A Quiet Summer, A False Sense Of Security?

Thankfully this has been a pretty quiet summer as far as disaster scenarios go.

Thankfully.

We haven’t had a major earthquake in a long time, hurricane season (while not over) has been generously calm, last year’s protesters seem to have gotten jobs or at least have discovered NetFlix and decided to stay home, and to the average person I’m sure things seem pretty good. Unlike last year where we saw hurricanes, lots of civil unrest in the form of protests nationwide, and even the SuperStorm that hit the Northeast.

Committed preppers know that situations can change pretty quickly and it’s always best to be prepared for the worst. However I can’t help but think that your average person who keeps a week’s worth of food on hand at any given time (if that) may be lulled into a false sense of security by a few months of calmness.

Seriously, there is nothing like a few days of scary news coverage of just about any type of disaster to get even the laziest person off the sofa and out to the store to pick up extra food and batteries. Sure, their purchases may not be well thought out or include everything they need but at least they’ve got something to keep them going in the event of an emergency. By now, a full year since a string of disasters hit the US, most of these folks’ emergency food has probably been eaten up. It’s much easier to grab a couple cans of tuna out of your emergency cabinet rather than run out to the grocery store… Other poorly chosen items are likely spoiled or on their way to being spoiled.

So while no one likes to see disaster strike and lives ruined or taken I do feel like people are generally more prepared to support themselves and be self sufficient immediately following an event that has been highly publicized. After watching coverage of a hurricane, earthquake, or other disaster even I (an always committed and sometimes thoughtful prepper) will usually head down to the local grocery store to bolster my already considerable supplies a bit. Although, I must admit, these trips historically have not been well thought out. I could easily follow Thoreau’s advice and pick up the specific items listed in his 20 dollar/20 day emergency food kit or with a few extra bucks I could get everything I need for a full 90 days in his well planned 90 day food kit. Unfortunately I can sometimes be impulsive and my hasty trips to the store usually have me returning with something like this:

• 10 boxes of pasta (orzo or something compact and easy to store)
• 10 pounds of rice
• Big cans of beef stew, chili, beans, and assorted soups
• Lots and lots of canned tuna packed in oil (extra calories are good)
• Box of energy bars
• Case of ramen noodles
• Box of Crystal Lite (or some other flavored drink mix)
• Jumbo pack of batteries

These items are all nice to have but for the money I could certainly do better. My point is that even having just what I listed above is better than nothing and the uninformed would-be-prepper is much better off with a pantry full of this stuff than they are waiting for government assistance.

Some might ask why I think so much about what other people do to prep or why I care about trying to keep as many people as possible well informed and prepared to be self sufficient in the event of an emergency. One reason is simply that I think prepping is a prudent and reasonable thing. Another is that I don’t like to see people suffer needlessly (yet I remain married, very ironic…). And finally, I believe that a higher percentage of prepared citizens correlates to a lower percentage of panic and unrest immediately following a disaster.

So it is that I encourage people to prep whenever I get the chance. Lately I’ve got the strange feeling that fewer people are jumping on board and more and more are turning a blind eye to the dangers that are all around us. Hopefully I’m wrong.

Hopefully.

~ Butch