When the US government steps outside of the apple pie and baseball narrative of the American dream and issues warnings to prep, you’d better pay strict attention and start upping your preparedness game. (Whether you believe that the threat to prep for is manufactured to engineer consent or not is, while an interesting debate, entirely beside the point of this article.)
The US government, much like the ones in Venezuela and Greece, likes to paint a rosy picture of life in our country, often to the point that those who are awake are incredulous that others accept the propaganda. Sort of like when Obama said that anyone who claimed there was something wrong with the US economy was a peddler of fiction. Or when Venezuelan President Maduro said last year that they were merely being environmentally friendly when they began rationing electricity.
But what does it mean when that rosy picture gets a huge rip down the center? Particularly when the rip comes straight from the government, whose usual job it is to photoshop the rips so no one sees them?
I can give you a recent example. Remember how President Maduro said there was no food shortage for the longest time? Then suddenly, he announced that the country was out of food (as though the crisis hadn’t been building all along) and recommended that folks grow veggies and raise chickens on their balconies. And then, all hell broke loose. The country is out of positively everything and what is available is dramatically hyperinflated. (A dozen eggs for $150, anyone?)
Obama issued the first of 2 warnings to prep.
Most of us are well aware that when disaster strikes, we’re on our own. That has been proven in disaster after disaster, like when it took days to get aid to victims of Hurricane Katrina and Superstorm Sandy. But usually, the government likes to downplay the need for independence. When they begin telling people to get ready, you’d better be sure that you are, because that means they know – absolutely know – that they won’t have the resources to aid those in need.
First, President Obama stepped away from the golf course to address FEMA at the end of May. Here, from the White House websitee, is an excerpt from his speech (the emphasis is mine):
One of the things that we have learned over the course of the last seven and a half years is that government plays a vital role, but it is every citizen’s responsibility to be prepared for a disaster. And that means taking proactive steps, like having an evacuation plan, having a fully stocked disaster supply kit. If your local authorities ask you to evacuate, you have to do it. Don’t wait.
And so one of the biggest, most important messages that we’re going to be delivering throughout hurricane season is that you cannot judge the dangerousness of a hurricane based on the fact that in the past it dissipated or it missed you. If your local authorities say that you need to start evacuating, you need to start evacuating and get it done…
…And what we’ve been seeing is some public complacency slipping in; a large portion of people not having preparedness kits, not having evacuation plans… If you need information about how to put together an evacuation plan, how to put together a disaster preparedness kit, as Craig said, we’ve got an app for everything now. We have a FEMA app in English and in Spanish to help you prepare your family for a disaster. You can update the National Weather Service alerts. You can get safety tips for more than 20 kinds of hazards. It provides you directions to nearby shelters.
So I would encourage every American, no matter where you live, to stay vigilant, to check Ready.gov — I will repeat that — that is Ready.gov — check that regularly to make sure your family is prepared for severe weather.
As Michael Snyder pointed out on his website, The Economic Collapse Blog, Obama seems to really be pushing the idea of a FEMA camp.
One more thing that I found particularly noteworthy about Obama’s speech was that he said that there is now “a FEMA app” that can direct you to the nearest “FEMA shelter” in the event of a major emergency…
…Could you envision yourself and your family having to take refuge in a “FEMA shelter” someday?
Once you enter the gates to Camp FEMA, you must understand that you’re completely under their control. When you eat, where you sleep, and how often you shower will all be regulated. Gee. It kind of sounds like prison, doesn’t it? (For a look at what life in a FEMA camp might be like, check out A. American’s book,Forsaking Home. Yes, it’s fiction, but not outside the realm of possibility.)
Obama’s statements were all couched in a speech that coincides with hurricane season. On its own, this wouldn’t be a huge deal.
Now the DHS has followed with a warning about potential evacuations in DC.
It’s no surprise that the nation’s capital is a prime target for terrorist attacks. The DC public transit system known as “the Metro” began it’s year-long Safe Track program, performing repairs on the aging infrastructure. While the repairs are much needed, the commuter congestion wrought by the changes in service have brought to light the very real issues that would occur in the event of a rapid evacuation of the city.
DC’s Homeland Security and Emergency Management Command Center is very concerned. After Safe Track began last week, they started monitoring commuter transit and determined that “If a natural disaster or terrorist attack occurred in the city, evacuation routes would face a crush of vehicles.” Well, we all know that’s obviously the way it happens during an evacuation. Remember the Hurricane Rita traffic jam back in 2005? Out of 113 deaths attributed to the hurricane, 107 were associated with the evacuation, where people perished of heat strokes, a bus fire, and the exacerbation of chronic health issues.
So although evacuation is always a nightmare, the limited Metro service could elevate that to crisis proportions. DC Homeland Security Director Christopher Geldart has issued a warning to residents (again, the emphasis is mine):
Everyone needs to dust off their evacuation plans, understanding Metro isn’t a reliable option over the next year.
“When we put more vehicles on the road– like an emergency happening in the middle of the day and everybody leaving at the same time– that’s going to cause backup and it’s going to take people a good time to get home,” Geldart said. “It will take longer– much longer– than they are used to. So what we’re telling folks is, you need to have a plan with your family.”
The reasons behind these warnings to prep are nothing new, but….
Does the government know something that we don’t? Is there something big coming down the pipe? Something so big that the government isn’t going to be able to manage the crisis to their own advantage? Are they washing their hands of the responsibility they willingly took on when they created organizations like FEMA to “take care” of citizens?
While the reasons behind these warnings are the backbone of every good prepper’s philosophy, the fact that the government is issuing them is rather worrisome. It belies the “nothing to see here” philosophy that is the usual trademark and puts the ball firmly in the court of the US citizens.
Any prepper worth his or her roll of tinfoil has to immediately think that something is up when these types of warnings come out of the mouths of those who normally act like we’re enemies of the state. But here’s where a significant issue lies.
Maybe they know something is coming. Maybe they’ve organized what’s coming as a way to take greater control. But in the midst of the crisis, it doesn’t actually matter how the crisis got started. You just have to survive it. While the thought that our own government could have been responsible for some of the most heinous acts ever committed on American soil is disturbing at the very least, if you find yourself caught up in a terrorist attack, my opinions on the culprit don’t matter and neither do yours. All that matters in those minutes, hours, or the days of the aftermath, is surviving.
It doesn’t honestly matter HOW it happens. Whether it is an enemy attack, as in the novel One Second After, a government false flag in order to institute martial law, or a natural act, when a disaster strikes, what matters is your readiness to deal with it.
So what should we take from these warnings?
It’s imperative that you respond when the nanny government issues warnings to prep, but not from a place of fear.
You should respond by getting prepared. Not in the government-recommended “3 days of supplies” kind of way, either. That’s for lightweights.
Ask yourself the following questions, and don’t just gloss over the answers, because these could potentially be matters of life and death.
- Do you have enough food and water to care for your family for a month with no trips to the store?
- Do you have a back-up sanitation plan in the event that you don’t have running water in your home for an extended period of time?
- Do you have a route if your area were to face a mandatory evacuation? Do you have a back-up route? Do you have a route that you could take if all of the main thoroughfares were gridlocked?
- Do you have a plan for grabbing what you need if you had to leave your home in 15 minutes from this very second?
- Do you have an emergency water filtration system? A secondary source of water?
- Are you prepared for a power outage lasting up to a month? Could you cook? Stay warm or cool?
- Do you have a plan for meeting up with family if a disaster strikes when you are separated? What if communication is down? What if you are away from home and need to get home?
- Are you fit enough to leave home on foot, carrying what you need to survive?
- Do you have family members with special needs or health concerns? If so, have you prepped to take care of these needs if you have no power and can’t get to the store or pharmacy?
- In a situation of civil unrest due to a lack of supplies, could you keep your home and family safe? Could you take care of medical emergencies on your own if no one was answering the phone when you dialed 911?
Well?
How did you do? Could you say yes to every question or do you have some work to do?
If you can’t answer yes to every single question above, you’re not prepared.
The scenarios above aren’t even the worst that a prepper could dream up. They’re all short-term emergencies of a month or less, and every single one of them is realistic. I can cite a recent event for each and every one of them during which people most likely wished they’d paid more attention and planned ahead.
If you can’t say yes to those questions, don’t despair. Don’t feel hopeless.
Here’s what you can do.
You can get started right now. You can get prepped. Even if your budget is tight, if your family is not on board, or if you are assailed with doubts. You can get ready for not only possible, but likely occurrences.
Don’t start out prepping for a 30-year nuclear winter or other outrageous Doomsday Prepper-style scenario. Start out with the things that are the most realistic. Look at the bad things going on in the world today and prepare for those. Start out with a week of preps and an evacuation plan and build up from there.
- The annual hurricanes, blizzards, and tornadoes that hit the US
- The likelihood of civil unrest in our volatile society
- The possibility of a tainted municipal water supply
- A personal economic crisis, like an unexpected expense or a job loss
- A national economic collapse, like the one in Venezuela
- A horrifying crime wave like the one in Europe due to clashes between Europeans and migrants
None of these events is unlikely. In fact, they’re all happening right now. Some in our own neighborhood. Some in other countries. But they’re all happening.
Start out with a week of preps and an evacuation plan and build up from there. Get a good comprehensive book, stock up on some long-term emergency food, create awater plan, and build a pantry.
Or, if you are really, really motivated and ready to up your game, make a genuine, accountable commitment to it. Take a course like the one I’m teaching with Lisa Bedford (aka the Survival Mom). I can promise you that if you follow all of the guidelines in the Summer Prepping Intensive, you will absolutely be able to say yes to each of the questions above.
Whatever you do, don’t be paralyzed by fear. Don’t just blithely do nothing and figure it will all work out.
You have a responsibility to yourself and the ones you love to heed the warnings, watch the signs, and prepare accordingly.
Are you ready yet?