Survivalism

Why survivalism?
Having just changed the name and broadened the focus of this blog, I figure I'd address the more controversial of the terms heading it up. While "survival" takes many forms - and I mean for it to have that broad connotation, I will freely admit to being what many term a "survivalist". Sure, there are newer, more candied terms like "prepper", but the basics remain the same; we are folks who believe in being prepared for upcoming disaster. Why? What disaster? And aren't you just hoping for the end of the world? These are the questions you face when you embrace this attitude, so I'll lay out my thoughts on it now.  

What disaster-
I'll tackle this first as I think it informs the rest. In short, any disaster. This isn't 1953; I'm not planning to survive a nuclear attack in a fallout shelter on the back yard. I'll be honest, I have a list of things I think might go wrong, but since I began listening to the Survival podcast a few years ago, I've adopted the attitude of preparing for the likely, with the understanding that I am then better set up for the worst. The current disaster de' jour is zombies. Highly unlikely. A pandemic, on the other hand? Could be. But if I prepare for a massive ice storm, the likes of which can happen her in the north, leaving us without power for weeks on end, with gas and food tougher to obtain, then I'm better set up for the bigger problems of economic collapse, failure of the US power grid, trucker strikes, or a super-flu.  

Why -
I love my family and consider it my job to help keep them safe. Sure, I can't protect them all the time, but if having a few months of food on hand, the ability to purify water, and trying to keep my debt down put us in better stead, it's worth the effort. There are lots of disasters that affect only a family, and not having to run to a grocery store while one of us is job hunting is a way to reduce some stress. And, so it's clear, yes, I do have firearms to help protect them. Does my wife like it? No. Does she put up with it? Yes. And I hope she never has a reason to be thankful I have them. And while I firmly believe 90% of people are decent at heart, 10% are, to misquote Joss Whedon, bastard-shaped bastards with bastard filling. Those are the ones I worry about if, as we say, The Sh!t Hits The Fan (TSHTF). Oh, and as most of you know, I'm an Eagle Scout, so I take Be Prepared seriously.

Aren't you just hoping for the end of the world -
Hell no! I have a nice house, a good job, and lots of fun toys! If things fall apart, I won't be taking long vacations in Europe on the back of a motorcycle, or buying the latest toys from Apple. On the other hand, I know too much about history and pay just enough attention to the world around me to fear repetition of things that have gone wrong before. Besides, laying by a some food and keeping our debt low only helps me out day to day, so why not do it?

And the world won't end, even if we do something stupid. Earth will go on spinning, and, I believe, humans will go on living. Maybe it will be different, but we are too resilient as a species to go down easy.

So now you've got a peak into my survivalist side. Hopefully not as scary as the term implies. Expect more in the future, in the meantime, ask me questions and I'll share my thoughts.