Priorities and Preparation--Your Keys to Survival

Let's get started . . .



Let's say, just as an example, the area you live is hit by a major environmental catastrophe--hurricane, earthquake, volcano, widespread power outage, or something along those lines.



What is your top priorities to ensure you and your family are safe, secure, and can get through a period of time without help from any outside source? What are the most important items or supplies you need to get through?



I've spent a great deal of time pondering this question. There are lists you can download from government sites that give you a run down of things you'll need for a three day window of time, and while these lists are a decent place to start, you should take them with a grain of salt. Use one of these lists for reference only and develop your own list according to your area, nearby resources, and any special needs you may require.



Any information the government provides, including the recommendation that three days worth of supplies are adequate, is coming from the same group of people who couldn't get help to New Orleans for over fourteen days. My thoughts are that you should have a minimum of twenty day supply--and I'll explain the reasons why I consider that to be a bare minimum list in a followup post.



When the government tells you that three days should provide you with enough until the system can be restored to normal capacity---sure. Triple that number at the very least, and it's a good general policy to make your own decisions, based on common sense and reality, as to the amount of time you feel would be needed in case of a major disaster. Count only on yourself, think for yourself, and do whatever you feel is in your own best interest.



To me, there are really three categories that would constitute the number one priority I would need:



1a. Defense and Security

1b. Water

1c. Food



I've made list after list, and it always comes back to these three basics. If you can establish these three, you have a fighting chance even if you have nothing else. You need to think of anything beyond these, with possibly the exception of medications, as purely luxury items. There is plenty more to my list, but these are the most crucial, inseparable, elements you need in order to survive.



It seems so simple, yet it's not. We, as a society, take so many things for granted. People become attached to so many useless items, and they will risk their own lives for material goods or things of sentimental value. How many times have you heard of people running back into a house fire for a box of pictures, or for a family pet? It's not as easy as you think to cast away those types of things we've become so accustom to having. It comes down to this, what is going to help you get through the next ten minutes? You need to think of this in the most basic, most life-sustaining way.

You don't need your record collection. You don't need a locket you inherited from your great aunt. Your child's special blanket is not more important then a gallon of water. Your coin collection is going to be worthless, so leave it behind. It takes a huge shift in thinking to begin seeing life at the most rudimentary level--and that is where you need to be.



This is why preparation is so key. People loss their minds in times of trouble, and they can't comprehend the possibility that life as they have know it is simply gone. The psychological effects of stress, multiplied on a scale of this magnitude, can shred a persons mind and render them not only incapable of maintaining their own well being, but creating a danger to anyone they may contact. Your mind, every bodies mind, is going to try and cling to the idea that everything is going to be alright, that everything is going to quickly return to normal, and that is a very dangerous state of mind.

Preparation is the key. Preparation is the key. Preparation is the key.

The more prepared you are to face these possibilities and challenges, the more your mind will be able to accept a catastrophic event, and allow you to maintain full control of your faculties. Stress, fatigue, disbelief--they are all inevitable, but you need to be able to move beyond that frame of mind quickly and begin to take the strong actions necessary for creating the best chance of surviving.

Preparation is the key--that is your new mantra. Preparation is the key.

Your homework for today is just to toss ideas around in your mind. Ask yourself some hard questions.

----"What do I really need to survive for a month?"
----"What are the most important items I need to have ready?"
----"What special needs do I have, beyond the basics for survival, that I will need to survive for an extended period when supplies and resources are not readily available?"
----"What are my priorities? How can I pare down the list to include only what's essential?"
----"Are there luxury items on my list of priorities that I don't really need?"

Ask yourself these questions as you think in terms of a collapse in the system for thirty days. No help is out there, and nobody is coming to rescue you--you're on your own. I'll put up my list as we get further along, and you will be welcome to take it and use it, or modify it to fit your particular conditions and needs. For now, start to imagine yourself in this type of situation--mull over the tools and objects that could help you, and consider items that may only waste your time, energy, and ability to move quickly should you need to evacuate.

Preparation is Key---live these words.

Your ability to prioritize your needs, for your basic existence, may be the most crucial task toward assuring you live to see another sunrise. For me, there are just three things that are absolute, non-negotiable, that should be the first steps in building your kit or bug-out bag; defense/security, water, food. Everything else needs to be deemed a luxury in comparison.

In the next post I'll breakdown these top three items, and go in-depth about the importance of each, the basic requirements, and considerations that need to be addressed as you start gathering your supplies. Until then, take care.

Preparation is the Key!

The Mission--Your Survival

To get things started, I'd first like to introduce myself and give you a little background about who I am and why I've chosen to start this blog.



Ask yourself one question as we get started: If society was thrown into chaos today, if the world was flipped upside down and you could no longer rely on the government to provide you with the means to secure the health and well-being of your family, could you survive for long?



I'm not a paranoid, not delusional, and I'm not a member of the "World Is Ending" crowd. Politically, I've been both a Democrat and Republican at various times during my life, and at this point I choose not to affiliate myself with either party. While my beliefs tend to lean more to the Republican side, the core beliefs the party was built upon, I no longer feel that party is centered in the concepts that have allowed this country to prosper, flourish, and establish itself as the world leader in nearly every social and economic platform.



My beliefs, which have only been strengthen and tempered by the current political difficulties this country is facing today, is that personal liberty and freedom is the most sacred right. I believe in a small Federal government, with fewer laws and interference in the lives of it's citizens, and I believe that our taxes should be minimized by changing to a national sales taxes. I believe in Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness--and I believe the Second Amendment to the Constitution is perhaps the most important section of the greatest document written in the history of mankind.



I'm a normal citizen. I live in a very nice, middle-class neighborhood, and I have a wonderful family. We do the same things nearly every family does; we look forward to the weekends, complain about the weather, go swimming at the pool, take walks and bike rides. My children are involved in sports, video games, and all the normal things kids do. We try to go on vacation to the beach every year, but like other families the economic problems have effected us as well. We spend the holidays with our family and friends, and our neighborhood is filled with wonderful people who look out for one another.



Basically, I'm trying to show you that I'm not some raving lunatic holed up in an underground bunker somewhere in the desert. I have a normal life, with the normal worries and concerns, with the normal hobbies and interests, and like many other Americans I'm beginning to feel as though that way of life, the country I was raised in and the country my children will inherit, is being threatened from numerous sources--both foreign and domestic.



I'm worried, and I'm not ashamed to admit it.



Right now in our country we are facing something we've never faced before in our history. There is a "Perfect Storm" on the horizon, and as the clouds gather and grow, and as the darkness sweeps forward and gains in depth, I've felt compelled to reassess my station, my future, and the security of my family.

Today we are facing political turmoil that we've never faced as a nation. The current president and administration seem hellbent on systematically eliminating our rights and freedoms by instituting law and policy that is socialist by nature and definition. Our very Constitution is being subverted and undermined for the purpose of political power and gain, and at this point is seems like a segment of the populace is beginning to awaken from a deep slumber and realize that the person sitting in the White House is not the man the public believed they were electing to the most powerful office in the world.

The political division among the citizens of our country is deeper then it's ever been, and the battle is just beginning. The "fundamental changes to the fabric of America" our president has spoken so boldly about in essence means the Federal Government will be instituting more control over your choices in life, taking more of the money you earn, and determining the very quality of life you experience---and this agenda cannot be allowed to continue unabated.

The potential for an incident on the political landscape which could greatly disrupt this country, tossing it back into the Dark Ages, is very real. And as this battle becomes further engaged on both sides the chances of an event capable of collapsing our society will become far greater.

Enough about the political landscape for now--that is just one of the storm fronts looming on the horizon.

Here are the others, and we'll examine each in turn during the next few day.

* Environmental Disaster -- we've seen this already with Hurricane Katrina, and we will see it again before long.

* Terrorist Threats --- Do you think this country is safe now from another attack?

* Nuclear Weapons --- Iran, North Korea, Pakistan, Russia--scary stuff here.

* Economic State --- Things are bad, and we just spent $700 billion for nothing.

This is just the major issues we're facing today. Any single one of these has the potential to destroy our society as we know it--but the most worrisome thing is that all of these, with possibly the chance of environmental disaster, are intertwined. These current threats have always been present, but it's the scope and magnitude of each one individually that is cause for great concern.

I had to face the fact recently, thanks to the remnants of a hurricane that hit Ohio--yes, Ohio--and knocked out our power for an entire week, that I wasn't prepared for a major emergency or disaster. I wasn't prepared to keep my family safe, fed, defended, and secure should some unfortunate event cause the collapse of society. It took over two weeks for our government to get the first shipments of water to all the victims of Hurricane Katrina. Two Weeks! The city of New Orleans lost all semblance of law and order; police and fire workers choose not to show up for duty so they could keep their own families safe, riots and looting became commonplace, water and food became unavailable, mobs ruled the streets--shooting people for the few resources available.

And we watched it all on CNN and ABC news. People were fighting for their lives, the city was destroyed and underwater, and our own government was unable to correctly assess the situation and reestablish order until many needlessly died. Now, imagine an event of this type happening on a larger scale. Imagine a bio genetically created disease ravaging the populace--swine-flu, how much help do you think you're going to get?

My goal is to provide you with the things you need; the tools, knowledge, tips, techniques, and strategies, to give you and your family the best chance of surviving an event of this nature. You need to be prepared--your life, and the life of everyone you love, may depend on how well you can imagine the worst case scenario, and choose that should you will be ready, no matter what.

It's up to you--make that choice, and decide that you need to take a serious look at the world around you, and have a plan in place if the shit hits the fan. If you don't . . . well, the future may be much different then you could ever imagine.