Freedom Outpost has previously reported on the fact that gun sales represent at least one booming sector of the American economy since the re-election of Barak Obama. I don’t think it’s unreasonable to interpret that piece of data in terms of sociology: What must people be thinking? That’s a legitimate question, and it’s easy to think of an answer.
Horror icon, Stephen King, has a theory that the same sort of “weather vane” indication of the public mood can be discerned from the popularity, or lack thereof, of current scary movies. In his nonfiction book about creating horror fiction, Danse Macabre, King theorizes that if horror flicks are enjoying a great deal of success, that’s an indication that the public at large is nervous or fearful. If the horror industry tanks, that means the public is generally optimistic about the future. (And, by the way, horror flicks have been doing really well since about 2008. I’m just sayin’.)
I believe I’ve stumbled onto another bit of information that says a great deal about the public mood. And that is, as a writer whose wares are on sale at Amazon.com, it behooves me to keep an eye on what’s selling and what isn’t. What are the hot topics?
Well, before the November election, books about President Obama and about political theory in general were flying off the shelves. But now, checking the same bestseller lists that used to show those books doing well, it is plain that the mood has shifted. Those sorts of books have been supplanted and upstaged to a large degree. And the genre or theme that has replaced them is [insert drumroll here] Disaster Preparedness.
Books about how to assemble a “survival preparedness kit,” or more popularly, a “bug-out bag,” are all the rage. Freedom Outpost, as always, is here to help. Save your money: the information is widely available for free. In fact, here is a link to the aptly named Bug Out Bag List website which has done a good job of consolidating it for you.
Caution: As I perused the provided links, I noted that my computer started acting “wonky” when I tried to access the list provided at the Ready.Gov site (the third link on the “other lists” list.) You might stay away from that.
So, here you go: A short list that represents what experts seem to agree are the absolute essentials of disaster preparedness. Of course, the number of other items that might well be extremely useful is endless. But this seems to be the general consensus on critical items:
- Water. Shoot for at least a 72 hour supply per person at about 2 gallons apiece per day. Don’t forget pets.
- Food: Again, 72 hours is the consensus minimum. You want stuff that won’t go bad, is lightweight, and won’t require cooking or the addition of water.
- A manual can opener.
- Crank or battery-powered flashlight (with extra batteries.)
- Crank or battery powered radio.
- A first aid kit.
- Special needs items like critical medication, and infant care supplies.
- A supply of cash in small bills.
- Extra house and car keys.
- A lighter.
- A pocketknife.
- Duct tape.
As you’re considering this, recall that the folks affected by Sandy were without basic services like water and electricity for a lot longer than 72 hours…
Is this the perfect list for you? That’s doubtful. The perfect list is the one that fits your needs to take care of your family.
But back to our sociological experiment. Let me ask, what’s going on in the public mood that prepping is suddenly all the rage? I’m guessing the answer is probably the same as with all the gun sales. Is there some alarmism involved? Probably. But I think it’s more about people simply coming to the realization that they can’t really depend on anyone, especially the government, to make sure they survive a crisis. It’s still good American advice: Trust in God and keep your powder dry.
For more discussion about how Bible-believing patriots specifically ought to respond to darkening skies, caused by their own government, get the book, Resistance to Tyrants: Romans 13 and the Christian Duty to Oppose Wicked Rulers, for less than a decent cup of hipster latte’.
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