TEOTWAKI

Awhile back, 5 or so years ago, I became interested in the notion of prepping. I think it stems from my Boy Scout background. The Boy Scout Motto is 'Be Prepared'. Prepared for what? The short answer is anything or better yet, everything. This generally makes for a VERY responsible human being, which I will admit I am not always. I eat out too much, take too many trips and don't plan far enough ahead to be considered overly responsible.
Most preppers spend a lot of time going over lists, buying needed supplies, putting up stores, fortifying their houses, etc. And while any of this is acceptable prepping practice, I think it falls short. Sure it is a great way to feel 'prepared' as everything you have is at hand should A, B or C happen, but what about D, E and F.
It's funny, just the other day, one of the guys at work and I got into a discussion about politics that led to what could be around the corner, TEOTWAKI. For those that don't know, TEOTWAKI stands for The End of the World As We Know It. basically that financial meltdown, giant asteroid, great war on American soil, Peak Oil or whatever else changes our way of life at a fundamental level. I'm convinced it could definitely happen. He even made the point that I seemed to have pretty strong convictions about some of what we discussed, and that is a fact jack. A lot of Americans, this guy included, felt that we were the top dog and would always stay as such and our way of life just couldn't ever change too much. I'm not so convinced. I'm sure if you asked the Greeks or the Romans or the Egyptians or the Brits and any other world power if they thought their reign would ever come to an end they would each say 'hell no' andeach of them would be flat wrong, nations are born, mature and change, some for the better some for the worse. Has ours matured as we have aged? If we look at history, are we repeating the same mistakes others have made before us?. I think most people fail to realize how fragile our society is. How reliant on good faith America is. Ask yourself what if tomorrow your bank cards and credit cards no longer worked? How long could you get by? How much cash do you have on hand? What if paper money was no longer any good too?  What do you have to barter? What if ALL government employees (police, fire) were told to stay home? What if we started having brown outs or black outs? What if the grocery store stopped getting deliveries? What if the bank asked for your entire mortgage note owed to be paid in one lump sum like just prior to the Great Depression? What if banks stopped extending credit to businesses, how many would fail quickly? All of these have happend in other parts of the world in recent years. Some due to corruption, some due to incompetence, some due to globalization, while we are a lot more insolated than most third world countries, we are not completely immune.
So what about D,E, and F? My answer to all of the scenarios is one of flexibility. I am planning to be valuable wherever I am when things go bad. knowledge of medicine, constructing/maintaining shelter, acquiring food and water, security. These are the things at the bottom of Maslows Hierarchy of needs and when it hits the fan, these are the things that matter the most and make one useful to a community, no matter where that community may be. Just something to think about. While I believe it is important to enjoy life, I eat, I drink and I'm pretty darn merry, I still think of the hardworking ant and the frozen grasshopper who failed to prepare for winter while the ants toiled away, which would you rather be when the first snow flake falls??