Estimated reading time: 4 minutes
Although survivalists are usually portrayed as paranoid conspiracy theorists by the main stream media, during a major disaster they are heroes.
Take a look at this poster.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture printed and distributed this during the Great Depression. At that time, the country was suffering terribly and soup kitchens were stretched to the limit. There was a desperate need for regular people to pick up the slack, so the government actually encouraged citizens to raise chickens, grow gardens, and can their own food.
Nowadays, local governments are actually trying to stop people from growing gardens on their own property and arresting them for harvesting rainwater.
There was a time when everyone was expected to be a “prepper” or “survivalist” (they didn't even need those terms). It was a time when “green” was just a color and people reused everything they could because they had to. If there was a disaster or long-term crisis, people took care of themselves and each other because there was no one else who could help.
Now that we have programs like welfare and agencies like FEMA, few people bother to be self-reliant because they think if something terrible happens, the government will help them. The problem with this attitude is that one day things could get so bad that the government won't be able to help everyone, and communities will have to rely on those “crazy survivalists.” That's why the more preppers there are, the better it will be on everyone.
Consider FEMA's pathetic response after hurricane Katrina. Governments tend to be slow and inefficient, particularly in situations like that. But if more people had 72-hour kits with food and water purifiers, there wouldn't have been near as much suffering. For every survivalist, there is one less person waiting in line for food or water, which makes life easier for everyone.
Here are a couple other areas of survivalism where everyone benefits: When more people have first aid kits and know how to use them, less people die because the hospitals aren't as overwhelmed. And when more people have guns to defend their homes, people are safer because the police aren't spread too thin.
The point I'm trying to make is that the world needs survivalists. There are certain to be more disasters in the future, and I'm positive another economic crisis is coming. When that happens, you need to be able to take care of yourself so you're not a drain on others. And the more people who can take care of themselves, the faster society will recover. You might even say it's your civic duty to be more self-reliant, as the Department of Agriculture once believed.
After the end of the world as we know it, it won't be the bankers, politicians, or corporate executives who rebuild society. It will be those “paranoid” preppers and “crazy” survivalists. If that day ever comes comes, you can be part of the problem, or part of the solution. Your choice.
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