Gaye Levy
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Back in the day, I was considered somewhat of an activist. Although normally quiet, unassuming, and nerd-like, I fought for the end of political tyranny, the power to the people, and women’s rights in the workplace. I was a small voice in a big sea of voices, but, to this day, would like to believe I have made a difference.
Now, years later, in my own quiet way, I have proudly labeled myself as both a “Prepper” and a member of the Prepper Movement. In addition, I have gone so far as to publicly define prepping as a form of personal activism.
Along the way, it has been my intent to create Backdoor Survival as a kinder and gentler prepper website. This is a site that welcomes everyone without political or religious overtones. It has also been eclectic in content covering a wide range of topics spanning preparedness, homesteading, healthy living and life in general.
With that introduction, today I am going to step outside my normal comfort zone and suggest we define the prepper movement with a call to action. I do so knowing that this opens up a level of personal responsibility for which we may not be ready.
This latest think piece from contributing author Richard Broome, asks that you to open your mind and your heart to the realities of who we are and what we are trying to accomplish as forwarding thinkers in the 21st century.
DO NOT GO GENTLE INTO THE NIGHT
“Do not go gentle into that good night but rage, rage against the dying of the light.” –Dylan Thomas (1914-1953)
In my last contribution to Backdoor Survival, “Mind The Gap,” I talked about the global, structural “assurance gap” that I think exists. The essence of my argument was the assertion that the growing threat to all of us, outmatches the countermeasures we have in place.
In all of my articles this year, as a contributing author for Backdoor Survival, I have offered similar thoughts. So, on this cold, snowy morning in Montana, I decided to address this once again, but with some additional thoughts. As a like-minded community of preppers, we can no longer be so gentle, but must rage.
I have, in previous articles on Backdoor Survival, talked about “The Coming Cyber War” something I feel is no longer just looming event, but starting to happen all around us. With all that is in the press recently, how could anyone not feel this way?
Just ask the executives at SONY, as the impacts the cyber attack on them continues to unfold. I subsequently wrote about “Building a Culture of Preparedness.” In that article I beat the drum, urging us to change our national mindset about personal preparedness and readiness, also advising more political activism by preppers.
All three of these articles had one common theme. Mainly, we all need to be thinking more deeply about our true state of preparedness, both as individuals and as a nation, and we must do it now before we run out of options.
Speaking of trees, my two recent novels, Leaving The Trees, published in July 2013, and Good Crazy, published in November 2014, were created to depict what the cascading effects could be if a cyber event in the financial markets did spin out of control, freezing our financial systems and ultimately the supply chains we all depend on. A cyber event, such as this, really could undo us all, and like in my novels, have us living in camps within the trees trying to survive with what would be left.
However, in addition to the cyber attack scenario, many other scenarios could undo our society, such as an Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) attack, Pandemics (think Ebola) or an ISIS gone wild. All of these could have similar devastating results.
In short, I believe the “assurance gap” which I frequently write about or discuss on radio shows, is still there and just getting worse. If the SHTF moment really does happen, any of these scenarios could cause it. As the witches in Macbeth predicted, something wicked this way comes. We all just guess about “what” and “when.”
So…where do we go from here?
Almost forty-five years ago, as a brand new army lieutenant, I was asked to teach a class to a group of young soldiers about the correct technique for throwing a hand grenade. Properly throwing a hand grenade is something you really want everyone in a military unit to completely understand.
The instructions are simple enough.
“Hold the hand grenade with your hand over the safety band.”
“Pull pin.”
“Throw.”
“Take cover.”
Seemed easy, yet many soldiers would do things like:
–Throw the grenade before the pin was pulled so it would bounce harmlessly at the feet of the enemy. This would allow the enemy to pick up the hand grenade and toss it back at you. However, with the pin pulled this time.
–Pull the pin, release the safety band, and then look at me to tell them what to do next.
–Fumbling the throw and having the damn thing rolling on the ground at our feet getting ready to go off.
Yet… despite all of that here I sit, alive and well. I survived the experience and, by the way, I should have told you we used dummy grenades to practice with first. (Whew!)
Thinking about that experience as I ponder the state of global affairs, my central question does remain: “Where do we go from here?” I ask this question, very mindful that with the multi-level complexity of all the potential threats that beset us these days; these possible events could already be too much for us to understand how to cope with.
If even such simple instructions like throwing a grenade could become so misconstrued, what is to become of us with more complex challenges that could suddenly occur? Will we fumble around while the grenade is getting ready to explode?
As the recent Ebola crisis unfolded before us in the news, I kept having the same thought, “What a debacle!” The procedural steps we asked medical professionals to follow appeared to be flawed. Finger pointing erupted. No one seemed in charge.
The result of this inept leadership was the public lost confidence in our government’s ability to handle a pandemic. It was all very unsettling and pointed out to me that the Prepper Nation is right to be skeptical about what we can expect from government.
If our elected leaders cannot do any better than what we witnessed with the handling of Ebola, maybe the Prepper Nation can? We do, after all, spend time thinking, preparing and doing more than most of the people around us.
We talk on sites like Backdoor Survival, sometimes argue, but always try to share ideas and help each other. We also talk straight to each other and do not hide behind comforting, but vapid platitudes and homilies that we see politicians use to reassure citizens, but actually mean very little and solve nothing.
However, even with all of the good information preppers share, I feel something is missing.
There is an old story about a young boy walking with his grandfather through the family garden. The grandfather was carrying a bullwhip. Every time he spotted some kind of bug eating his plants, out came the bullwhip and SNAP! The bug was gone. At the end of the garden they came to a tool shed with a large hornets nest built in the apex of the roof, right over the shed door.
The boy turned to his grandfather and said: “Grandfather! What about that hornets nest?”
The grandfather turned to his young grandson, looked at him thoughtfully for moment, and then finally said: “Boy. Let me tell you something. Bugs is just bugs. But…hornets…they’s organized!”
I feel we are now at a defining moment where the prepper community must start to step up and become an organized movement. Yes, I said an organized movement. We need to stop feeling the need to explain ourselves as a community but rather embrace more publicly and assertively our different perspective from others. We are right about what we think and what we do. They are wrong. Like a grenade going off, there will be no “do-over” to get things right if we ever really face one of the many serious events that could occur.
This is essential. I feel we must start to make some forward progress dealing with all the emerging threats facing us and close the “assurance gap” that I believe exists. If we don’t, considering the current trend of global events, I am quite concerned things will suddenly unravel all around us.
Ayn Rand once said: “The hardest thing to explain is the glaringly evident which everybody had decided not to see.”
So let’s be honest, if you follow the news and politics at all, you can see our country is now being sold to the highest bidder who has the money, the votes, or both, for our politicians on either side of the aisle. To counteract this reality, preppers need to be able to move the needle on the political Richter scale. At the end of the day a more structured and organized prepper movement increases our power as a voting bloc. We need to seize the attention of political leaders with a prepper agenda for change that has some political muscle behind it.
I know this idea is a fairly prodigious, complicated undertaking; yet, we do have the power of the Internet behind us to share ideas and find a way to make a nation of preppers come together.
My belief is we should start this conversation about how to build an organized prepper movement on Backdoor Survival. Right here. Right now.
I think we start with the question: “What should be the Prepper Nation agenda for change?” Then, let us see where this conversation takes us. Let us all talk about how to make this a safer country. Let us all come together and try to do a really big thing.
Before… we all become that bug in the garden.
Richard Earl Broome . . . All Rights Reserved . . . December 13, 2014
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Richard Earl Broome is a contributing author to Backdoor Survival. He has lived an extraordinary life rising from an Army private to an Army colonel who served on the White House staff at the National Security Council for two Presidents of the United States as a member of their National Security Council staff.
He is considered a national expert on the subjects of crisis management, disaster recovery and survival. He is a frequent contributor of articles about the many threats facing our society, appearing frequently on radio shows to discuss issues such as pandemics, ISIS, and the cyber threat.
Now living in a small community in Montana, he is a member of the faculty at Montana State University where he teaches leadership. His two books, Leaving The Trees and Good Crazy (Leaving The Trees Journey) (Volume 2)
The Final Word
Without question, this is the most difficult article I have shared with the Backdoor Survival community. I have thought about it, struggled with, and ultimately embraced it for indeed, it is a think piece of the highest order.
The call to action is this: please consider responding with your thoughts and ideas in the comment section below. Do you agree, disagree, or are you somewhere in between? This is my website but it is your forum. Let us continue to be the best we can be.
Enjoy your next adventure through common sense and thoughtful preparation!
Gaye
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86 Responses to “Define the Prepper Movement With A Call Action”
Love your site. Respectfully disagree with article. Before becoming a rather diehard prepper I spent some time as a political activist. It was my realization that the whole system is so completely corrupt and that the political class has sold wtp down the river that led me to conclude the best thing I could do was save my energy for preparing my family for the inevitable crash and burn or society is heading for. I have zero faith that there is any way to achieve a political solution to our problems at this point. Or that there is any way to really turn the political process around without a total reset. So I am hunkering down, and doing all I can to help my kids and my friends kids survive that reset and be left standing to help rebuild from the ashes. And I agree with some comments above that my faith is an integral part of my preparedness paradigm; I know where we are headed, that meltdown is prophesied and inevitable, and it will only be aftet the second coming off our lord that the rebuild in a finally sound and incorruptible society will be possible. I will save my energy for prepping and teaching those around me about prepping in any way I can and not waste a precious ounce of it tilting at political windmills anymore.
I agree, they’ve sold us, our children, grandchildren, great grandchildren, and many generations to come down the river…the National Debt is staggering, it’s so large no one can fathom it, so we just ignore it, we bury our heads in the sand. Even Thomas Jefferson, at the end of his life, felt our system was already too far gone to save. Even George Washington, that great man, was corrupted, signed a bill making it illegal to produce your own Whiskey without an excise tax (Thanks Alexander Hamilton), and ended up leading an army against farmers who stood up (rebelled) for their right to do what they’d always been doing. And guess who also produced Whiskey? George Washington, but he stood to GAIN because he was already rich and his production was huge, so the excise tax wouldn’t harm him.
Sharon. I live in Ky and the last advertisement on the side of simi-trucks for good Ky bourbon is as follows—Ky has 500,000 barrels of bourbon in storage for every one of Ky’s citizens. WOW. So much to drink and so little time. We may be taxed, but we will never run out.
Gaye, first of all I want to say you are hitting the balanced note which you seek. I Have checked out many other sites which don’t hit the note. You provide practical info at various levels and subjects while stepping up as you have done today to encourage political and community responsibility.
Secondly I Realize I have nothing worthy of commenting on the article you posted today. I work on storing food and water and on skills and on having op sys in place to cover obtaining and filtering more water, growing and storing food, handling waste, heating, washing clothes, bathing, and defense.
But I continue to do nothing about reaching out to neighbors. I’m afraid it will make me a target for supplies in a disaster.
Im afraid too! My experience so far with just friends is that they think is a good idea, yet they do nothing themselves to prep, and I mean nothing! I know I need neighbors especially on board, but somehow think response will be the same, “oh I’ll just come to your house.” I wish somehow I could develop a close knit group just here with neighbors, not sure what the answer is. I have thought about joining a “meet up” group on line but then again they probably would be scattered as to where they live. Just dont know….
Lori do check out meet up s. We have several local prepper meet up groups. Check out your local LDS community. I am LDS…. Our church has encouraged preparedness as long as I’ve been in it, many LDS communities sponsor yearly prepper expos. Hogwoods book gives suggestions of ways to form mutual assistance groups and likely places to find like minded folks.Good luck!
Mama Grizzly. I went to “meet up” and found a group over in Evansville. A great bunch of guys. They tried to put on a program to teach the skills needed to survive every other week. They use to advertise on “meet up”, but they no longer do. They advertised “open to anyone”. I was there one meeting and one man showed up and before long we found out he was a member of a group (about 200) of militant type individuals. He wanted to know if we could get good prices on large volumes of ammo. We were a peace lovin group and we didn’t want anything to do with his kind. Guaranteed there are many groups like his. If they were to need anything and came to your house, they WOULD get it. Be careful who you join up with.
I got a reply in my email to my comment but don’t see it here…for some reason…I’ll respond anyhow and trust it will show up. Re: Militant preppers – there definitely are groups, especially ones formed of former military and LEO types, whose main prepping strategy is guns and ammo, and plans to take whatever they need from everyone else. Pirate preppers. And every preparedness gathering or meetup will include the militant elements. You just have to ignore them and hunt for other folks that fit with you, keep looking, you can find them – if it’s not going yet in your area, start your own meetup group. Develop your own mission statement as to what you are and are not – and you can use that to weed out non starters like the pirates. Again, Hogwood’s book offers lots of great ideas how to do that. One reason I suggested the LDS community, you can find good people there who are just really into being prepared and storing and producing food without necessarily being on the militant side. I myself try to cover all the bases, and many find me too militant; I just see it as being realistic. :-S
Sometimes browser caching will delay your comments from appearing. Others may see them but you may not.
Clearing your cache (F5) often resets things.
Thanks Gaye! I am a computer idiot. I pushed F5, don’t know if it did anything! Hey, just a thought, don’t know if you’ve ever featured Charley Hogwood, or if he is too militant for your tastes, but I have sure found his stuff informative and useful – his MAGS book has got to be my top most helpful prepper book I read last year. I actually got the revised edition,where he linked up with Dr. Bones, retitled The Survival Group Handbook. Maybe your readers interested in forming a group/community might find it helpful too? Thanks so much for all you do! Love your site.
Respectfully, I disagree Mama Grizzly. It’s not about avoiding them. It’s about working to include them. In any community, there is a need for warriors. We can wish this weren’t true, but it is fact. So you want them working WITH you instead of it becoming a ‘them or us’ mentality…..that’s when it turns into confrontation. I’m a history buff, so I have seen what can happen when warriors or militants are excluded, just look to the middle east right now and you can see it too. Check out the gangs and anyone who gets excluded becomes more a potential threat than including them and using everyone’s strength to the advantage of the community. We will need farmers, healers, politcos, etc.
You have a point for sure and our group most certainly includes and welcomes the warrior types. But you have to be careful you find the rounded warrior you’re who are also willing to work and contribute and line according to rites of morals and ethics rather than the hard core pirate preppers or those who are first and foremost all about militance and little else. That’s all I’m saying. We definitely practice and encourage development of defensive skills and necessary equipment
…What if everyone who reads your blog would make a list of the five most important things we feel, may occur in the near future, that would result in a SHTF change?
…The things that would/could be the tipping point?
…Take the results of the poll and have each discussed with knowledgeable folks.
…Put together a list of problems then followed by how to best address these problems.
…Prepare a mission statement for the group which may also be served to our elected congressional people. It might include what we would like to see as our plan of action.
…Then question the candidates/elected folks and find out how they aim to vote on particular bills that pertain to our mission statement.
…When informed we can then vote as a block.
…Our power is in contributions to the correct folks, followed by votes at the poll.
Thoughts from a concerned citizen.
Great plan!!
Great idea and concept but extremely hard to put into practice with our sheeple, give me my handout, instant gratification society. It will only happen with changes at the top, i.e., president, congress, supreme court, top military and civilian brass and top educational leaders and unforutnately I do not see that happening. However, with that said, if we don’t try it won’t happen so sign me up and let’s go for it, whatever that “it” is.
I agree with Mr Broome. I know of no other organization that would have the forethought on what this country needs, as a prepper. A true prepper needs to have the homestead mentality with the knowledge that goes with it. We have to be prepared physically, mentally and spiritually. We have to be abreast of the news of the world. A true prepper has love and compassion of this world and all that live in it. If all of the world had more love and compassion, all of us could quit living on the edge of our chairs.
That being said, could we have a secret hand shake? A secret password? Maybe some patch to wear on our shoulder, so we could be recognized as to who we are? Maybe Gaye could be our Secretary of State. John R could be the Secretary of BS.
PS. The price of gas in Henderson yesterday was $1.83. If only it would stay down there.
I have a hard enough time getting my own children on board so I have no idea how to help bring a movement together! I agree that an organized movement is stronger than individuals making due on their own, I just have no clue how to go about it in my circle. I’m the lady that will carry the poster, wear the t-shirt, hell, print the t-shirt, hand out the information, make the coffee and hand out the cookies………but have no clue how to get the people motivated enough to unite. Everyone is prepping for different reasons, how to bring such differing postures to one mind set?? I find the thought intriguing and am interested in what others think as well.
Jo, the lone rager!!!!
Jo,
You gave me an idea! I have the same problem with kids. While we’re handing out cookies, would our kids be more likely to get it in gear if there were groups of prepper kids? Yeah, I know it sounds dorky, but if they are learning to tie knots together (just an example) in a sort of youth group type situation they might be more likely to get on board. Competitive (good hearted) natures might come out and they might learn some things (but we won’t point that out) that make them capable, useful, people. Their are conventions for twins and religious groups and “little people” so why not the tortured youth of “crazy prepper moms?” What do you think?
Raevyn
Love the idea, but how to get them there to start with…..maybe if we promised free prepper apps and throw in free iTunes! I am not being sarcastic, it may be the only way to get their attention. By the way, I am changing my handle from “lone rager” to “crazy prepper mom!!” I like that!
Jo
CPM !!
Folks we ALREADY have an organization for teaching our children survival/prepper topics. It’s called the “Scouting” movement. Boy and Girl Scouts. Get active become a scoutmaster, have your church or local service agency (Moose/Elks/Eagles Lodge, Lions Club, VFW/American Legion Post) or find a place where you can meet and set one up or join a group already established. Trust me the scoutmaster would appreciate the additional help.
You would have a group of young people who would love to know first aid, knots, how to lash items together, fire building, cooking and many other outdoor skills. By teaching them you build your skills.
Jody, are you familiar with the Founding Fathers of the 13 colonies? These were men of differing backgrounds and beliefs, yet because they had a shared belief, they overcame their differences to create a country. It is possible and more than that, it’s needed and can be accomplished. You might want to do some in depth reading on how those men long ago accomplished what hadn’t been done before. 😉 It’s about uniting for a common purpose. Just look at how the Occupy movement was made from many differing beliefs yet, they came together and it’s even spread to other countries. Ideas and methods may differ, the thing is…action is better than just waiting. Prepping is better than just waiting. So we start with what is and begin. just like we started prepping.
I couldn’t agree about our founding fathers more! They were men of vision, passion and ideals. I am more than acquainted with American history. It is a shame that in present America they would be considered terrorists! I’m all for the founders of this movement as well and would support that in every way I could. I was only saying that I wouldn’t be good at bringing it together.
There is something which many professionals in emergency response and mental health now call, negative panic. It appears that more than 65% of the population does this when presented with a situation for which they aren’t prepared. Ever notice how some stand around when someone needs help. Good bet they simply don’t know what to do because the scene in front of them is something so foreign they can’t mentally handle it. It’s a human thing. I have seen it in myself and in others. So I quite agree the time is coming and people must prepare.
When I talk to people, I don’t talk about the political parties because when the disaster/event happens, what political party you belong to won’t make as much diff as knowing who you can rely on for help. So what if they don’t agree with you?! People don’t have to agree on everything except coming together to survive, then thrive.
So, for those just starting, do an assessment of what you know, what you can do and what you can’t. Make a plan and begin today to do something about it.
Most may not be aware that before WWII, September of ’40. Congress made plans to activate the National Guard for a year, fully aware of what was happening in the world. The NG couldn’t be activated then only because there were not the camps available to gather them and train them. By February 1941, the Guard was activated in full units and sent to train on war maneuvers. This is why when Pearl Harbor happened, the US had troops trained and ready to be sent overseas. Why do I mention this? Because like Richard, I see this Capitol Hill group as ‘do nothing’—for whatever reason. Of course we could be wrong, sure hope so, but……we must prepare just as those NG units did. I’m not sure how preppers would organize beyond the blogs and small groups which have formed, but I AM familiar with the fact that even during the Depression, the people organized and demanded Congress do something to help the country. People may think it was all FDR’s push for improvement; but hidden in the history of our country, lies the truth that people have always been there to push for action. 😉 Aren’t we following a truly democratic way of action!
BTW: Gaye, I like the look of the boxes with the Amazon products. :)And gotta say, I love my Maximal Power charger for batteries. 🙂
I am not so much afraid for myself, but for my children and grandchildren. They are firmly entrenched in this modern way of life, and have no interest or knowledge beyond the limited scope of their minds. There is no event horizon for them, because they cannot imagine their world (and it’s always all about them) without what they own and experience right now.
Karen, I agree. Getting them to learn anything that could be useful is a far fetched dream as all they want is media based entertainment and fast food. Laziness is the culture of the day in the kids I see everyday. The best success stories seem to be those willing to get rid of the tvs in their homes. And how many people do you know willing to do that? How are we going to call our people to act and organize when the generations who have to carry the torch don’t know how to scramble eggs, just how to pick them up in a drive thru?
I am putting my house in order, to the tune of exasperated sighs and complaints, but it feels very lonely and it is a slow process. I often feel like we are already on borrowed time to prepare.
I have been trying to put my house in order for a couple of years. It hasn’t been easy and I don’t believe I’m ready. I’m dealing with a husband who says these things can’t happen here and a 30 year old daughter who thinks I’m crazy. It’s gone as far with my husband’s family that they’ve asked me if I’m “one of those crazy preppers”, to which I’ve said no, and left it at that. My family aside, I think I’ve grown and become a person who looks at all the possibilities. My faith has also grown and I now believe God will be there for his people, as I will be for those around me. (although it will be hard not to say I told you so) I think it would be great to hear from others who have the same problems I do and how they deal with it. Our younger generations are going to have a hard time dealing with any upheaval, especially if they have to give up their phones!
Since you mention God, I’m thinking Biblical. So when you talk about being prepared, you might remind them of the dream Joseph interpreted for the Pharaoh. 7 fat cows and 7 lean. We all know about natural weather disasters which can happen anywhere anymore. So when talking to family or others, begin there. Yes, many will have problems with their need for electronics…even so, begin with basics and take it from there. 😉
My husband is just the same and it is so frustrating. He teases me and calls my preps my “end of the world supplies”. He does that in public or at home and it is maddening.
I tell him not to worry that if the world ends he won’t need them and if it doesn’t he’ll be glad we have them.
My kids understand but are so busy with work and play they don’t have time to get involved.
I have one friend who is of the same mind as I and is the only person I know who is.
I don’t know if it possible to convince some people any longer.
We who are going through this without the help of spouse of family need to be even stronger and more determined to carry on.
Then stop being wee-willies and stand up to these people. How do you stand up: SILENCE, THAT’S HOW. Why do you waste your time worrying about some meandering brain dead spouse that’s just going to eat your preps when the lights go out. Furthermore once they eat what you have they will complain about why you didn’t do more. Dang folks, don’t you get it, it’s your fault now for bothering them with talking about this coming ‘event’, and it will be your fault for not doing more after the event. The only way a prepper can win is to ‘IGNORE’ people. Just ignore, ignore, ignore. Don’t tell them anything about anything. Are you afraid to stand alone, if so, you might as well go feed the homeless or have a big pot luck supper with your preps, because alone you are, and alone you shall remain no matter the length of denial you go to. Look reality in the face and deal with it. The only family members you should be concerned with are the children that are too small to fend for themselves and no one else. Again, deal with it before it deals with you. You can’t stay afloat with cinder blocks tied to your ankles and elbows. It’s like the Apostle Paul told Timothy, “Cast off every weight that so easily besets you”. In other words “SINKS YOU”. It’s your boat, go figure. God bless and thanks.
“Dang folks, don’t you get it, it’s your fault now for bothering them with talking about this coming ‘event’, and it will be your fault for not doing more after the event. The only way a prepper can win is to ‘IGNORE’ people. Just ignore, ignore, ignore.”
Your counsel has lightened my load immensely. Deep thanks, plowboy.
Plowboy & FreeSlave: Ignore them, but as my hubby sez, when they smell that camp coffee on morning three, we will be their BFFs (they think).
Well said.
While I agree that the prepper movement definitely needs to become more focused and better organized, all I can say is, ‘good luck’! I have tried in my local community, and had very limited success. I find we’ve done an admirable job of instilling fear in prepper-types regarding sharing any information with someone whom we do not know well, or, even at all. Even when brought together by one person trusted by all, I found that you can not force people to open up and take a risk with each other, and many are just so ingrained with fear, they won’t. I can’t say we have had zero success; not true, but it has been a long, slow process.
Also, as to leaving out the “religious” aspect, for me, you can not. Nor can you for the people whom I serve. You also can not leave out the faith-based (not ‘religion’) component of why we do what we do based on our beliefs; the Bible is very clear about what to expect in the last days of “life as we know it on earth”, which DOES line up with the concept of TEOTWAKI, and not “end of the world”, for it never fully, completely ends. But those who know the Word of Holy G-d know this.
We ARE under the “great deception” of the last days, or “end times”. The 7-year tribulation period is upon us and the wolf is at the door. So, deny it if you want, but it will not change what Holy G-d said shall be. We also were not called to throw up our hands in despair and cry, “woe is me! Who will save me?”. We already have a Savior, we know what to expect, because He told us….our job is to remain faithful, and to share the gospel as often as possible, to take as many as possible with us. To do that, we must survive.
Yes, we need more organization as a group. More political organization? I don’t know about that…it hasn’t served the Tea Party all that well..just made massive targets out of them, apparently – which does not make them wrong in what they’re doing.
We are going to have to trust someone at some point in time. Why not each other, as preppers? But don’t think for one minute we can keep the faith-based component out of it, and have success.
Pat r on, I agree,everyone has a worldview of some sort, and without the Lord, good luck…I have been warning people since y2k, that season was a wake-up call for the remnant of God, who have ears to hear. Most of the time, people will not respond until a crisis happens…I hold meetings at our local YMCA, with minimal results…people still flood the money seminars…yet, we are called to warn, prepare,and have mercy on our family members who we prepare for, even if they think we are silly. Hebrews 11:7 spells it out…Noah, having been forewarned by God, of impending judgement, prepared an ark for the saving of his household….you are not responsible for even your congregation…they have to take to heart the warning, you get to prep for your family…carry on, you are a good and faithful servant to do what God calls you to do…
I agree that bad things are coming. I just don’t know what those things might be. What scares me the most is eggs at $4 a dozen while gas is $2.39 a gallon and dropping. Do I have time to learn what I need to know? Have I done enough to encourage others by example? Will I be able to remember those skills I haven’t practiced since my youth? So many points to ponder!!!
MJ, here is some very good advice, if you will receive it. Respectfully, there is no such thing as survival. It is ‘self survival’ or it is nothing. Please stop fretting over ‘have you done enough to encourage others’. Practice your skills, old and new, and place yourself in the ‘self survival mode’. The old saying, ‘you can’t fix stupid is more prevalent today than at anytime in our history. So save yourself first, then those that aren’t stupid and see the light will follow. Regardless of what anyone does, nor how many articles they write there will never, never be a prepper movement. It will always, always just be those such as yourself that prepare, those that wish they had, and then attempt to take your preps away from you. Again save yourself, those that are worthy will follow suit and reflect your example. The rest are just dead weights no matter how much you may love them or try to help them. Thanks and God bless.
With modern know-how you CAN fix stupid. Assuming of course that you are allowed to. Check out the Focusing Institute, online.