*Why Survive?*
In this day and age many people are interested in Survival, and Survivalism. Not so long ago, Survivalists were associated with rouge militia groups, by the mainstream media. Now after 9-11 many people and media outlets are changing their outlooks. I’d like to step back and take a look at what Survivalism is. Not what the media and un-informed people would have you believe.
During the Cold War, Survivalists prepared for the possibility of Nuclear, Biological, or Chemical Warfare. The Iron Curtain is broken, all hail Perestroika, we don’t have to prepare for war no more. As current events have shown, that is false. Al Qaeda, Hamas, The PLO, Hezbollah, and many other terrorist groups are operating, and they are doing their best to get Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical Agents. Not just for use against their historical enemies, but against "The Great Satan", us, the U.S. of A. This is just one of the possibilities that many Survivalists prepare for.
Natural Disasters seem to be occurring at the same rate they did back in the ’80 and ‘90’s. Hurricane’s Hugo and Andrew destroyed my confidence in the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), not to mention their handling of 9-11. Earthquakes are occurring with more and more regularity in California, and more earthquakes are happening worldwide. Drought, and Floods are still happening here in the U.S.
Lets define Survival
According to Webster’s Tenth Collegiate Edition, Survival is:
sur-viv-al 1 a: a living or continuing longer than another person or thing b: the continuation of life or existence 2: one that survives
Pretty simple isn’t it? Now lets see what the definition of Survivalist is.
sur-viv-al-ist : one who views survival as a primary objective; esp.: one who has prepared to survive in the anarchy of an anticipated breakdown of society
Lets look at that closely. "one who has prepared to survive". That is the main objective. Prepare to survive. Not just you, but your family and friends.
Lets give a little scenario right out of current events.
A large multi-state power outage hits where you live. Are you prepared to handle it? Do you have food, water and emergency medical supplies? Do you have some form of light? If it happens in wintertime, do you have an emergency heat source? Do you have a radio, and extra batteries? If you said yes, you might be a Survivalist. If you said no, you really need to think about what the consequences to you and your family might be if something happened. Are you going to rely on the Government, which has already shown that it is not prepared to handle emergencies, to provide food and shelter for your family? While they are "Evaluating" the situation you and your family might be cold, hungry or in need of medical attention. Wouldn’t you rather have the materials and the knowledge to help yourself?
This is what a Survivalist does. He or She prepares themselves and their families for the ever-increasing possibility that something is going to happen. It might be another terrorist attack; it might be an earthquake, or a severe winter storm. But they prepare.
They prepare so that when something happens they and their family are safe and protected.
Isn’t this what everyone wants?
To be safe and protected. Warm and fed. Healthy and alive.
That is what we prepare for. Not what many in the media say is the downfall of the world. We prepare to protect our families.
GreyLocke
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