SURVIVALISM GETS A BAD RAP!
These days, anyone professing an
interest in "survivalism" does so at their own risk. Odd looks,
scoffing remarks, and suspicion bordering on hysteria are the mildest reactions
one might expect. Mention survivalism and some folks will automatically equate
it with terrorists, paramilitary groups, white racists & separatists,
religious occultism and UniBomber madmen - all intent on destroying
"civilization as we know it."
It doesn't help much that the
Internet News Groups associated with survivalism are often frequented by
individuals filling these descriptions. Nor does it help to see pages of
firearms ads and "anarchist cookbooks" for sale in the popular
Survival Magazines. But the internet is an open forum - anyone can sign on and
join any group, spewing whatever flavor of madness they prefer. There's no way
to stop them. And the magazines have a business to run. Advertising covers the
majority of operating expenses and a simple disclaimer at the beginning of the
classifieds removes the magazines' "association" with the
contents/items listed.
The true survivalist is nothing more than an
individual, family, or group who believe that self-reliance equates with
security. They are highly independent, self-motivated, self-reliant,
self-responsible and innovative persons who would rather do things for
themselves (or at the very least, know how to do things for
themselves) than depend on others for the things they need. Less than a hundred
years ago, the majority of people in this nation might have fallen into this
category - and considered it a matter of pride and necessity. Back then,
"we take care of our own" was the credo of the common man and it was a
considerable defeat to have to accept charity, ask for credit, or apply for a
loan (outside of business ventures).
But the times have changed, and with them, the
societal view. The average household and business today is in hock up to their
necks. Nearly everyone has or wants a credit card, seeks loans for cars and
homes and "personal loans." Charity is a state sponsored and
administrated program delivering indiscriminate and outlandish sums to millions
of healthy, capable and unappreciative individuals who make no effort to make it
on their own. We depend on others to grow, kill, process, package, deliver - and
even cook our food. We depend on others for our heat and power and water. We
depend on others to build our homes and to fix them when something goes wrong.
We depend on others to build and maintain our cars and roads - and blame them
when something goes wrong. We depend on others for our safety, our security, our
very lives. And when these things are taken away from us, we scream in rage,
protest the indignities thrust upon us, demand compensation (from others),
demand retribution (from others), demand "justice" (from others). And
then, we slink off to whatever corner we can find to lick our wounds and moan
about how things "just aren't fair." Modern society in a nutshell.
The saddest part of it all is that most people
consider this to be "normal." When things are good, they are very good
- so why worry about tomorrow? Why worry about things that "probably won't
happen to me?" And if it does, there will always be somebody else to blame,
and some government agency - or lawsuit - to set things right again.
The modern survivalist is a throwback to a lost
era of independence. It is this very act of independence that is repugnant to
today's common man. It is a slap in the face of every person who would rather
get things "the easy way." It is an unspoken condemnation of their way
of life, revealing the helplessness and dependence of the average man on his
neighbors. Americans like to think of themselves as robust individualists,
strong and independent. The survivalist paradigm bursts this bubble of euphoric
faith, and hence, is a clear threat to the "American way of Life."
Non survivalists resent the knowledge that they
cannot exist outside the scope of their benefactors. They fear that, should life
revert to an age of true independence, they will actually have to work for their
own existence - and they haven't a clue how to begin. Nor would they want to.
Those of us who grew up during the cold war have all heard a friend or
acquaintance mutter the fatalistic phrase: "I wouldn't want to
survive a nuclear war." Now that the threat of nuclear war has all but
past, the phrase has been reapplied to global catastrophes, economic collapse,
etc. The simple fact is, most folks would rather die than work towards their own
survival - and they certainly don't care to learn how to be self-sufficient when
they can flip a switch, turn a faucet, pick up a phone, or run to the corner
store for anything they might need or desire.
But somewhere in the well guarded recesses of
each and every human being lives a primal man, trained by centuries of
self-preservation and instinct for survival, that scoffs at and vexes them. They
know that the modern lifestyle they lead is against their very nature, and they
hate and fear that aspect of themselves. This, in turn, leads to a deep seated
fear of, prejudice against, and even persecution of anyone who might remind them
that, in the end, they have only themselves to rely on. These people cannot
accept the survivalist way of life without re-examining, and perhaps abandoning,
their own.
The advantages of modern society are many and
great, but the perils of modern society are far greater than anything ever faced
by mankind before. With the simple, but extended, loss of power, communication,
and transportation, an easy three-fifths of mankind would cease to exist in a
matter of months. What ever catastrophe resulted in this loss would claim a
small percentage of the population. Then violence, disease, famine and exposure
would lay their claims. Those who could not adapt, would not survive. It isn't
too hard to think of any number of situations which could result in such
catastrophes. Nature herself, both in space and on earth, is getting ever more
violent. Terrorism is on the rise, government inefficiency and duplicity
continues upon its historical path, worldwide economies are out of control and
nobody really knows what's holding them together. And then there's the Y2K
thing...
In my opinion, survivalism is the only logical,
sane, and attainable hope for the future of the species. Without survivalists,
the only survivors of a major catastrophe would be the politicians and their
servants - and everybody knows that a politician is a completely different
animal! (That's a JOKE, people! Get over it!) Survivalists keep the
core traits alive that have allowed mankind to conquer the planet.
Survivalist-type people will be the first to colonize new planets, if we ever
get off our duffs and decide to do so. Survivalists are not only the embodiment
of the past, they are the best hope for the future. Survivalists are never
fatalists. Survivalists never give up hope and they never stop trying. A
survivalist knows that setbacks are inevitable, yet conquerable, and knows that
success and survival only goes to those with the will to succeed and the will to
survive. Survivalists are the dreamers and the discoverers, the inventors and
the innovators, the builders and developers. Survivalists are the very
foundation of all societies, past, present and future. Without survivalists,
there would be no society to ridicule and disdain them.
'Nuff said.
meg.
Dec. 1997
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