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Condensing the last of the posts from the blog site in order to close it down and stop getting billed monthly for it ;)
Wishful thinking or "itching ears?" Copyright 2008 Robert Henry
Seems today, a handful of folks that are semi-serious into preparedness are willing to believe just about anything when it comes to survival planning.
I'm talking about this concept wherein people feel that they can "make do" with minimal preparations and/or live close to bad areas because of the thought that "it won't get THAT bad."
The idea usually starts with some sort of mocking ridicule type thing- "Oh people that feel you have to be in the country are those Mad Max type survivalists... blah blah blah." Mad Max? That's pretty silly. Quite the contrary, I would submit that someone who was convinced they wouldn't need much in the way of preps would be EATING DOG FOOD a lot sooner than someone in the country with more preps would!!
The problem with these "you'll make it ok" in the cities folks that you sometimes see on the net is that you are essentially COUNTING on things NOT to go too far. i.e, the "bad times" won't get too bad.
Can you really say they won't? Can anyone? Of course not!
Slow slide? I agree 100%, more than likely we are in a slow slide now, notice I didn't say we were nor did I attempt to speculate on times/dates, etc.
OK so question for the slow slide folks- when it DOES finally come down to rioting and massive civil disorder, are you THEN to bug out? Think that bugging out will get EASIER or HARDER the further into the situation? Common sense says that harder is the correct answer.
By that point the gubmint WILL have taken clear measures to "keep order" that will include restrictions on travel, curfews, gas rationing, etc. Think it will be a peace of cake to leave MID TSHTF?
Come on people THINK!!
I realize it's all nice to hear someone tell you that stuff won't be that bad, that you won't have to make ANY CHANGES to your current "lifestyle" and make it just fine. That would be GREAT if it was TRUE. How "sustainable" is life in the suburbs? "But I can grow a garden in my 1/4 acre lot." Sure you can, but will that feed your family long term- no. Also, how are you going to defend it from the other 250,000 starving pilgrims within a 3 mile radius?
Course now a days people want EASY ANSWERS. People are in general LAZY (myself included) and trust me here folks, if there WAS an easy way out, I would have found it!
The real "easy way out" is adjusting your lifestyle NOW and making SERIOUS preparations and plans (that you WILL implement- half the battle) NOW.
Scripture talks about people that would have "itching ears" in the last days. The Scripture meaning is more towards Spiritual matters, but I think we can use that phrase for some of us in the preparedness movement today.
People with "itching ears" WANT to believe they can stay in the suburbs 2 miles outside a city of half a million and make it o.k. People with "itching ears" want to believe they can "defend there subdivision" with just a couple of assault rifles and a handful of neighbors whose training and trustworthiness is highly suspect.
This isn't planning, this is relaying on dumb luck! And I don't buy the old axiom that "God looks after stupid people!" Quite the contrary I think God rewards people who pursuit Him and do what's RIGHT for there family.
I hear a few folks talking like it's wrong to plan for the long term. What's wrong with that? Quite the contrary, by being prepared for the long term, I am prepared also for "short term" events. However if I'm prepared ONLY for short term events, I'm NOT prepared for a long term event.
And how is one to know the difference? If the market crashed tomorrow, would you KNOW THEN WITHOUT A SHADOW OF A DOUBT THAT IT WAS ONLY A "SHORT TERM" EVENT? Of course you wouldn't. I supposed a LOT of folks thought events in October of 1929 were a "short term" event. The reality of the situation was that it took a world war 12 YEARS LATER to get us out of that depression....
So HOW will you know?
The answer of course is that you won't know, and neither will I. Therefore, it would behoove us to plan and prepare for long term disruptions.
"Oh but stockpiling more than a few months of food is a waste of money!" Oh really! How the heck you figure that? We've shown on here time and time again how storing food SAVES your family money. Do it for that reason if none other. And despite the crazy notion that "you can always BUY food", the reality of true famine and food shortage situations proves otherwise. As we have stated before-
Food= Power
Food= Control
Ruling class elements of the world have recognized that since time immemorial. I suggest a good study of Joseph in the book of Genesis. Folks know that story for the fact that he stored 7 years of food for Egypt, but they rarely remember the REST of the story. That being that the ruler of Egypt then USED THAT FOOD to buy up all of Egypt! That was when "money failed"- OMG, wait a tick! You mean I can't always count on gold and silver to "buy" me out of a bad situation? Don't forget the important survival equation-
Food= Power
Food= Control
Anyone who cannot grasp that lacks an understanding of HISTORY.
A big part of good survival planning is negating any possible pitfalls you may face. Would it be wise to plan for the possibility of resupplying your food via possibly "buying" food via either a non-existent currency or PM's that the seller may or may not even accept, or would it be better to have your resupply situation already squared away via food storage, food production capabilities, etc.
Most survivalists don't relay totally on the police for there personal protection, why then should we relay on the grocery store to always save us? Surely no one would store just a box of ammunition and think "I can always buy more", why then would someone be foolish enough to do the same with food?
You see the "Food=Power" equation works FOR you as well as it can work AGAINST you. Having a decent amount of food storage plus a way to resupply- gardens, orchards, raising animals, hunting, snaring, etc. IS "power" in your court. Relaying on someone else to provide food for you- the "you can always BUY food" non-sense is putting the power in someone else's court!
Simple economics bears out more rationale for food storage. Remember earlier this year when there was a "rice shortage" and folks were scrambling to buy rice and some were paying $30. for 50 lbs. Well if you were eating what you had put up (correctly) years ago that you paid $8. per 50 lbs. for, you had now saved $22.00 per 50 lbs. Consider that as late as early 2007 rice could be had at $10. per 50lb. bag, it had TRIPLED in price in just over a year.
Rice I put up in 1991 cost $14.00 per HUNDRED lbs. we are rotating that rice now, saving $46.00 per 100 lbs. Course you MIGHT BE ABLE to "buy" food during an emergency at GREATLY INCREASED PRICES but who's to GUARANTEE THAT?
I'd hate to be the fool that had to pay the equivalant of $100. in gold or silver for 50 lbs. of rice one day just because they bought the lie that "you can ALWAYS buy food." Course at that point the only other option would be to STARVE so giving up the gold or silver probably wouldn't be as painful as we think it would be now.
You see survival really comes down to three things when it's all boiled down to the basics-
1. Food and means to get more
2. Defending what you have
3. Fixing stuff and building stuff
Oversimplistic? Of course it is, but most everything fits into that category. Medical? Category 3. Guns, ammo, spare parts, training, Category 2. Food storage, hunting, gardening, preserving Category 1. Auto repair, blacksmithing, gunsmithing, carpentry, masonry, Category 3. NBC preps? Category 2.
Is this basic? Of course it is. But most everything can be fit into one of these categories.
I realize gambling is pretty common place now a days, but do you want to GAMBLE YOUR FAMILY'S LIFE on poor preps and bad choice of location?
Basic math shows that staying in the city or near the city means you have a MUCH HIGHER possibility of violence, more competition for food and other resources as well as LESSER CHANCES of being able to sustain yourself. With a postage stamp for a backyard, you are going to be very limited on what you can grow/raise. And we've shown before how 4 small raised beds will NOT grow all the food a family of four needs for a year. Suggest watching our Youtube video series on "Survival Gardening" available at
I believe the problem lies with folks that have not fully thought through the idea of a self sufficient place in the country. They think of it ONLY as a place for "bad times." Most haven't thought through the idea. A piece of land in the country where your family can produce it's own food, power, water, etc. means you bring that "control" part of the equation back in YOUR FAVOR instead of someone else's. Done right, living in the country means a lower cost living which puts you in a better financial condition. If your raising your own food this is saving you further money.
The problem herein is responsibility. Most people are unwilling to take this level of responsibility for their own lives. This is where the "itching ears" and "wishful thinking" comes into play.
Will "wishful thinking" get you through? How will you KNOW BEYOND A SHADOW OF A DOUBT how long an emergency will last? The answer of course is that you won't know, NEITHER WILL ANYONE ELSE no matter there claims of expertise. As survivalists we have historically taken the "better safe than sorry" route.
Real survival has no "easy button." Plan and act accordingly. -RH
"Tentative efforts lead to tentative outcomes." Epictetus.
Wishful thinking or "itching ears?" Copyright 2008 Robert Henry
Seems today, a handful of folks that are semi-serious into preparedness are willing to believe just about anything when it comes to survival planning.
I'm talking about this concept wherein people feel that they can "make do" with minimal preparations and/or live close to bad areas because of the thought that "it won't get THAT bad."
The idea usually starts with some sort of mocking ridicule type thing- "Oh people that feel you have to be in the country are those Mad Max type survivalists... blah blah blah." Mad Max? That's pretty silly. Quite the contrary, I would submit that someone who was convinced they wouldn't need much in the way of preps would be EATING DOG FOOD a lot sooner than someone in the country with more preps would!!
The problem with these "you'll make it ok" in the cities folks that you sometimes see on the net is that you are essentially COUNTING on things NOT to go too far. i.e, the "bad times" won't get too bad.
Can you really say they won't? Can anyone? Of course not!
Slow slide? I agree 100%, more than likely we are in a slow slide now, notice I didn't say we were nor did I attempt to speculate on times/dates, etc.
OK so question for the slow slide folks- when it DOES finally come down to rioting and massive civil disorder, are you THEN to bug out? Think that bugging out will get EASIER or HARDER the further into the situation? Common sense says that harder is the correct answer.
By that point the gubmint WILL have taken clear measures to "keep order" that will include restrictions on travel, curfews, gas rationing, etc. Think it will be a peace of cake to leave MID TSHTF?
Come on people THINK!!
I realize it's all nice to hear someone tell you that stuff won't be that bad, that you won't have to make ANY CHANGES to your current "lifestyle" and make it just fine. That would be GREAT if it was TRUE. How "sustainable" is life in the suburbs? "But I can grow a garden in my 1/4 acre lot." Sure you can, but will that feed your family long term- no. Also, how are you going to defend it from the other 250,000 starving pilgrims within a 3 mile radius?
Course now a days people want EASY ANSWERS. People are in general LAZY (myself included) and trust me here folks, if there WAS an easy way out, I would have found it!
The real "easy way out" is adjusting your lifestyle NOW and making SERIOUS preparations and plans (that you WILL implement- half the battle) NOW.
Scripture talks about people that would have "itching ears" in the last days. The Scripture meaning is more towards Spiritual matters, but I think we can use that phrase for some of us in the preparedness movement today.
People with "itching ears" WANT to believe they can stay in the suburbs 2 miles outside a city of half a million and make it o.k. People with "itching ears" want to believe they can "defend there subdivision" with just a couple of assault rifles and a handful of neighbors whose training and trustworthiness is highly suspect.
This isn't planning, this is relaying on dumb luck! And I don't buy the old axiom that "God looks after stupid people!" Quite the contrary I think God rewards people who pursuit Him and do what's RIGHT for there family.
I hear a few folks talking like it's wrong to plan for the long term. What's wrong with that? Quite the contrary, by being prepared for the long term, I am prepared also for "short term" events. However if I'm prepared ONLY for short term events, I'm NOT prepared for a long term event.
And how is one to know the difference? If the market crashed tomorrow, would you KNOW THEN WITHOUT A SHADOW OF A DOUBT THAT IT WAS ONLY A "SHORT TERM" EVENT? Of course you wouldn't. I supposed a LOT of folks thought events in October of 1929 were a "short term" event. The reality of the situation was that it took a world war 12 YEARS LATER to get us out of that depression....
So HOW will you know?
The answer of course is that you won't know, and neither will I. Therefore, it would behoove us to plan and prepare for long term disruptions.
"Oh but stockpiling more than a few months of food is a waste of money!" Oh really! How the heck you figure that? We've shown on here time and time again how storing food SAVES your family money. Do it for that reason if none other. And despite the crazy notion that "you can always BUY food", the reality of true famine and food shortage situations proves otherwise. As we have stated before-
Food= Power
Food= Control
Ruling class elements of the world have recognized that since time immemorial. I suggest a good study of Joseph in the book of Genesis. Folks know that story for the fact that he stored 7 years of food for Egypt, but they rarely remember the REST of the story. That being that the ruler of Egypt then USED THAT FOOD to buy up all of Egypt! That was when "money failed"- OMG, wait a tick! You mean I can't always count on gold and silver to "buy" me out of a bad situation? Don't forget the important survival equation-
Food= Power
Food= Control
Anyone who cannot grasp that lacks an understanding of HISTORY.
A big part of good survival planning is negating any possible pitfalls you may face. Would it be wise to plan for the possibility of resupplying your food via possibly "buying" food via either a non-existent currency or PM's that the seller may or may not even accept, or would it be better to have your resupply situation already squared away via food storage, food production capabilities, etc.
Most survivalists don't relay totally on the police for there personal protection, why then should we relay on the grocery store to always save us? Surely no one would store just a box of ammunition and think "I can always buy more", why then would someone be foolish enough to do the same with food?
You see the "Food=Power" equation works FOR you as well as it can work AGAINST you. Having a decent amount of food storage plus a way to resupply- gardens, orchards, raising animals, hunting, snaring, etc. IS "power" in your court. Relaying on someone else to provide food for you- the "you can always BUY food" non-sense is putting the power in someone else's court!
Simple economics bears out more rationale for food storage. Remember earlier this year when there was a "rice shortage" and folks were scrambling to buy rice and some were paying $30. for 50 lbs. Well if you were eating what you had put up (correctly) years ago that you paid $8. per 50 lbs. for, you had now saved $22.00 per 50 lbs. Consider that as late as early 2007 rice could be had at $10. per 50lb. bag, it had TRIPLED in price in just over a year.
Rice I put up in 1991 cost $14.00 per HUNDRED lbs. we are rotating that rice now, saving $46.00 per 100 lbs. Course you MIGHT BE ABLE to "buy" food during an emergency at GREATLY INCREASED PRICES but who's to GUARANTEE THAT?
I'd hate to be the fool that had to pay the equivalant of $100. in gold or silver for 50 lbs. of rice one day just because they bought the lie that "you can ALWAYS buy food." Course at that point the only other option would be to STARVE so giving up the gold or silver probably wouldn't be as painful as we think it would be now.
You see survival really comes down to three things when it's all boiled down to the basics-
1. Food and means to get more
2. Defending what you have
3. Fixing stuff and building stuff
Oversimplistic? Of course it is, but most everything fits into that category. Medical? Category 3. Guns, ammo, spare parts, training, Category 2. Food storage, hunting, gardening, preserving Category 1. Auto repair, blacksmithing, gunsmithing, carpentry, masonry, Category 3. NBC preps? Category 2.
Is this basic? Of course it is. But most everything can be fit into one of these categories.
I realize gambling is pretty common place now a days, but do you want to GAMBLE YOUR FAMILY'S LIFE on poor preps and bad choice of location?
Basic math shows that staying in the city or near the city means you have a MUCH HIGHER possibility of violence, more competition for food and other resources as well as LESSER CHANCES of being able to sustain yourself. With a postage stamp for a backyard, you are going to be very limited on what you can grow/raise. And we've shown before how 4 small raised beds will NOT grow all the food a family of four needs for a year. Suggest watching our Youtube video series on "Survival Gardening" available at
I believe the problem lies with folks that have not fully thought through the idea of a self sufficient place in the country. They think of it ONLY as a place for "bad times." Most haven't thought through the idea. A piece of land in the country where your family can produce it's own food, power, water, etc. means you bring that "control" part of the equation back in YOUR FAVOR instead of someone else's. Done right, living in the country means a lower cost living which puts you in a better financial condition. If your raising your own food this is saving you further money.
The problem herein is responsibility. Most people are unwilling to take this level of responsibility for their own lives. This is where the "itching ears" and "wishful thinking" comes into play.
Will "wishful thinking" get you through? How will you KNOW BEYOND A SHADOW OF A DOUBT how long an emergency will last? The answer of course is that you won't know, NEITHER WILL ANYONE ELSE no matter there claims of expertise. As survivalists we have historically taken the "better safe than sorry" route.
Real survival has no "easy button." Plan and act accordingly. -RH
"Tentative efforts lead to tentative outcomes." Epictetus.
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