Considering how weird and unpredictable the world has become, is it time to start prepping? Maybe the question should be rephrased: Isn’t it long overdue to prep?
We’re hearing a lot more about prepping these days than we used to. If you’re not familiar with the term, preppers essentially believe in Murphy’s Law: Anything that can wrong will go wrong – well, in any case, it might. Prepping “is a way of anticipating and adapting to impending conditions of calamity by preparing homes, rooms, and bunkers to survive,” theconversation.com explains. Preparing includes many things – many more than what comes to mind at first glance.
John Ramey, founder, CEO, and Chief Editor at The Prepared, estimates that 15 million Americans are prepping now or about 10% of all households. A few years ago, this number was just 3%.
“Today millions of Americans are preparing for the collapse of society,” writes The End Of The American Dream website. “We really are facing very serious existential threats which could cause the complex systems that we depend upon on a daily basis to fail at any time.”
Specifically what are people worried about? A survey of preppers conducted by Fortitude Ranch found a few issues stood out over the rest. 50% of respondents selected “loss of electric grid” as one of the greatest dangers. Close behind were “economic collapse,” “bioengineered viruses,” and “domestic civil war” - each of which was selected by more than 40% of respondents. More than 30% believe that “terrorist attacks” are the worst threat the US is facing. Still others were very concerned about natural disasters – super-volcano eruptions, major earthquakes, tsunamis, and the like – but much fewer people are worried about these than other issues.
Basic Necessities
There are numerous reasons to prep and they are steadily becoming more convincing. For example, the conflict in the Middle East could easily spill over into other regions and impact people there and around the world. By the same token, domestic terrorist groups could and already have hacked essential targets, knocking out crucial services in some towns and cities. Should any disaster occur, the people who have “saved for a rainy day” will have a much better chance of surviving the crisis than those who did not plan ahead.
There are other reasons to prep too. Very recently, the US sent some of its most powerful aircraft carriers and support vessels to the Middle East, and a few of those already have come under fire by missiles and drones. And so have US bases in various countries in the region. Fortunately, as this article is being written, none of these has caused major damage – but the risk of that happening is very real.
How might the US respond if any of its aircraft carriers are damaged or if US troops are killed Ch”V? Would other countries in the region join in the attacks? And how might such a development affect Americans at home? These concerns are very real, they could erupt in a matter of moments and each could be a game-changer. Meanwhile, US bases, assets and allies remain at high risk from Iran and its proxies.
Some people believe the US should remove its vessels from the Middle East, keep them far from harm’s way, and lower the risk to them and to the US.
But this idea oversimplifies the problem. The press has been reporting for several months that Iran is extremely close to having a nuclear bomb, and the aggressive tone of both their rhetoric and their actions show they remain as hostile toward both the US and Israel as ever. There’s also a possibility that China may become more involved in the Middle East and pursue policies detrimental to the US. Each of these could impact our access to food, water and medication, and all reinforce the premise of prepping.
Flexing Oil Muscles
“What’s happening in Israel now is going to be very focused on oil and natural gas,” said Steve Poplar, the prepper host of the Poplar Report, who also comments on current events and business developments.
“We’re seeing countries starting to threaten to use their oil and natural gas reserves to hold the world hostage or hold specific countries hostage. In effect they’re saying, ‘The US has played with the dollar to attack other countries fiscally. If you can do that with your dollar, why can’t I do that with my oil or other reserves?” Of course, that would drive energy prices much higher and damage the economies of the US and other countries. It would also hurt millions of households that are already hard-pressed by boosting the prices of many products.
Must Haves
Probably most people who think about prepping put food and water at the top of their lists, but this hardly even scratches the surface of what people will need if Ch”V a disaster strikes. The End Of The American Dream website reports that millions of Americans are already skipping meals and cutting portion sizes because food has become so expensive. And this is happening when times are still relatively good. What if some unpredictable event completely disrupts the food supply, prevents access to water, or creates a breakdown of the banking system? Would society be able to withstand those challenges or would it fall apart?
There are many prep websites, but the one I find especially informative and well-thought out is City Prepping. A few weeks ago, they posted a video about how to survive the first 100 days after a calamity. The following are some quotes. I urge readers to check this out, but before you do, please consider this disclaimer: This video is very sobering, upsetting, and worrying. If you’ve never considered prepping before, it may change your mind. If you can handle this video, it will offer important suggestions for survival.
“The grim reality is that most people are ill prepared even to walk a mere 10 miles, forage for sustenance, locate potable water or rely on the knowledge and skills necessary beyond the cycle systems to which they’ve become accustomed…
“We’re seeing too many disasters worldwide where no help is quick to come. Each new disaster reveals that our current systems are too fragile and probably can’t sustain themselves to what we may see in the future… Survival – it’s possible, but you’ll inevitably have to rely on your community, your preps and your network.”
The bottom line: It’s Hashem – not people – who decides who survives, who doesn’t, and everything else. When we make contingency plans, we’re just going through the motions. But that doesn’t mean we should just sit back and do nothing. Life is precious, and to whatever extent possible, we should try to live. But it’s your call just how to do that.
Sources: poplarreport.com; theconversation.com; theendoftheamericandream.com; theprepared.com
Gerald Harris is a financial and feature writer. Gerald can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
