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Ideas for an Uncertain Future
by Daniel Newby, June 22, 2006


Summary: Perhaps our country will continue in its present state for many years. The skills and objects we currently possess, and the activities we consistently undertake, may possibly suffice for the remainder of our lives. But what if changes await us over our individual or collective horizons? How will we respond to a ripple, wave, or tidal shift that upsets our plans, expectations, and fortunes?

Those who prepare for the future dominate how history is written. Those who fail to prepare determine little. Below are 14 ideas to consider as you prepare for what might await you.

Topics:

1. Plan to be flexible.

2. Schedule time to make practical preparations.

3. Analyze your friendships, prepare those that have merit, and set aside those that do not.

4. Think things through, budget, and patiently pursue your objectives.

5. Store water.

6. Store food and the means to consume it.

7. Become proficient with the means to defends yourself.

8. Eat better and get in shape.

9. Explore alternative healing methods.

10. Give your children a real education in a safe, positive environment.

11. Store fuel to get you where you want to go.

12. Obtain property and shelter in a rural area.

13. Obtain or update passports for your family.

14. Prepare your children to escape the ravages of war.

 

1. Plan to be flexible.

Many preparedness buffs believe they know what will happen in the future, and base their plan on these developed scenarios. Preparing for something is better than nothing. But rigidity with regard to an uncertain, fluid future can actually be detrimental. The Marine Corps book of instruction proposes the following:

“In an environment of friction, uncertainty, and fluidity, war gravitates naturally toward disorder. Like the other attributes of the environment of war, disorder is an integral characteristic of war; we can never eliminate it. In the heat of battle, plans will go awry, instructions and information will be unclear and misinterpreted, communications will fail, and mistakes and unforeseen events will be commonplace. It is precisely this natural disorder which creates the conditions ripe for exploitation by an opportunistic will.” — Warfighting: The U.S. Marine Corps Book of Strategy, pp. 10-11

Chaos can be difficult to predict. Rather than spend our energies attempting to micro-analyze the future, why not plan to be flexible? If our favorite biblical prognostications, or our own hypotheses or dreams come true, we will be flexible enough to adapt to them, and will lose nothing. And if they are full of hot air, we will still be as prepared as possible.

It might not be evident by the institutions we frequent, but most of us are, by our very genetics, creative people. A flexible mind and plans breed ingenuity, resourcefulness, intuition, and common sense. An inflexible mind breeds narrow-mindedness, stagnation, and stubborn foolishness.

Rather than predicting elaborate “certainties,” we can focus our imaginative minds on creating various practical options that we can adopt and modify based upon the environmental circumstances we encounter. When we have options, we are naturally more confident. When we have few or no options, life starts to feel like it is closing in around us.

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2. Schedule time to make practical preparations.

Americans set aside time for all sorts of activities, including work, church, television, mowing the lawn, and voting for awful candidates. Our potential survival and wellbeing is more important than these things. So why not set aside a couple hours each week to help secure these things?

The investment of thinking alone will yield rewards, including a more determined mind set, which is essential to survival. Add a practical project or two and you are on your way. Your goal can be simple: To be more prepared next month than you are this month.

Do you have an old tent that needs to be stitched, a flashlight that needs improvement, a firearm to be disassembled and cleaned, or require some research time to make a purchasing decision? Would you like to test the strength of some rope in your possession before you actually need to use it, investigate alternative healing methods for common injuries, or install a more secure door to your basement? There are countless projects to choose from, and to benefit by.

It is probably a good idea to start off spending time alone. You want to first develop and hone a few ideas and skills independent of external influences. Learn to pay attention to your own innate common sense before you start to rely on the advice of others. You might be surprised at your own resourcefulness, which recognition builds your own confidence —another important characteristic for weathering disasters.

If you are married with children, perhaps both of you can’t commit to share this time together each week. But one of you can, or you can switch off. Whoever spends the time can give a report, or synopsis, to the other on what was learned and considered.

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3. Analyze your friendships, prepare those that have merit, and set aside those that do not.

Once you have a sense of where you are headed, consider sharing some or all of your preparation time with one or more friends or family who share your preparatory interests. Pooling knowledge and resources can be tremendously beneficial for your pocketbook and time.

If things become unbearable, you may need to work with others to survive and prosper. Here are some potential questions as you analyze your relationships.  Who would be inclined to rely on in a dark alley? Who would come through for you if your family were under assault by a vicious government agency? Who would you trust with a secret, or your wallet? Who would be ethical and forthright in a business transaction with complete strangers?

Distinguish between your “barbeque friends,” and those friends you want in a real pinch. Who falls in what category may be surprising and even disturbing. In any event, put your reliable friends in a higher category of value and importance.

Be careful! Do not speak too loosely with the wrong people! You can ruin any decent meeting or activity by adding the wrong apple to the mix. It can also be dangerous. Be greedy with your preparedness time and slow to invite people to participate. As General George S. Patton purportedly put it:

“I would rather have a German division in front of me than a French one behind me.”

First get to know potential helpers, and their outlooks and attitudes, via other social venues. If you do invite them, do not give them the impression that your get-togethers will be regular. See how you interact a few times before you invite them to come regularly. Liking someone does not mean that they will work out well in this arena.

Strike a balance between getting things done and fostering free discussion —even some frivolous discussion. You can easily be consumed in mechanical minutiae or end up “meeting, eating, and retreating” without tangible accomplishment. One good relationship can be worth more than a whole mess of preparations, but you still need to prepare.

Don’t let the group get too big. No matter who the people and personalities are, there comes a point where productivity declines and frustration exponentially increases. The bulk of your efforts and energies are supposed to be going toward your own preparedness.

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4. Think things through, budget, and patiently pursue your objectives.

It is impossible to light a fire under some people. Others, however, react rashly when they finally get motivated to prepare for the future. They spend money like drunken sailors, spin in circles, and appear desperate and chaotic.

Don’t fall into this trap. Be deliberate and methodical. Obtain the knowledge you need as inexpensively as possible; from whatever resources you can tap into. The Internet, for example, is full of free ideas, reviews of ideas, and products. Your friends can be fountains of wisdom as well. You must still take risks and make mistakes, but they won’t be wasted, and will hopefully be less costly.

In planning, prepare from your center of greatest strength outwards. Rather than predict the migratory effects of WWIII on the American populace, start, perhaps, with where you are right now. Is your family and home (or apartment) reasonably prepared for a lengthy power outage or basic natural disaster? Do you have enough water and food to make it a few weeks, or will you run to the nearest shelter and yell, “Help!” from your lawn chair to passing camera crews?

Once your home front is solid, slowly work outward to external, potential resources you might be able to access in times of need. Not all emergencies will occur while we are sleeping in our homes. What can you reasonably store in your car for an emergency, for example? Some walking shoes, water, maps, cash, food, wet-weather gear, gloves, tools, lighter, first aid kit, dust mask, etc.? Continue working outward from there to other areas, states, and even countries.

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5. Store water.

Want to drastically reduce your risks of being a casualty? Store some water. Studies have suggested that roughly four-fifths of all casualties occur after the natural disaster has passed, and result from the lack of clean drinking water. On the move, the military estimates that one soldier requires approximately 1 gallon per day to cover the body’s basic needs. Store a few weeks worth — preferably more — for you and your family.

Some industrial container outlets now offer 55 gallon plastic barrels with tops that are completely removable, and can be tightly resealed. Whether or not you can afford or store these larger barrels, you might profit by collecting some hardy 5 gallon containers. Or keep some of the hardy 2 liter soda bottles (the ones you really shouldn’t be drinking). You can learn more about water storage, usage, and treatment on the Internet.

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6. Store food and the means to consume it.

My family used to store all sorts of stuff we never ate. The vast majority of our stored food is now comprised of what we eat, or would not mind eating in an emergency. (If your list solely comprises food products such as Mountain Dew and Twinkies, make sure you pay attention to Item 8.)

There are exceptions, but try to rotate stored food by eating it. This forces you to more closely track expiration dates, and ensures that you will store more of what you like to eat. Calamities are bad enough without eating stale or gross food. And periodically do a complete audit of your food to refine your habits and rid your shelves of those mashed potatoes from the Civil War (blue on one side and gray on the other).

Storing food you like is one thing, but you need to be able to prepare it. For instance, a bucket of wheat is nice, but can you grind it for use? Do you have the means and know-how to sprout it and obtain maximum nutritional value? Have you ever made anything with wheat? How would you bake it? If you don’t have the means and ability to utilize your food, it might be good for trading, but that is all.

Again, there are numerous websites to assist you in understanding basic food requirements, and in safe and smart food storage and usage. You might also learn how to grow your own food, a useful skill no matter what happens.

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7. Become proficient with the means to defends yourself.

Selfish people, in or out of government, may covet the water and food you have diligently stored. You need the means and skill to effectively defend yourself and your property. Volumes are written on guns, calibers, ammunition, accessories, training, and tactics. Again, do some Internet research and combine this information with advice from others who have extensive firearms experience. Go shooting a few times before you decide to buy something expensive.

If you are new to firearms, look for something simple, maneuverable, intuitive, reliable, and friendly (i.e. it shouldn’t have excessive kick or be uncomfortable). I am personally drawn toward a pistol for initial home defense, as pistols are the most maneuverable and attackers have more difficulty taking them from the defender. I prefer a pump action 12-gauge shotgun as a backup weapon. Be aware that various rounds are more penetrative than others. Penetration is good against your attacker, but potentially bad against your walls and the innocents on the other side of those walls.

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8. Eat better and get in shape.

If you can’t run or walk to save your life, you are at a real disadvantage to yourself and to others in an emergency. Get off your fanny and do some leaning exercises that will not harm your joints and body.

Would you convulse today like a recovering heroine addict if forced to adopt a diet of basic raw foods? Get real. Your food storage is useless unless you exercise, eat better, and shed some fat and accumulated toxins from your body. Start weaning yourself off the sodas, the sugars, the corn syrups, the tobacco, the monosodium glutamate, aluminum, and other harmful additives and processed garbage. Read labels for crying out loud and spend a little more time looking for better ingredients. Do a little free research on the Internet from time to time to improve your intake and health.

In decent shape, your mind will function, you will better handle stress, be more mobile, and can recover faster, and more fully, from injuries.

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9. Explore alternative healing methods.

Forget an oil shortage. Consider some real disasters, like a sudden end of anti-depressant supplies to millions of addicts across the country. We’re talking “Night of the Living Dead” in many parts of my current state, Utah. Or how about a shortage of medical supplies, such as antibiotics, aspirin, flu shot vaccinations, and heartburn medicine?

These are real nightmares for those with no natural immunity, resilience, independence, and sense of empowerment and self-worth. There are those of us, however, who live almost entirely without the godlike realm of the modern “medical community.”

One of the smartest things I ever did was to pay for my wife to do on-line coursework with a natural healing college. It opened our minds in so many ways. But you don’t need to go through that expense if you will just take the time to explore the Internet.

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10. Give your children a real education in a safe, positive environment.

Government indoctrination centers are the last thing free, independent thinkers need. These centers only exist through involuntary force via taxes and mandatory attendance statutes. They are, by their very nature, statist, teaching children to worship the state and to believe in collectivism/socialism, secular humanism, and, in some areas, the church-state. They are havens for sexual predators and experimenters, drug addicts, and sadistically violent. Get your children out!

Unfortunately, the vast majority of us are also products of this indoctrination, and can’t fathom the notion that we have it within ourselves to educate our children without these state “experts.” But parents do have natural, superior abilities to teach and to instruct, and we must assert our innate talents if freedom is to survive on this planet.

If you are a single parent without other options, then spend more time with your children to help them survive and heal from the brutality, immorality, and depravity they will encounter. If you are simply too scared to teach your children at home, transition them to a decent private school while you find your courage. Their intellect may not advance as rapidly as it would under your tutelage, but at least they will be in a safer environment.

If you are a grandparent or relative, consider financially assisting your relative to free the minds and souls of their children. Home schoolers are also forcibly taxed to pay for the poor souls who go to government schools, and must pay twice for the “privilege” of educating their own children in safety.

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11. Store fuel to get you where you want to go.

Oil supply lines are fragile and can rapidly end. Even in shape, you can only hoof so much gear so far. If you treat, store, and rotate gas carefully and safely, it can be there for emergencies.

If you want to get several states away, you may need sufficient gas supplies along the way. Be aware that local statutes may attempt to prohibit you from maintaining a reasonable supply. Be creative.

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12. Obtain property and shelter in a rural area.

If you ever feel the need to evacuate your current residence, wouldn’t it be nice to have a place to run to? A refugee without a destination is the most vulnerable and least desirable person on the disaster totem pole. Do you want to be shuttled around like a New Orleans refugee by the whims and whips of some government agency? Or do you want to have a plan, a destination, and the supplies to exist on your own power and agency?

You can make your getaway a pleasant one, so that, if all goes serenely, you and your posterity will have a comfortable place to escape city life. If things turn very badly, you have an emergency retreat. Don’t blow your budget and buy all the amenities today. Whittle at it.

Be careful where you go. Scout out the area, the prevailing attitudes of the surrounding people, the size and regulatory interference of the government there, etc. Consider factors like water rights, fault lines, roads, and climate.

If you are able, consider finding a rural spot close to the border with Canada. This region of America is full of beautiful, rugged, quiet country. In some states, like Montana, government is somewhat behind the times — which is a good thing. Consider your strategy now while avenues are still available to build, refine, and supply.

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13. Obtain or update passports for your family.

What if some event or series of events were to happen that made you feel the need to leave the country for a period of time? A passport can make your border crossing, and stay, easier. You can always cross a border, say to Canada, illegally, and do as the Mexicans do, but there are risks to such an approach. And, if you need to go elsewhere, other countries are not as lax or forgiving.

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14. Prepare your children to escape the ravages of war.

America is becoming increasingly militaristic. Elitist corporate and banking heads continue to propel their interests through the politicians and bureaucrats who serve them. This emerging fascist (i.e. corporate/government control with the façade of private ownership) regime views human beings, particularly the young, as resources to be farmed and exploited.

Eventually, if things continue on their current, violent course, a conscription of the young will be necessary to sustain this regime’s military and economic escapades. It may be essential for our children to have either some form of dual citizenship, or at least the ability to “get lost” in a foreign nation for a period of time. It is incumbent upon us to prepare them for that potential crisis, and not to leave them with the sole option of being involuntary cannon fodder for the self-interests of war-mongering perverts and deviants.

Hopefully, these ideas are helpful to you. They are by no means inclusive, as chaos and flexible preparedness are, by their natures, uncertain and unpredictable. I do hope they spark thought and assist people in considering what is important and why.

 

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