The doomcasters

I must admit, I'm as fascinated by tales of doom and impending disaster as the next prepper. Over the years my attitude evolved. As a teenager dire warnings of civilization ending calamity sounded exciting. That's the same attitude that fills armies with teenagers as war sounds exciting.

As one gets older a bit of wisdom sinks in. A smart man prepares for possible disaster, but prays it doesn't happen. A wise man does what he can to prevent calamity.

It's like when I was first hired as a Firefighter. At 19 years old a big fire was terribly exciting. At 25 I'd look at the same fire and know it was going to be a long and miserable job. At 30 I really began to appreciate smoke detectors, sprinkler systems, safety inspections, and all those other boring things that prevent a small fire from becoming a big one.

Even though I recognized the value of mitigating disasters, I knew that they still happened. In spite of man's best efforts to impose order on the universe, chaos is always out there. People like to believe that bad things always happen far away and to other people. I know better.

One thing I've learned over the years is that the doomcasters are rarely exactly right. That's not to say bad things don't happen: they do. In fact by the very nature of the universe, given enough time anything can happen. Never focus exclusively on any particular doom scenario.

Be like a Fire Department. Have a variety of tools at your disposal. Train in how to use them. Be prepared to be flexible and to employ those tools in ways never dreamed of at the Fire Academy.

So have some basic survival gear: food, water, emergency shelter, medical supplies, training, security tools, and most importantly, a flexible mind. Rarely do disasters unfold as predicted. They are dynamic situations, always in flux and changing. Don't discount the actions of other people. They could help or hinder your efforts.

So listen to the doomcasters, if you'd like, but don't take their word as gospel.

-Sixbears