Are You Really Ready For a Crisis?
I spend much of my time thinking about what is happening around me, a bad habit from my time in the U.S. Army as a Combat Medic. I remember, in planning for any operation, there were times when we would ensure that we could account for a volume of possible incidents. For the vast majority of these things, we fell back onto what were called ‘Battle Drills.’
For some things, however, we would have to decide what actions would be taken if we were to pass a ‘phase line.' In this instance, ‘breaking contact,’ for example, would no longer mean retrograding back to our start point (SP), and may mean making our way to another location that provided us the ability to gain fire superiority and control the security situation.
There were scenarios that we prepared for:
What if we were ambushed from our left or right,
What if we come under sniper fire,
What if a vehicle is hit by an IED,
What if we take causalities…
The list goes on. For each of these ‘what ifs,’ we trained for how to respond. Although it was rare, we even trained for the event that a nuclear explosion occurred at some distance away from us. What about an attack from space aliens? Let’s not get carried away… preparing for Black Swans is a discussion all unto its own.
Our ability to analyze multiple decisions is pretty impressive…
There was an adage that we were told almost every day, “No plan survives first contact.” For those who have served, this is understood as a given. However, in the civilian world, I have found that this is less understood despite it being a common occurrence.
How?
You, potentially without giving it much thought, plan out your morning before going to work. You get up at your planned time, exercise (maybe), shower, make your coffee, get dressed, grab your lunch from the refrigerator, get in the car, and head to work. Then it happens… there is an accident on the road right before your onramp to get on the highway.
Dang it!
You are so familiar with the area that you start to plan for how you continue your mission. You could do a U-turn and take a route that goes through some residential areas or you could get past the wreck and take another major road to an onramp to get onto the highway. Understanding the path through the residential areas will restrict you to 25 mph and include a lot of stop signs; you select the other course of action.
I think you get the point. Your original plan failed due to an incident out of your control so you adapted.
What is interesting is that we never stop to ponder how long it takes us to do this. Its in less than a minute depending on the situation.
The aforementioned example is pretty light work though, right? The accident that disrupts your commute to work is more an inconvenience than a crisis.
To prepare ourselves for the prospect of a crisis, we do things like pay for insurance. In the unlikely event that we are in a car accident or our car is stolen, we pay for car insurance. In the event that something happens to a major home system, we pay for a home warranty. In the event that someone decides to break into our homes, we have firearms for our protection.
Depending on your financial position, you have established the means to weather a financial emergency. You have a jack and spare tire in case you have a flat. You probably have a fire extinguisher in your kitchen somewhere in case there is a fire in your home.
The point I want you to understand here is that planning for crisis is something that we are socially conditioned to do… and we all do it to a degree. In some instances, its the law.
‘What a weirdo…who puts on a seat belt when they get in the car!?’…
This would sound pretty ridiculous, right?
Can you imagine having a conversation with a close friend about paying for car insurance and their response is, “Oh!!! you are one of ‘those people’. You think you are going to get into an accident or something? You people are so weird!” You would almost certainly be confused.
Imagine your sibling finds a fire extinguisher under your sink in your kitchen and begins questioning you about why in the hell you have such a ridiculous device in your home. “Why the hell is this thing in here? Are you crazy!? If there is a fire just call the fire department!!!” At some point you may begin to wonder if you were living in the Twilight Zone… or Black Mirror for the younger readers.
What would make the above hypothetical even more crazy is if, in response to your rebuke for having car insurance or a fire extinguisher, you then cancelled your car insurance and disposed of your means of fighting a small fire…
But many people, in essence, have forgone preparing for emergencies and crisis in their own lives because to do so would align them with ‘the crazies’… those people that established long term food storage.
I have previously written about how I find it ironic that being a Homesteader and a Prepper in America is so demonized. In my review of an Atlantic Magazine article ‘We Should All Be Preppers,’ we discuss how Homesteaders and Preppers do not need the media to now acknowledge that we made the right decision. What is important, however, is what is it that induced the media to suggest that Homesteaders and Preppers have been right this whole time…
This used to be considered normal…
A global pandemic and the disruption of the U.S. national supply chain.
Here is the reality of the situation. No one was prepared for COVID-19 and its ripple effects. Anyone that tells you they were is lying.
Now, there are people that were better postured to deal with this global black swan. Particularly, Homesteaders and Preppers. These people, over several years in some cases, amassed long term food storage, emergency energy production, have established gardens on their property, and are raising their own livestock.
While some people were panic-buying at grocery stores, Homesteaders and Preppers were not only feeling vindicated but were happy that they did the food math to understand just how long they could survive in the event that a significant disruption of the supply chain occurred. This is not to brag, this is to highlight how making the decision to invest in your own stability can pay off.
Depending on who you ask, no one could have predicted that 2020 would have been so insane. No one could have predicted there would be a global pandemic and no one could have predicted that nation-states would have ordered that businesses needed to close. What I think is pertinent to note here is that no one predicts when they are going to get into a car accident, or when there will be a fire in their home, or when a financial emergency will happen.
Despite this, our lack of foresight does not prevent us from having car insurance, fire insurance, or saving in the event of a catastrophe.
When you talk to Homesteaders and Preppers, you notice how calm they are in dealing with the current situation but they are also now taking a second or third look at their stores to make sure they are prepared for what ‘impossible’ situation may happen next. If you were to ask a Homesteader or Prepper to divulge their ‘preps,’ you will find that it is not something they will do… ever. Why?
When things break down and the masses, who are largely those who are unprepared, react, there is typically chaos. People will, who did not invest in their own preparedness, look to where they can acquire what they need in an emergency. Some people loot. Some people decide to go to a relative’s house. Others go to food banks and hope there is enough for them. What Homesteaders and Preppers know is that everyone is subject to resorting to looting if things get bad enough. Everyone is also susceptible to relying on a loved one that prepared to now also take care of them.
Hindsight can’t feed you. Preparing once you are relying on a food bank is the wrong way to go about it…
It’s important to note that Homesteaders and Preppers have accounted for this. If you don’t know they have food stores or other resources, you won’t show up at their door looking. If you do suspect they have something that you need and decide to ‘acquire’ some for yourself, Homesteaders and Preppers have planned for and have the means to prevent this as well [thank goodness for the 2nd Amendment!].
Before 2020, Homesteaders and Preppers were seen as crazy nut jobs that believed some event was coming that would disrupt our normal way of life. Hmmm. They were weirdos that had storable food so that in the event of some destabilizing event, they could lock the doors, make sure their weapons are loaded, and depend on their supplies until normalcy returned.
To some people, Homesteaders and Preppers may still be those crazies that need to get a grip. Whether you know it or not, someone you know is probably a Homesteader or Prepper. These people have almost certainly encouraged you to invest in your own sustainability.
Have you listened?
Let’s say you haven’t listened to those crazy Homesteaders and Preppers. Have you listened to the Department of Homeland Security?
Over the past decade, at least, the Department of Homeland Security has recommended that individuals plan for and prepare for the potential for a disaster or crisis at Ready.gov. Maybe DHS is also manned by a bunch of crazy people who were formerly or are currently Homesteaders or Preppers. More realistically, DHS likely understands that your best advocate in a disaster or crisis is you.
Are The Rich Crazy Too?…
In the past few years, the affluent among us have invested millions of dollars into ensure they and their families can survive a significant crisis. As you can imagine, having the wealth of the 1% enables these people to do things the rest of us can not. The wealthy and well-connected have purchased decommissioned missile silos and refurbished them into luxury abodes, purchased private islands, established survival communities, and have even purchased real estate in New Zealand to relocate in the event of unrest or other forms of crisis.
Maybe the affluent are crazy… Maybe they are bored and just want to spend money on stupid things…
Or maybe they understand that FEMA and the local food bank aren’t going to take care of them in a major crisis.
But homesteaders and preppers are weird…
Hmmm…
I know one thing for sure. 2020 has shown to Homesteaders and Preppers that they have made the right decisions. Not only have we been less stressed about what has occurred this year but we have been comforted by the ability to shop from our own personal deep food stores. If you have the time, Google ‘long food lines (name your State)’ or ‘food banks empty’ and read the articles.
There is a lesson I learned early in my military career, “Failure to plan on your part does not constitute an emergency on mine.” I keep this in mind when I think about Homesteading and Prepping. Regardless of your political affiliation, religious leaning, level of education, or economic status, there is a level of personal responsibility that you must understand about the current world: it is your responsibility to take care of yourself. If you believe the Government will do it, ask anyone who lived through Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans how that worked out. Or maybe ask the people who lost everything in the 2008 economic collapse.
Homesteaders and Preppers have taken their well-being into their own hands. They have put their money where their mouths are and ensured they are able to sustain and defend themselves in uncertain times.
You can do this too! In my opinion, you should.
Homesteaders and Preppers didn’t do this. The people that have failed to plan for the potential for a destabilizing crisis did this in a panic…
Do you have your own ‘battle drills?’
What do you do if someone breaks into your home? Do you grab your weapon and defend yourself, or do you hide in the closet and call the police? (For those that do the latter, please research the average response time of the police and then imagine what can happen to you in that amount of time…)
What happens to you and your family if our ‘just in time’ supply chain system is disrupted and the grocery stores are severely limited or empty? Do you have your own food stores, or are you wondering whose house you are going to so you can eat?
What happens if the power goes out? Do you have a generator to ensure that you can keep some essential systems powered, or are you hoping and praying that the power company figures things out so you can turn the TV back on?
What do you do if, in the midst of a growing crisis, people show up at your door in search of food or other supplies? Are you postured to ‘bug in?’ Do you defend your property and resources? Or do you grab your ‘bug out’ bag and relocate? Where are you going? Do you have the means to sustain yourself there?
These, among a list of other hypotheticals, are all things Homesteaders and Preppers have accounted for. And remember, they were all crazies… until 2020 happened. Then the people waiting in food lines started to wonder if 200 dollars should have gone towards storable food rather than that new purse. Those hoping the food bank had something good started to wonder if the money spent on remodeling the kitchen would have been better served establishing a deep pantry.
So, I ask you this last question. As you look at the current state of America and the situation in your own home, are you really ready for a crisis?
