soldier of Fortune about martial arts and isometric exercises, but they never seem to find the time to actually exercise. They own dozens of “tactical” knives and bayonets, but own no water filters. I even heard of a “survival expert” that had one case (12 meals) of MREs, but no other storage food. My friend Keith calls these folks “Tommy Tacticals.” Others call them Armchair commandos. The Mall Ninjas are in desperate need of balance.

The preceding may have offended some of my readers. But I felt that it was important to point out that some people have allowed their preparations to get unbalanced. All that I can suggest is: 1.) Don’t pin yourself down to just one pet scenario. Instead, be ready for a wide range of potential eventualities. 2.) Stock up in a logical manner that will allow your family to live for an extended period of time with no outside assistance. This means having a good balance of food storage, gardening seed and supplies, means of self defense, alternative energy, communications gear, medical gear, OTC pharmaceuticals, tools, livestock feed, fencing supplies, and so forth. Do your best to be dispassionate, and work though the logical “what-ifs”. Develop your lists accordingly.

I wrote the following back in the early days of SurvivalBlog. For the sake of the many new readers (since our readership has more than doubled in the past 12 months), it bears repeating:

Just as important as finding a town that fits your needs is re-making you to fit your new town. For someone accustomed to the Big City pace of life, this can be a major adjustment.
Get to know the local way of doing things in your new town. Get accustomed to the pace of life. Don’t expect to get a lot done during deer season. (Nearly every building contractor, plumber, and electrician will be out in the woods, with tags to fill!) Dress like the natives. Don’t be ostentatious. Don’t whine about the lack of “good shopping” or culture. Learn how to pronounce the local names quickly. Don’t stand out. Join the local church.

Don’t just talk about preparedness. If you have concerns about the future, do something about it: Plant a vegetable garden, get weapons training at Front Sight, learn how to can your own vegetables, change your own motor oil, learn how to knit and darn, take up hiking, help a friend (or a local church) with a building or remodeling project, et cetera.

The difference between a genuine survivalist and an armchair commando (a.k.a. “Tommy Tactical”) is that a genuine survivalist collects useful skills whereas an Armchair Commando collects gadgets that he doesn’t know how to use.

Rethink your budget and your priorities in life. Here are some examples:

Cut out unnecessary travel.

Sell your jet ski and buy a canoe. Sell your television(s) and buy a general coverage short wave receiver.

Sell your fancy engraved guns, and commemorative guns, and customized “race” guns. Replace them with practical guns in non-reflective durable finishes.

Make sure to buy guns from a private party with no paper trail.

Sell off your guns that are chambered in oddball calibers such as 16 gauge, 28 gauge, .280 Remington, .240 Weatherby Magnum, .35 Whelen, .25-20, and .41 Magnum. Replace them with guns in the most common standard calibers like: .30-06. .308, .223, .45 ACP, .40 S&W, 12 gauge, and .22 Long Rifle. (In Canada and Oz, that list should also include the venerable .303 British rifle cartridge.)

Sell your Beanie Baby (or whatever) collection on eBay and use that money to buy storage food.

Sell your Rolex and buy a half dozen inexpensive used (refurbished) self-winding watches. (These will come in handy for coordinating tactical rendezvous and guard shift changes.)

Sell your fancy late models cars and replace them with 5 to 10 year old low mileage American-made 4WDs with good ground clearance. When you move to the country you don’t want to stick out or be the focus of envy, so it is better to have older and dinged up vehicles than to have ones that look nearly new.

Get out of debt.

Live frugally.

Dress down.

Prepare for the worst case Schumeresque situation. Thus, you will always be ready for less severe circumstances and you can take them in stride. Such preparations will take a lot of money, but ask yourself:: What is your life and the lives of your loved ones worth to you? If being truly prepared requires moving to a small town in a lightly populated region, then so be it!