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Why You Need to Be Prepared.
- Jul 5, 2010 at 1:05 PM
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- Comments (12) Total Views (692) Everyone can see this journal post.
We all spend at least a little time thinking about it. Disaster. Whether it comes in the form of earthquakes, tornadoes, hurricanes, floods, disease, war, or any other scenario from the never-ending list of possibilities...it could happen at any time.
And if you are reading this on cafemom, you have at least one little reason to do more than just think about it.
The truth is, we are conditioned as a society to think in ways that are devastating to most people in a disaster situation.
The biggest factor in everything is luck, and just knowing that should help dispel some of the anxiety related to thinking about disasters in the first place. Life thrives on luck just as much as anything else, and every factor from what might happen to where is so steeped in luck that worrying about the fine details could end up being useless...what if you keep all of your supplies at home, and your home isn't accessible? The mentality of surviving a disaster is what is most important, and if you are in no way prepared to face even three days stuck inside your home, you haven't invited that mentality in yet. And that makes you and your family not only a danger to yourselves...but everyone around you.
It does not have to be a doomsday survivalists wet-dream scenario...just think long and hard on your observations about people. Have you ever been shopping on Black Friday? Have you ever been in a large crowd of people? Even a short-term disaster could cause an "anti-civilization bubble" to form, and you could be stuck inside. You may be thinking that you could never behave in a way that would harm others...but if you aren't prepared and your family is wanting...you WILL. Imagine that you do not have any food on hand, and you and your children and weak with hunger. Imagine a family across the street, who prepared, being well-fed, and not sharing that food with you. They aren't sharing the food with ANYONE, and before you know it, you have jump started or entered a neighborhood uprising of unprepared, hungry people who are going to do whatever it takes to steal the food of the one family who prepared for it. You don't want to be in either situation, really...which is why it's imperative that MOST people prepare. It might sound silly, but it does not take much for people to abandon reason and the rules of society. The best way to arm yourself against this is to make sure your family can meet their basic needs while encouraging those around you to do the same.
And look...you're on the internet. Begin by googling something like "survival skills." "Food storage." "Disaster Preparation." You can do it. It might take a little money to get started...but the good thing is, you can start small and make a minimal impact on your way of life NOW (which is great for those who don't want to think about these things in the first place!) Do you like rice once in awhile? Beans? Buy some dried rice, beans, and peas. You don't even need to cook these to prepare them in an emergency situation, and you can use them daily in your household and rotate the stock out. Save your empty soda and milk jugs for water storage. Think before making purchases. Buy waterproof hiking/trail shoes instead of plain sneakers. Invest in some aluminum water bottles (these are great because you can heat water over a fire in them) instead of bottled water for the month, and use them daily. Even a bic lighter is a great survival tool. It does not have to look or feel obvious that you are preparing you and your family for the time when things might get a little crazy. And if you aren't the type to scour through books and blogs to get the knowledge you need and are only interested in short-term preparation, they DO sell kits tailored to your specific needs for reasonable prices.
Personally, my husband stopped objecting to my (rather meager) stockpile of "preparedness items" when I explained that they doubled as camping supplies. He also didn't complain the countless times the "car kit" saved us from what in comparison are minor inconveniences, like not ruining a tee shirt to soak up blood from a wound, a tarp keeping the whole family dry in a downpour in between the car and the apartment, the flashlights stopping the kids from screaming during an hour long car ride, and the thrill of eating survival food for a snack because we just didn't feel like fast food (blech!).
It's only natural to be a little hesistant about purchasing items you might not ever use or things you don't want to ever have to. It is, however, possible to realistically prepare for the unexpected without feeling like the world is currently ending. And since the best time to prepare is always yesterday, begin with a little self education, taking stock of your situation and the things you already do have, and go about it whichever way comes most naturally. That is, unless that way is doing nothing at all.
Comments:
I admit that the thought of how other people would be acting in a desperate situations scares the hell out of me a lot more then making it through the disaster itself.
Sad, isn't it?
We don't have anything prepared, we should and I want to. I hope that more people will take the initiative to do so as well. God forbid anything should ever happen, but if it does... nobody wants to be on either end of the scenario involving people who are hungry. Whether they are the hungry ones themselves, or the ones who's lives are put at risk because they HAVE food...
Well, every single time we experience yet another tornado in Alabama, I always think about organizing one large bag with the necessities; however, I never seem to get around to doing it. I agree 100%; we should all be prepared for an emergency. As for what others do, I never cease to be amazed. A few years back, during a winter storm when many were without power for days, the neighbors with natural gas in their homes would invite others over, cook a big pot or soup or stews, and share. It was amazing and a huge blessing to the entire neighborhood.
We here, stay prepared year round for any and everything you mentioned here, and then some!! Learned way back years and years ago to prepare for the worst for my family and others around us.. I think once you have been in one type of disaster in your life time you LEARN real quickly that it could happen again...We are stocked up for not only ourselves, but just about the whole neighborhood around us...We joke about how much " crap " as we like to call it now ( have sent photo's to our news station and friends in different states ) because it almost sounds totally unbelievable how much " crap " we do have ready - - - - JUST IN-CASE!!
Great Post!
Thanks for the reminder!
Southern Lady, while hospitality among neighbors is fairly common in shorter-term scenarios, there is no way I would want to be pegged as the only family with the ability to feed everyone in a longer-term situation. So while your neighbors and you got along great during an ice storm, during conditions where there might be no power for months, it could create tension. That's why we all have to have the ability to take care of ourselves...we ARE taking care of one another that way.
Good post.
great post, not fun to think about, but a real need
Cheers
Beth
good post
Got my emergency food ready.. what do you think about stock piling breast milk? I have a 5 month old and worry that when I eventually wean him I will not have that extra milk that I would want around if there is some kind of disaster...
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I was just thinking about this topic. I really do need to start doing this. Thank you for the reminder. =)
- MotherofIreland
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