The what if's in life

I talk a lot about change, my hopes for the future of my country, and my fears at what I see happening with our leadership in America.  What I haven't talked about is what happens if it does go bad. The what if's....

What if the stock market crashes, what if unemployment reaches levels that causes rioting in the streets.  What would I do if I wake up one morning and the world has turned upside down?

Well, after I spent a minute freaking out, I guess I would start thinking about how do survive.  This is my guide......

The following guide is based on common sense and real world experience.  This guide does not teach you how to live on bugs and tree moss, there are plenty of those books out there already.  My philosophy for living and even prospering after the world as we know it has taken a major downward turn is simple.  First take care of yourself and your family, and then surround yourself with people who will increase your productivity and proficiency at surviving.  This guide should provide some incite into how to set up a cooperative plan of action that will help build a foundation for a group that can survive and prosper without any outside help.

OK, so it’s any morning somewhere in America.  You wake up and turn on the television to discover that something has happened.  It doesn’t matter what, take your pick of any number of disasters; the stock market crashes, a terrorist attack, act of God, act of man, whatever.  What do you do?  Well what you’re not going to do is what everyone else is doing which is freak out.  Just think back to the last time the weather turned bad (depending on where you live) and remember the news broadcast during that time.  There is always some newscaster reporting on how the stores are overrun with people stocking up on bread, milk, and toilet paper.  People go crazy over ice storms and blizzards, imagine what will happen when the local anchorman tells the viewers that the government has just collapsed, or worse yet, there is no one on the television and rumors are the basis of everyone’s information.  So instead of joining in on the riots in the streets you and I are going to hunt a hole, because we took some simple steps to prepare for this day.

The first thing we need to thing about are the basic fundamentals of life and what it takes to survive.  These things are; water, food, shelter, and security.

Water

Now most of us can remember the Y2K scare and how everyone was storing cases of water.  The problem with that is that unless you live in a rural area already you’re probably not going to want to stay where you’re at. Water is heavy and takes up a lot of space when your on the move.  It is easier to maintain the chemicals necessary to purify water than store large amounts of the wet stuff.  Water purification tablets, bleach, filters (there is plenty of literature available on water purification, I suggest you pick one up) or whatever method you decide to use.  You also need to know several sources of water in your immediate area and have a means of storing several gallons at a time.

Food

 This should be an easy fix on the short term, there are a lot of companies putting together ready made “survival packs” of food.  But let’s pretend for a minute that we are a little bit self sufficient.  Dried beans, rice, corn meal, all have a long shelf life which can be made even longer by vacuum sealing them (those vacuum sealers can be purchase reasonably cheap).   In the situation we will be facing, I don’t think we will be worried about a lot of variety in our diet.  You notice that I didn’t include any preserved meats in this list of foods.  I’ll bet that if you think real hard you can guess why.

Shelter

This is the first point where you need to have to start making decisions.  Do you shelter in place for a while or immediately try to move to a better location.  Well partner, only you can make that decision.  You will have to weigh out the benefits of staying or going yourself.  What I can tell you is this.  If you live in an urban area, and there is no longer a working government in place, several things will start happening rather suddenly.  

First, think about what would happen in your area if suddenly there were no emergency services, no police officers, no firemen, and no paramedics.  Why would these fine public servants suddenly disappear do you ask?  Well because they are in the same spot you are, did you go to work today?   Who puts out the fires that start when Joe nit wit sets the local stop and shop on fire after looting it? Everyone will be shocked at how quickly people degrade into little more than animals when they realize there isn’t anyone around enforcing the rule of law. 

Next, without anyone to maintain the local water works, how long will the toilets keep flushing. Who will maintain the power, the gas, and the telephone system?  If you live in the city, you depend on all of these things just to live, as I said before weigh your options very carefully and decide if you want to try to shelter in place or find a better location.

Security

 This one should be a no brainer, good security is all about common sense.  First you need a good multi-purpose rifle, a shotgun, and a pistol.  I would go with all NATO rounds, primarily because they are normally easy to maintain, and the ammunition is economical (personally I would keep at least several hundred rounds for each weapon on hand).  Where ever you decide to locate, keep in mind that you need to be able to see what may be coming at you from a good distance, this will give you time to decide whether you stay and fight, hide, or run away.  Any temporary shelter needs to be placed in an area that has an emergency evacuation route. And permanent shelters need to be fortified against intruders (remember most modern rounds will shoot completely through a wood framed house).

Alright, now that you have the essentials, what now?  

Remember, your only as good as the people who you surround yourself with, so plan accordingly.  Stock up on literature that will help you survive in case of an emergency, and above all else, keep a positive attitude.  Do not give up and do not sit hoping that the government will come and save you. 

Plan on saving yourself........