Preparedness quotes

Preparedness is a term used to describe a Boy Scout-like "Be prepared" philosophy, mentality-mindset and lifestyle which, both in earlier times and in 21st century Real America, is common among conservatives, libertarians, preppers-survivalists, gun nuts, and American Patriots.

Preparedness is when an individual, often referred to as a survivalist or prepper, or group has made adequate provisions or "preps" to furnish the necessities required to sustain life for the individual, family and/or community during and after an job loss, threat, depression, economic collapse, emergency situation, disaster, death or a SHTF-TEOTWAWKI-"Post Apocalyptic World-Apocalypse" scenario.

These necessities required to sustain life can be grouped into general categories such as sustenance, shelter, transportation, communication, knowledge, medicine, safety, etc.

Individuals or groups involved in preparedness can be active members of society and community or seek geographic and personal/group isolation in a remote wilderness area. See Survivalist retreat and Bugging out.

A common characteristic, value or virtue among conservatives and many individuals involved in preparedness is the tenet of "personal responsibility".

"Beans-Bullets-Bandaids-Books-Bullion-Batteries-Brotherhood-Being"

In essence, being prepared means stocking up and learning skills related to the "8-B's". Prepping is often referred to with the mnemonic called the 8-B's: "Beans-Bullets-Bandaids-Books-Bullion-Batteries-Brotherhood-Being", as well as the 3-B's "Bean, Bullets, Bandaids" and many other similar variations.

History

Early forms of preparedness were generally termed "survivalism" and often espoused a doctrine of geographic isolation and rare contact with mainstream society or community.

There is a general sense that the concept of survivalism has for many evolved into the concept of preparedness - being prepared to meet the variety of situations that may occur before, during and after a job loss, threat, depression, economic collapse, emergency situation, disaster, death or a SHTF-TEOTWAWKI-Post Apocalyptic World-Apocalypse scenario.

Preparedness promotes the doctrine that there is more to “survival” than merely surviving. It encourages personal responsibility, a sense of community with other individuals and often leads to the creation of formal and informal groups.

What is Survivalism and How Does it Differ from Prepping

"Survivalism is the skill of Bushcraft, and it holds within its own category things like hunting, trapping, fishing, fire starting, shelter making, water purifying, and more. It differs from prepping, because it is more orientated on living off the land with little or no equipment, while prepping tends to focus on using your gear to keep your lifestyle as happy and healthy as possible during catastrophes. There is a lot of crossover between the two terms, and the reason for that is because they go hand in hand. Prepping can never be realistic unless you have survivalism to supplement it and vice versa."

Quotes

• “A prudent person foresees the danger ahead and takes precautions; the simpleton goes blindly on and suffers the consequences.” – Proverbs 22:3

• "By failing to prepare you are preparing to fail." – Ben Franklin

• "Be prepared for if times get tough, or even if they don't" - Jack Spirko of The Survival Podcast

• "Make preparations in advance… You never have trouble if you are prepared for it." – Theodore Roosevelt

• "A ready person never needs to get ready." – Oswald Chambers

• "If you are serious about preparedness, then it is time to get out of your armchair and start training and preparing. It will take time. It will take some sweat. It will take money. But once you’ve prepared, you can sleep well, knowing that you’ve done your best to protect and provide for your family, regardless of what the future brings. Don’t get stuck in the rut of simply studying preparedness. Unless the shelves in your pantry and garage are filling with supplies, and unless you are growing muscles and calluses, you are not preparing." - James Wesley Rawles

• "The modern world [of survivalism] is full of pundits, poseurs, and Mall Ninjas. Preparedness is not just about accumulating a pile of stuff. You need practical skills, and those come only with study, training, and practice. Any armchair survivalist with a credit card can buy a set of stylish camouflage fatigues and an “M4gery” carbine encrusted with umpteen accessories. Style points should not be mistaken for genuine skills and practicality." - James Wesley Rawles

• "Some things are worth fighting for. I encourage my readers to avoid trouble, most importantly via relocation to safe areas where trouble is unlikely to visit. But there may come an unavoidable day when you have to make a stand to defend your own family or your neighbors. Furthermore, if you value your liberty, then be prepared to fight for it, both for yourself and for the sake of your progeny. - James Wesley Rawles

• “Is the American tradition of self-reliance disappearing? That’s a painful question for conservatives to ponder. After all, we’re dedicated to reducing the role of government and promoting individual freedom and opportunity. But the facts, while sad, are clear: More Americans today depend more heavily on government than ever before.” –Edwin Feulner

• “In the summer of 1994, I visited the safest place in the United States. I can honestly say I stood in the most protected room in this entire nation. During one of my visits to Washington, D.C., another Army officer, assigned to the White House military office, asked if I would like to experience something that few people have ever seen. Of course, I agreed, and he proceeded to take me to the bomb shelter beneath the White House that would house the President and his family if nuclear attack or civil unrest ever hit the city of Washington. This Army captain showed me the briefing rooms for the Cabinet members, the housing for the troops that would be assigned to guard our nation’s leaders, and even the living quarters for the First Family. I realized at that moment that I was standing in the single most protected spot in the United States, that no other room in America could provide equal safety or protection from harm. In my experience, then, the safest place in this country is in Washington D.C. But the safest place in this world, the safest place in your world and mine, is wherever the sovereign God of the universe takes us. You can be no more secure, you can build no thicker walls, you can find no greater protection than being in the very center of God’s divine will for your life. If God calls you to a place, you can be sure He has gone before you and prepared the way.” – Trey Graham

• "Today, we need a nation of Minutemen, citizens who are not only prepared to take arms, but citizens who regard the preservation of freedom as the basic purpose of their daily life and who are willing to consciously work and sacrifice for that freedom." – President John F. Kennedy

• “In this world you’ve just got to hope for the best and prepare for the worst and take whatever God sends.” – Lucy Maud Montgomery, Anne Of Avonlea

• "Put all your eggs in one basket, and watch that basket!" – Mark Twain

• “Harry: Look sweetheart, for the next few weeks survival is going to have to be on an individual level." Ann: "What do you want to do, write off the rest of the world?" Harry: "When civilization gets civilized again, I’ll rejoin.” – Ray Milland, Panic in the Year Zero

• “Survival starts by paying attention to what is close at hand and immediate. To look out with idle hope is tantamount to dreaming one’s life away.” ― Yann Martel, Life of Pi

• “People who have all the toys and piles of preps but who fail to invest in their own spiritual life can still fail, through a failure of will, through a failure of courage and morals, and through a failure to discern the path of God ahead.” – The Survival Blog Reader ShepherdFarmerGeek

• “Cancer gave me an understanding of the point of all this. To survive. Most of our lives it is easy but for the moments when it becomes difficult, when accident or sickness or sadness strikes, it’s just about remembering one thing. You must simply survive.” ― Shaun Hick

• “Give more, so that we can build more, put interest in understanding another more in whatever actions one might carry out in life. Because we all are fighting for survival against adversaries and are sometimes falling, but if we stand together and help shield and strengthen one another, imagine the world that we will live in together, having more happiness with one another, at one another’s side.” ― Jonathan Anthony Burkett

• “Like every living thing its prime characteristic is a blind, unreasoned instinct to survive.” ― Robert Heinlein, Stranger in a Strange Land

• “‘They want us dead,’ said Bond calmly. ‘So we have to stay alive.’” ― Ian Fleming, Moonraker

• “When there are very real enemies out there who have declared their intentions about us, we had better get our feet back on to earth and real quick. That is not the time to try to see a silver lining in every cloud. That is the time to wake up and prepare for battle.” – Bill Muehlenberg

Bibliography - Further Reading

• Rawles, James Wesley, How to Survive the End of the World as We Know It - Tactics, Techniques, and Technologies for Uncertain Times', New York: Plume/Penguin Books, 2009. Released September 30, 2009, 336 pages, ISBN-10: 0452295831, ISBN-13: 978-0452295834, Audible.com Audio book, Amazon.com Paperback.

External Links

• Task As Americans Is To Be Ready for Disasters (CNN News)
• The Importance of Being Prepared (Time Magazine)
• Prepare, Plan, Stay Informed (FEMA - US Government)
• Emergency Preparedness and You (Center for Disease Control and Prevention - CDC)
• Emergency Preparedness (National Archives)