I know a few serious Preppers. In speaking with them about theirs plans, it becomes apparent that they want to survive whatever may come and be a apart of rebuilding Society. Of course, some of the possible “whatever may come” could be unsurvivable. A nuke or two makes life difficult. Regardless, these Preppers also carry a strong desire to be proven right about their prepping.
I personally believe having some long term food and water makes sense to bridge any interruption to the norm. 2 or 3 weeks worth is about it for that kind of basic plan. But real Preppers look out into months and even years off grid and being fully self reliant. That kind of Prepping becomes a lifestyle unto itself. Many things come into view with such plans and security of stores is but one. Security of body whether for oneself or a family is paramount. And what about having items for Barter. Some say the best Barter items will be precious metals or bullets or alcohol…the list gets long but the things to be Bartered would be excess items not personally needed so they are a bit like a savings account.
The practicality of Prepping depends largely on what type of event(s) you want to survive and the protections needed and the time to recover. One thing is for sure, when people get hungry they get less thoughtful about others and the thin social veneer drops away. That is dangerous.
The Preppers I know have resigned to the idea that killing another to save themselves or family may become necessary. Yikes! That sounds like Mad Max Days ahead.
In my personal view, I want to survive. I want my family and friends to survive too. In fact, I want our society with all its faults to survive and allow the upward progress of mankind to continue. We've come a long way and there is much to like and appreciate about Modern times. That said, some catastrophes can put us back into the stone age en masse and that would likely be unsurvivable for most but the highly prepared and trained among us. That would make them right and others wrong…dead wrong.
I think the best we can do without already living as if the catastrophe has happened is to be prepared for a bridge to a better day and assume fellow men will keep some humanity. 2, 3 or more weeks is doable. Years, not so much unless you have a protected compound and food and water stores the size of a Costco. Of course, if the conditions allowed, having grow-able land would make sense. I know a few who do. But even they realize they will be quite visible and demands more than alertness to protect it. It demands a true bunker mentality. Just determining who is friend or foe becomes no choice…ALL will be foes until proven otherwise. That's life is a bunker.
In the context of War, many live with these survival problems now. You can see how quickly things get crazy looking to Ukraine or Israel. But what was once a good neighbor could become a dangerous assailant potential when starvation is in play. That is one reason why serious Preppers have a good sense of community and know in advance who might be a beneficial co-survivor. States like Utah are filled with these local survivalist groups. I think that greatly increases chances of making a good do of it. A capable loner might be OK for a while if only by maintaining a distance from inevitable turmoil. Many a movie have tried to tell this tale in one way or the other. It looks more likely that we will be eating Soylent Green and praying for a bath.
Prep to a degree but know what you are prepping for. Not all conditions will be survivable nor desirable to survive within. But life has a strong pull on us all so expect minimal help if any and anticipate the horror of what it will really take. It is possible that mankind will avert such mass events but isn't it bad enough to have pockets of it around the globe. Yes, it is. I pray for sanity. Even my own.
Best to all in these challenging times.
Donn Marier
DM-Your Own CFO