By Chris Gadsden | From PatriotUpdate.com | On Tues, April 24th, 2012

statue of liberty scared

Okay, this is going to be a different one. I am not going to write an article this time around as much as touch upon a subject that has been stewing in my brain for the last year or two. I want and would appreciate your feedback and advice if you would be so kind. We often (gladly) veer into more ethereal realms with politics and religion but I want to just chat a bit about nitty-gritty stuff today. I am just a middle-class guy with a wife and two young kids. I work, she works. We do better than a lot of people (by no means are we the 1% but, as all Americans should, we work hard and strive to be). Pretty much, we are the standard American family.

Because I am growing older and have two young children that will have to cash the checks we have been writing, the future is becoming serious and scary. We, as a nation and world, face a multitude of horrific possible calamities in the coming days/months/years. While the Mayan calendar and the impending 12/21/12 is entertaining to discuss (and I am sure there will be Kool-Aid chugging, Nike-wearing Heaven’s Gaters out there as the days countdown), I want to stick to more likely scenarios. Off the top of my head, we could possibly face:

  • World War III with China, Russia, or some other regionalized conflict snowballing (North Korea, anyone?)
  • The ever-present specter of a Middle East conflict erupting in war, economic turmoil with oil and energy disruptions
  • With the vocal militant faction of Islam emerging world-wide, the threat of massive (nuclear?) terrorist attacks
  • Complete economic collapse due to our power brokers and politicians’ borrowing, bailouts, derivatives, and ceaseless insistence on paying for the whims of every slacker with their hand out
  • All out world conflict over dwindling oil, water and food resources
  • A great pandemic as some form of convoluted swine-bird-cumquat H1Z9 virus runs roughshod over the world
  • A continued decline caused by the past/present/future leftists that live to embrace the failed tenants of socialism/communism (so sad that we have been brought to our knees by the many worthless generations that followed the Greatest one)
  • Natural threats, whether it be from the unlikely rogue asteroid or the far more probable, and frankly inevitable, eruption of the caldera (super volcano) under Yellowstone National Park (or one of the other handful of such ticking time-bombs under our feet).
  • Zombies, whether the flesh-eating branch or the Democrat-voting variety, that always pose a threat to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness

Some of these ideas are more likely than others but I feel certain and fear that at least one of them is on the horizon for us. Most of us whistle past the graveyard and proceed with our normalcy bias. Things will always be pretty much the same. Political parties, hardships, good times all come and go but mainly things remain unchanged. What happens when the excrement hits the fan though? What are you, personally, doing about it? I have been asking myself that and now I want to ask you. It is not a new question but it certainly dates farther back than the recent spate of doomsday prepper-centric shows on the Glenn Beck online network, the National Geographic channel and others. It seems that getting ready for societal collapse is the new trend, replacing shows about Jersey tramps and bidding on self-storage units. [A sidelight on those prepper shows for a second…..why would you go on a show and put on display your face, family, weapons, food stores and living facilities? All of the lazy people in a 20-mile radius will remember that ole’ Bob down the street was ready for all of this and simply mooch, beg or attack.]

I will not go into specifics but will provide some of my prepping work. It starts with a stack of reading materials. I quickly learned that anything by survival god James Wesley, Rawles (still not sure why he spells it like that with the comma) is in order. His works, the best known being How to Survive the End of the World as We Know It: Tactics, Techniques, and Technologies for Uncertain Time, are full of useful tips on not only surviving but thriving in any upheaval. Search out his website, Survivalblog.org, too. Great stuff. In addition to his works, I have purchased many other such books and manuals in recent years.

I have also begun researching or purchasing, as time and income allow, everything from heirloom seeds, guns, nonperishable goods, ham radios, gold (wish I had listened to Glenn Beck’s advice years ago when gold was under $700/oz.) and other precious metals. In addition to commodities, I have started to study survival techniques, wilderness safety and combat methods. Though time, work and family do not allow for a lot of in-depth study, I have been doing what I can. I have also reached out to like-minded individuals in hopes that we could trade ideas and perhaps have a support network if and when everything goes to pot. I also attended an interesting day-long seminar on all of these topics.

Deep down though, all of this and it seems like spit in the ocean. How is a normal, nearly middle-aged man supposed to go from a computer to generating power and skinning deer for dinner? Ideas? With even people in my own household and inner circle oblivious to the dire circumstances we face, it would be an impossibility to make a big move, take it to extremes, or go off of the grid. The famous line is “we are nine meals from anarchy” and it is true, give or take a day. We are still animals though most of us have been lulled to sleep.

Recent history has taught us how some will react. Hurricane Katrina showed us that many (most?) will simply wait for Uncle Sam to tell them what to do, say and feel. These are the same people that currently do not do for themselves and expect the government to provide for their every need. Faced with hardship, they will either be helpless or deadly as they become desperate.  The storm also showed individuals made of sterner stock. While officials in Louisiana floundered, neighboring states like Texas and Mississippi rolled up their sleeves, solved the problem and never waited for George Bush or anyone else to save them. When the rubber meets the road, the rest of us are probably in the middle of these extremes. I for one am getting the ball rolling but I want to be better

Does this strike home for any of you readers? What are you doing, if anything, to prepare? Banding together? Growing and canning your own fruits and veggies? Buying guns and ammo before obama can urinate on that right as well? I, and the rest of the readers, would love to know any insights, resources or suggestions you may have.

Please check out my page on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/ConservatismByChrisGadsden and I will let you know when my new articles post on the Patriot Update site.

As the sixth-great grandson of American patriot and Revolutionary War hero Christopher Gadsden, I feel it is my duty to speak fondly of America’s greatness and stand ready to defend her against all adversaries. Sadly, I must rail against the vileness and evil of the leftists, progressives, Marxist, socialists and idiots in general now threatening to destroy our great nation. If you support this aim, please spread the word.

The original article was posted at http://patriotupdate.com/articles/are-you-a-prepper

News Reporter
RSOP is the co-founder & Executive Editor of Radical Survivalism Webzine, as well as a Family Preparedness Consultant with over seven years of personal experience in the self-reliance game. RSOP's many preparedness roles within his own group include team mechanic, head of security, electrician, and project designer/engineer.