by RobNPhx, as originally posted to modernsurvivalonline.com
Apathy is described as a state of indifference, or the suppression of emotions such as concern, excitement, motivation, and passion. Over the course of these last couple of years I’ve found myself more inclined, empowered by a sense of urgency and righteousness in my beliefs, to speak with others, sometimes at great length, about my views concerning preparedness and the necessity of possessing a survivalist mindset. Often, my concerns seem to be better received outside of my most intimate inner circle of friends and family. Perhaps that same intimacy that brings about the emotional and physical bond we often share, is a detriment to my ability to convince those I most wish to convince: my truly apathetic loved ones, of the real perils that await the unprepared. Familiarity does, indeed, often breed dissent.
Casual strangers, or mere acquaintances, will usually indulge my opinions about the impending decline of our world as we know it–at least until they get that “glazed-over look” that tells me they have since tuned me out, and are concentrating their focus on something more important…like who the latest front-runners for American Idol might be; or what Snookie (Jersey Shore) said or did on their latest trashy episode. Now don’t get me wrong–I seldom, if ever, initiate any conversation regarding the virtues of preparation with anyone I don’t know well; I have simply found the task to be far too frustrating in most cases. It has become my conclusion that the uninformed prefer to stay that way, believing instead that all will turn out well in the end, and that our government won’t let them down when disaster once again strikes. Even pointing out the somewhat recent “Katrina/New Orleans” debacle does little if anything to deter their unwavering faith in the system. They simply see the general lack of preparedness by both the citizens of New Orleans and our federal government as an aberration, a glitch, a hiccup that will never happen again. I cannot help but wonder if the people of New Orleans–those that suffered through the storm and it’s terrible remnants, and choose to remain there to this very day–still have as much faith in their elected and appointed officials as they did pre-Katrina. Hmm…I wonder?
The informed and apathetic are, however, a different breed of cat. These people are generally educated and well informed of what goes on, globally as well as at the local level. They cannot, sadly enough, be classified or pigeon-holed into one neat little compartment of naysayers and denialists any more than Survivalists, Preppers, New World Order Theorists, and Neocons can be all categorized as End-of-The-World Kooks or Chicken Little Alarmists. They have the truth; the handwriting is on their wall just as it is on ours. The difference of opinions, I believe, can be boiled down to one basic and most fundamental tenet: since the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 and, most recently, the September 11, 2001 al-Qaeda terrorist attacks on the Twin Towers of The World Trade Center, and The Pentagon, most Americans have never had their White Castle dreams of isolation and insulation–thus protection from the evils of the rest of the world–put to any real test. They have seen the tragedies and horrors of wars taking place thousands of miles away, in lands and cultures unrecognizable to their own. But those wars would NEVER happen here! We are the U.S. of A, for God’s sake!
Truth be told, I don’t even mind the skepticism and the mocking raised eyebrows of both the informed or uninformed. They have their choices, as do I. What really hurts are the comments from those whom I love the most, would give my very life for, and whom I intend on protecting, despite their lack of belief. When I hear my wife say to a friend or neighbor or fellow family member, when speaking of my passion for all things preparedness, “Oh, that’s just Rob doing his little hobby thing,” I want to scream out, “Wake up, honey! This isn’t my “little hobby.” This is me maybe saving our skins when the SHTF!”
I will continue with my preparations. I will persevere despite the majority of people thinking I’m the crazy one. I will invest as much as it takes to offer my family and loved ones as many opportunities to survive as I possibly can. And, if it never comes to that, then all the better for all of us. Better to be prepared and not need it, than to need it and not be prepared.
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9 comments:
Great post! Can totally see your point, and has been in that frustrating situation too...
Thanks for the support. I thoroughly believe that most, if not all, preparation-minded people have experienced similar frustrations at one point or another.
Rob
Great post. I agree that the worst thing is the informed apathetic person. I take my Momma's thought process when it comes to preparing and survival: you do what you have to do to make sure you and your children make it to the next generation. Wish there were more people willing to take a stand. You're not crazy--you're smart. Your wife will thank you for all you've done, just like my family will be glad our matriarch got us headed down this path.
Sadly, too many of us face the same thing with our close ones. We just have to keep doing what we are doing.
It must be irritating to hear your wife call it your little hobby. I am acutely sensitive to such put downs. It would make be back off a lot - not the doing it, but the talking about it.
I find many people who just don't want to know. However there are also a group whose lives are just so full that they can't cope with thinking about things that might go wrong. I'm thinking of my daughter who is a solo mother, going through a divorce and splitting up the finances, working full time and studying part time at night to try to improve her future. She can't cope with any more stress in her life. So in my support for her I attempt to support her both in her every day life and to see that at the very least she doesn't make herself less prepared for the future.
I grew up around people that had lived thru the Great Depression (not the current one, the 1930s one). They weren't confused at all. Their children, much less clear on the concept. The children they raised, mostly clueless. How quickly we forget our history.
One thing that might help with your immediate family is to demonstrate under what conditions your preparations benefit the family, such as when the lights go out or you're snowed in. Oh wait, RobNPhx ... uh, you break down in the desert.
For outside the family, commenting on current events and what you think would be good ideas to be better prepared for them might light a spark in someone's mind. You don't even need to say you've done such things, just something you're thinking about.
It's that old Boy Scout thing, Be Prepared.
I'm very glad you raised the issues you did. The more people that are prepared when an incident occurs, the better off we'll all be.
Great post - hopefully many that poke fun and laugh at preppers will NOT be proven wrong. Regardless - being ready just flat out makes sense.
Great post. My husband feels the same way
We have a small group of like-minded people fully aware of what lies ahead regarding the collapse of our current system. What amazes me is that most of them simply have not made an effort either to become good at growing/raising food crops and animals, or even to store a few months' worth of dehydrated foods. (Not to mention other preps.) And these are people who can afford it. It's almost as if doing so would be to admit beyond an intellectual level that it is really happening.
The real challenge for those of us who have taken concrete steps seems to be how best to respond when it happens and they come to us for food, tools, and more.
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