My friends are all well prepared, but mainly for different reasons, like me. We are just used to being ready to either go on a hunting, camping, fishing trip or such at all times. We also buy our foods in bulk, saving money and time. We look for sales, specials and closeouts on food, equipment, supplies and ammo. Its a hard land out here in the southwest. There are miles and miles of nothing once you get out of the cities and towns. Being ready for almost anything has been bred into a lot of folks for many years out here.

Papa Ray
West Texas
USA

I am indifferently prepared: trying to do better. I live in Houston, which, I think for a variety of reasons, is pretty high on the bad guys list of targets. . .

The Islamic bad guys are one issue, but I wonder if we have others ? Do we have more, really, to fear from Al Qaeda and the Global Islamic Insurgency; or are the very steps needed to combat the Global Islamic Insurgency, especially when, as it will, it reaches our shores -- going to unravel our national polity like pulling a yarn out of a rug ?

We live in the San Joaqin Valley, the deep red heart of California. We worry more about the tweakers down the street than jihadhis, so we have guns. We worry more about our electricity going out in the summer than avian flu, so we have water and food. We worry more about getting laid off than economic collapse, so we have some savings.

As Papa Ray mentioned above, we camp and hunt, so we can take the whole show out of town for awhile if we have to.

Chester, your essay is grim, yet also hopeful.

It is grim, because it describes a vision of ever-escalating violence.

Yet it is hopeful because it asserts that Americans, as individuals, families, and neighborhoods, are preparing for a confrontation, whether against nature or other men. And they are preparing because of their own wisdom and instincts and not because some leader told them to do so.

And when such grass-roots preparations are complete, the next logical step will be for these Americans to organize their own defense. "Privatization" and "democratization" of the war, defense policy, and foreign policy, if you will. We know these are subjects you are thinking about.

Westhawk

I live in Minneapolis and I doubt that any terrorists even know we exist up here in the frozen north, Zacarias Moussaoui notwithstanding. We're not subject to any large natural disasters like earthquakes or hurricanes. We do get torandos from time to time. They tend to have a severe scope but small footprint. We can get fairly severe storms in the winter and I do carry a winter survival kit in my car but that's not really the sort of thing you're talking about.

I don't know anyone who has any sort of survival/bug-out kit in their home, or if they do they've never mentioned it. I've thought that I should have something for general purposes but have not gone very far in doing anything about it. I do have a pretty complete set of camping gear from when I used to camp on my motorcycle trips. I will probably get some food, water, etc. when I get around to it as I think it's a good idea to have such stuff around. Avian flu (anthrax, and such) is a real possibility although I have no idea how likely such a thing is.

Something I have noticed just this year are some TV shows with a sort apocalyptic vision that we haven't seen in a long time. The ones that I recall are Jericho and Hero (maybe?). Also, there seems to be a few more than normal "the world as we know it may soon end" shows on PBS.

This of reminds me of the sort of thing you'd see on TV during the Reagan adminstration as we started increasing the pressure on the Soviet Union. There were a bunch of shows about nuclear winter and such things. The TV writers and producers obviously thought that the Reagan policies were going to get us all killed.

Now maybe there's a popular apocalyptic vibe out there and I'm just not tuned in. It certainly wouldn't be the first time I've missed a popular trend. Maybe Katrina just scared the crap out of everyone. I don't know. At least in the eighties the media was full of gloom and doom and it was obvious that the TV shows were a response to this vibe.

Is there something similar going on today as well and I just missed it?

Oh, I think there's some kind of vibe alright. I have a friend (female)...who doesn't follow politics at all, cares about nothing but hubby and kiddies...who keeps survival rations, a pistol, and water she changes out all the time...all since 9/11.

I have yet to see a *survival kit* that would really help anyone to survive even a natural disaster. Most of what is advertised is little more than a *sample kit* with band-aids. Maybe the bucket would be useful. Otherwise, the silly scissors aren't sharp enough to trim gawz and adhesive tape. There is not enough antibiotic meds for serious injuries, such as from falling debri and open wounds. And the *attention!* tools (whistles) can't be heard far enough, plastic is no match for the old-fashioned Boy Scout whistle. The cases, like dry cereal, cost more than the contents.

Survivalists would be much better off buying a case (backpack, nylon-covered cooler) and filling it with larger amounts of similar medical supplies, better scissors, a mirror, water-proof matches, solar-powered lamps, flairs, and flashlights. Also a crank-style radio. Then add a second survival case with food and water keeping both in a special place for a fast evacuation.

Many RV buyers are not so much buying for camping as for a vehicle to evacuate to safety in. But those with smaller pockets would be wise to buy one of the new cross-over, 5-door vehicles adding one of the dome tents which enclose the hatch area. Use them for camping and field-testing their survival training. Providing your own shelter in advance is the best preparation.

What if Katrina had been a bomb instead of a storm? That may yet happen. Scary? Yes, but not as scary as not being prepaired and terrified when something as bad hits near you.

What is your plan--when everything you depended on no longer exists and you have no idea when those services will be back on? Do you know your community's evacuation routes?

Westhawk,

Interesting. I had not connected this impulse with that of privatization and will have to ponder on it a bit.

El Jefe,

That is very telling. Basically, all of us blog readers live in a little echo chamber, and it is hard to know how much of what we are concerned with actually leaches out into the rest of real life. The fact that a lady who follows not a whit of politics is keeping her powder dry speaks to the pervasiveness of the mentality mentioned in my article, no?

A reader emails with these thoughts:

I tend to agree with your premise in TCS that the war that is driving some of this attention to survival. What I would add to the argument is that the public perceives an inability on the government's part to protect them and or control the situation. Iran and Korea's unstoppable march to the bomb is a great example of the inability to control the situation. Combine that with the irrational nations and ideologies we are dealing with and the public's perception is probably not too far off.

The lack of faith in the government is further strengthened by the Katrina disaster. Politics aside, the reaction at all levels of government within the first 72 was abysmal. (Hats off to the Coasties, who really did a job down there) Katrina taught people that they in fact could not count on anyone but themselves within those first few days. I think it was a big wake up call for most folks and it actually gave credence to some of the advice that Homeland Security was putting out post 9/11 about preparedness.

With regard to your argument about the media, I am less convinced. If anything the constant references to WMD and our enemies from politicos on both sides have made things quite gloomy for most folks. So the government that the people have the least faith in to help them are also feeding part of their fear.

In any case, it is an interesting topic to think about.

Chester:

Politics aside, Katrina showed what a hysterical media and climb on politicians (of all stripes) can do to make a bad situation worse. The immediate desire to blame and seek forgiveness has the sickly stench of a rotting carcass.

We need to make provisions for our immediate survival needs. Impressing this upon the public should be one of the most important duties of the media and government.

Oh! and we should stop whingeing everytime something happens. S..t happens. deal with it.