Let me begin by telling you a little about myself- keeping OPSEC or Operational Security in mind (more on that later).
You will know me as Jimmy the Screwdriver (the last part is only b/c Nancy P. thinks that everone who doesn't support national health care is in the mob). I am married and have three young children. I am a former US Air Force intelligence specialist. My wife an I currently live somewhere west of the Mississippi and east of the Rockies. I have an advanced degree in my field. I am Christian and believe that as a father I am responsible for providing for my family in all circumstances- even when the times get tough. I consider myself a "prepper" and I have read the majority of the survival/preparedness books and have attempted to prepare myself accordingly. I am not a conspiracy theorist, though I do allow for elements of conspiracy-type scenarios to effect my preparation.
I feel that I am a patriot. I have served my country as an Airman and am proud of those who continue to sacrifice for my freedoms. I feel an allegiance to my nation- though not necessarily to my government. I believe the Constitution was a God-inspired document and any deviation from it will only take us further from God and his protection.
Now, survival is more than just buying guns and stocking up on food storage; however, those those are crucial elements to any survival plan.
Everyone who prepares for emergency must ask themselves, "what do I believe is the most likely emergency to occur?" The answer to that question will drive their efforts in preparation. Likewise, I have prepared with economic collapse in mind.
It's no secret that the economy is in shambles at the moment with little prospect of improving in the short term. If I believed in was just going to be a recession or even a depression, my preparing would have ended some time ago. I believe that this economic downturn is the start of a full-blown collapse that will result in the end of dollar as a monetary unit. This economic scenario has been the springboard for my preparations.
Bear with me as I play out a possible scenario:
Inflation is what happens when the government prints more money than it has gold or silver to back it up. At some point, people will stop accepting the dollar because they will realize that its not worth the paper they print it on. When that happens (there are already indications that China and other nations are moving away from the dollar), the only thing that will be really "worth" anything is a tangible object- those objects will be things like an ounce of silver or a rifle cartridge or a can of beans.
When salaried employees realise that the paycheck they worked for won't buy a gallon of gas- it won't take long for them to stop going to work. What happens when people like electric company employees don't go to work? Riots. Remember (or read about) the riots of New York. After riots start, fires come soon after. Without firemen working, cities will burn. Without running water, disease will run rampant- millions will die. Those elderly or those who require medical care will die. Those unable to feed themselves due to trucks not running will starve.
If our government leaders haven't been killed by the mobs, they will order the military (they have their own power generators and stores of food) to lay siege to the cities to maintain order and preserve lives- at the expese of liberty.
Marshall Law will be instituted- curfews, gun confiscation, mandatory relocation and more will be the norm. Soldiers will become the law makers, the enforcers, the judges and executioners. FYI, they've had lots of practice in Iraqi cities over the past few years doing just that.
After the military takes control of the major cities (likely the ones with real gold in the banks), I can imagine that congress will have a difficult time telling them what to do (the president controls the military). The president will be nothing less than an elected dictator. It
s likely that the nations which we owe lots of money to will be among the debt collectors.
Those patriots who still believe in the constitution will not stand for a dictator or a foreign power on our soil. States, if the state government still exists, will attempt to secede. It will be only then that the governers will realize that they have already given operational control of their state militias to the Federal government and are not able to provide a defense for their citizens.
The citizens will be left to either submit to the federal military led by its dictator or they will band together in gurrilla resistance groups and attempt to reinstate a democracy.
That's just one possible future. One that I honestly hope does not happen. But even if it does, I believe that we still have time to prepare ourselves and increase our chances of survival.
I will say that there are lots of doomsday scenarios that may happen. Nuclear, chemical, terrorist attacks, asteroids, earthquakes and more. I believe that we should prepare for all of them- starting with the one you believe to be most imminent. Thankfully, the preparations for one scenario overlap with the others- so, while preparing for one, you actually prepare for many.
Ask yourself, how long could you feed your family if you couldn't go to the grocery store any more? Could you defend your family from a rioting mob bent on getting your small supply of canned goods? Could you get clean drinking water for your family if the water stopped coming from the sink? Could you keep your family warm without electricity or gas? For how long? How would you cook your food? How would you pull a rotten tooth? Do you know how to set a broken leg? What about washing clothes? What about all the other million things we take for granted?
This blog will show you how I plan to deal with these quandries- both in theory and in practice. I hope to learn as much from you as you do from me.
My next topic will be on food storage.
Thanks
