Present Tense

Interesting phrase, isn't it? Just how tense is the present?

As I write this, (late November, 1997) we have just experienced the greatest point drop in the history of the stock market. One of Japan's largest brokerage houses has collapsed, and the economy of Asia is in serious trouble. Clinton has issued an executive order banning import of semi-automatic weapons. Our soldiers are still in Bosnia. We are building up our forces in the Middle East and Sadaam is tweaking our nose by blocking weapons inspectors from scores of "palaces." Terrorists kill scores of tourists in Egypt, and the Middle East peace process has slowed to a crawl. Our armed forces are too weak and our federal police too strong.

We are in the midst of the century's largest El Nino. Our food supply may be in jeopardy from "climatic" changes and from super-resistant strains of bacteria that cause food poisoning that is difficult or impossible to treat with traditional antibiotics. Our food supply "is the safest in the world" yet millions get food poisoning every year, and our dependence on processed foods has made our population is the most overweight in the world.

We have some 770 days until the year 2000 and whatever computer glitches and various prophesied cataclysmic events it will bring.

Our planet is stressed like never before. We have more people than we can support, and less arable land. I probably should be an environmentalist, but I am instead a survivalist, and I grow more concerned with the passing of every day. I feel like maxing out my credit cards buying nitro-packed wheat and corn. I scan Shotgun News for ammo sales and the best price on high capacity magazines. I wish I could afford to fill the empty spaces in my gun safe with redundant guns and more spare parts. And despite all this, I know I am better prepared than 99 percent of the population.

I watch the people who are not survivalist go blithely through life, without a second thought. I wonder how thick must their rose colored glasses be? Just because nothing drastic has happened to them yet, does that mean it never will? They have life insurance, homeowners insurance and carry spare tires in the cars, but this does not make them survivalists. Some look at me askance when they learn I carry a gun. What would they think if they knew about the gallons of water, the pounds of food and the rounds of ammunition I have carefully stashed away?

Of the few that know I run run this web site, most joke about it. And while they laugh, I worry about the day I am faced with the decision to share my supplies with them or turn them away from my door.

Suppose, for a minute, that I forget the stock market and possible civil unrest a severe downturn in our economy might cause. Pretend Iraq and, in fact, the world is at peace. Assume El Nino is nothing more than a warm breeze. Even in their idealized world view, can these unprepared people survive a week-long snowstorm? What will happen when the power is off for a few days in the middle of February with a wind-chill of -12 degrees? Do they have somewhere to go when the next earthquake hits and their home is condemned? Do they realize they are living in a flood plain and the 100 year flood could be day or a week away? Or that their town could be the next Oklahoma City. Do they realize they could be victims of a crime or that their children could be snatched off the streets, never to be seen again?

Actually, I think humans are resilient enough to come through quite a bit. We didn't get to the top of the food chain by being weak. But the pioneering spirit and indomitable will it takes to survive has largely disappeared. If the end of the world as we know it -- a cataclysmic event, be it natural or man made -- hits, how many will make it through the first week or the first winter?

Those that survive the initial disaster -- be it civil unrest, a nuclear event or a geophysical one, a comet, a war, an economic collapse or a runaway virus -- will have made it through just the first step. The old, the weak and the ill will be culled from the flock in no time as grocery store shelves empty, prescription medicines run out, police response time stretches to hours or days and the utilities we all take for granted grind to a halt. Rioting and lawlessness will further thin out the weak from the strong, especially in the cities. Plague and disease caused by a lack of sanitation and no modern medicine will spell doom for millions more. Starvation will bring the population back to levels not seen since Columbus left Europe.

How can you survive? By being one of the strong, not the weak; by stocking food and medicine; by developing the skills you need to live in a more primitive society. Start today and live every day with a sense of awareness. Make decisions such as where to live and what kind of car to drive with survival in mind. Exercise your physical body, your mind and your individual rights so that you can face a battle on any front.

Sometimes I feel like the proverbial man with a sign declaring the world will end tomorrow. Ignored, maybe laughed at, but hoping one individual will heed my call.

I'm getting prepared. Are you?