Preparing for disasters – natural or political – has created a group of individuals self-described as preppers. Preppers are not just frugal, and they don’t reach the dedication of survivalists, but they are more like survivalists lite or Boy Scouts on steroids.

Be Prepared

Many of us remember the Boy Scout motto. Somewhere along the line, we got computers, FEMA, and the nanny state, and we left the Scouts behind. Why should we get ready for the next hurricane, earthquake, or tornadoes when the potential destruction is too large to comprehend.

Even in 2010, 5 years after Hurricane Wilma struck the Ft. Lauderdale area, you could still see blue tarps covering roofs yet to be repaired or replaced. Insurance companies go out of business, and government safety nets are inadequate. Does anyone think FEMA did a bang up job in New Orleans that same year?

What comes to mind in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina was the total breakdown in social order. I remember our wonderful government actually preventing a truck full of water donated by Wal Mart from reaching people in need. Preppers are appalled by such acts and store bottled water in the basement. Survivalists expect the government agents to act badly, store water, carry a water filtration system, and lock and load in case jackboots or looters try to raid their supplies.

Preppers are more optimistic. They basically believe that the government and the currency will survive. Disasters can happen but are unpredictable as to when and how severe. Survivalists are preparing for TEOTWAWKI. It’s not a matter of if, but when.

How to Be Prepared

Preppers are big on food storage, stockpiling can goods and bottled water, and making sure there is some fuel for heating and cooking. Survivalists do the same, but they are better prepared to bug out on a moment’s notice.

On each side of that gray area that distinguishes preppers from survivalists, each individual and family has to determine what is absolutely needed in times of emergency, and what is needed to feel secure. If you are recently out of a job or short on funds, you want to start on the prepper side of the equation. Now is the time to simplify our lives, slash expenses, and restock the pantry.

You may be tempted to look at unconventional housing, homesteading, or living “off the grid”, but your first order of business is storing food and water for the everyday emergencies. After Hurricane Wilma, we went 15 days without power. Stores were closed, and FEMA eventually handed out some free MREs and bottled water. But the first thing we did was grill up the food that would spoil, and then we left for a week in Orlando (fuel up in advance). I admit I left the first day to travel to Jacksonville and borrow a generator from my brother.

Caveat: Freezers are great, but if disaster strikes, you want an ample supply of dried fruit, grains, rice, pasta, and canned goods.

Voluntary Simplicity

If the SHTF, and we are not out of the woods yet, the more self-reliant you become, the better your chances for survival. If the worst case does not happen, you improve your family’s finances by paring down expenses to the bare necessities and stockpiling food, water, propane, medical supplies, bug out gear, and a few guns and ammunition.

So many things we cling to could be eliminated. If you have a notebook or netbook computer, you can go wireless at McDonalds or Barnes and Noble, and get rid of your cell phone, cable, and HBO. Practising how to live without all the toys is a good prep in itself.

Preppers are regular people with homes and jobs and kids who are increasingly worried about the future. You see online links to groups and movements, but preppers are mostly reacting to our social changes rather than trying to change it. Hard-core survivalists will call you soft. Eventually the canned goods will run out, but you have given yourself time to adjust to any new world order.

Groups

I’m not big on groups, but if the SHTF, individuals and families may need more manpower that groups can provide.

You can start here: Prepper.org or the American Preppers Network

Groups can help shorten the learning curve and put you in touch with other local resources.

The growth of preppers is subject to debate. Any rise in prepper or survivalist organizations is usually seen as a barometer of social distress. Self-reliance in the form of survivalism is a return to a typical way of life for my grandparents during the early 1900s. Hunting. Gardening. Sewing. Wood burning stoves.

While I don’t have hard numbers – smart preppers and survivalists keep to themselves – I do speculate that the numbers are higher than any time after the Cuban Missile Crisis. You may be too young to remember Sputnik, bomb shelters, and crouching under our desks to protect us from nuclear attack. Russians were Soviets and Cubans had nukes. God those were simple times.

Now, you are more likely to suffer abuse from TSA morons at the airport than from guys named Castro. FEMA will tell you to prepare for upcoming natural disasters, but like Army generals, the head of FEMA is fighting the last war. I believe the next great threat is an attack against the electrical grid. Preppers will have an advantage.

Many of us never learned or have forgotten mechanical skills that could serve us well if the power goes out. Fortunately, with meetups and general search, you can find information and help on just about any topic.

Domestic Political Threat

According to Rand Paul, we are under threat from the National Defense Authorization Act. Anyone with a 7 day food supply and a couple of guns could be considered engaging in terrorist activity.

“If Obama does one thing for the remainder of his presidency let it be a veto of the National Defense Authorization Act – a law recently passed by the Senate currently which would place domestic terror investigations and interrogations into the hands of the military and which would open the door for trial-free, indefinite detention of anyone, including American citizens, so long as the government calls them terrorists.” ~ http://www.forbes.com/sites/erikkain/2011/12/05/the-national-defense-authorization-act-is-the-greatest-threat-to-civil-liberties-americans-face/

Preppers should look a little further out and also consider the political threat. Make sure your passport is active. Have a few ounces of gold. In your pocket. Even when I was a Foreign Service Officer (diplomat), we kept go bags ready in friendly and unfriendly countries.