Prepping for Emergencies

My family and I started ‘prepping‘ this past year. For the unaware this means creating food, equipment and weapon stores in case of emergency.  I should note that this is not really because I fear a collapse of our government and a descent into anarchy. My fears of a zombie apocalypse are slightly more real but still minor. Our primary concern remains some sort of natural disaster. In our part of the country this would likely be a tornado, blizzard or earthquake.

Acquiring the necessary equipment was easy. I’ve been an outdoorsman for my entire life and I share the same affliction of most of my colleagues in that I am a gear-head. When other parents were buying their kids cool toys for Christmas mine got sleeping bags and winter boots. I also made the unfortunate choice of buying my wife a tent for Mother’s Day one year. I am reminded of this annually as a sort of warning against future mistakes.  We’ve also got plenty of firearms and a modest ammo supply. Food, however, has been the hard part.

The problem with food stores is that you are essentially running a mini grocery in your basement. You have to stock all sorts of things so your family is well-fed and free of scurvy when the National Guard finally shows up. Since we aren’t willing to pay ridiculous sums for special meals guaranteed to last 15 years we settle for canned goods with a 1-2 year shelf life. This means you have to watch dates. If items are about to go out of date, you have to eat them or donate them to a shelter (we will probably do the latter). It’s a nuisance. But that is preparedness!

What has been most enlightening about the entire process is a realization of just how dependent we are on not just our government but on retail locations and supply chains. It’s a little upsetting but mostly it makes you feel a bit more interconnected. We’re all in this together. A cornerstone of our emergency plan is not planning for indefinite solitude but to expect rescue in no more than 5 days. This decision came from both space and financial considerations. It’s also an acknowledgement that we sort of trust Uncle Sam.

I’ve also been thinking about how those with different political leanings might feel towards prepping.  Here are my (completely stereotypical) guesses:

Far Lefty – “Emergency prep? That’s crazy. The government would never let us starve…unless we were black and had a Republican president.”

Moderate Lefty – “I’ll keep a few extra cans of beans in the cabinet but we’ll be fine at the Red Cross shelter.”

Centrist – “We will maintain a modest emergency prep but also plan to go to our nearest evacuation center.”

Moderate Righty – “Let’s keep a week’s worth of food and a full tank in the SUV and leave the shelters for the dumbasses that didn’t prepare.”

Far Righty – “I’ve got enough guns and ammo for a platoon buried in my backyard. I’ll call my buddies and we’ll just take whatever we need from the tree huggers.”

Libertarian – “I’m already off the grid in BF, Montana. I live emergency prep every day bitches.”

Happy prepping folks!