Sunday, February 21, 2021

HARD lessons learned from the “Texageddon” blackouts

 


 

 

The “Texageddon” blackouts and near-collapse of all infrastructure (food, fuel, cell towers, power grid, water systems, emergency services, roads, etc.) taught us all some very difficult lessons in survival. We learned that the infrastructure is far more vulnerable than most people thought, and we saw with our own eyes that most people still refuse to prepare with extra food and water, even after a year of covid lockdowns that should have been a universal wake up call.

 

 

  1. Survival is very physical. Expect to exert a lot of physical effort.
  2. Culture matters. Don’t end up in a community without morals or ethics when it all hits the fan.
  3. No one is coming to help you. You can’t count on any government or institution or infrastructure to solve anything. Usually they just get in the way.In many situations, no one can get to you even if they wanted to.
  4. All forms of electronic cash payments were all completely valueless and useless during the collapse, since they all rely on electricity. Gold, silver and cash worked fine, on the other hand.
  5. Investment in food is always a good investment, as prices will continue to climb. No one ever said during an emergency, “Gee, I wish I had less food here. "

 


 

 

Once upon a time, Americans were makers.

Instead of running to the store when their cupboards were empty, they’d cook, craft, and squeeze a second life out of many a household item. They had pressure cookers and root cellars. They were amateur chicken farmers and shoe-leather seamstresses.

 

 

But things started changing. After World War Two, our grandparents came home to a very different country. A production boom during the war (powering Franklin D. Roosevelt’s “arsenal of democracy”) turned around the Great Depression economy. Federal programs put money in the pockets of young Americans who were eager to spend it.

As the economy grew, so did the product selection on store shelves and in catalogs. The host of items that people produced at home for generations—diapers, socks, soap, fruits, vegetables, and many more—could now be instantly purchased, and for cheap.

By the end of the 1950s, American “makers” were a rarer breed, replaced by the era of the “Radarange” microwave, the “TV dinner,” and a dishwasher in every home.  Today, the culture of self-reliance is more in jeopardy than ever. Every household item imaginable is available to buy in a dozen varieties. The average grocery store has 40 to 50 thousand items on their shelves—a more than a 600% increase since just the 1990s!

 


 

 

These blessings have come at cost.

When you can buy new rather than fix what you already have, there's little reason to learn many of the practical household skills that were second nature to our grandparents. Today, one in five millennials don’t know the difference between a Phillips and flat-head screwdriver. Only a little more than half of Americans can iron a shirt and only about one in 10 can tailor their own clothing.

 

Self-sufficiency is being replaced by the ever-accelerating culture of “now.” The instant gratification that began with the microwave and the dishwasher has snowballed to create a world where you can buy groceries without ever leaving your couch.

And with the rise of the Internet and social media, people are able get not only products, but everything from sports scores to friendships delivered instantly.

It makes it difficult for those of us who are makers to pass that wealth of knowledge on to our children and grandchildren. And that’s a problem, because our lack of self-reliance can lead to needless suffering when times get tough





Whether they were thinking about readiness or not, our grandparents were prepared by the nature of their lives. Their home-spun self sufficiency provides a great model for emergency preparedness today.

For example, if you remember seeing cupboards full of jarred fruits, vegetables, and preserves in your grandparents’ homes, you’re not alone. Gardening and canning provided a major source of food for many Americans throughout the middle of the twentieth century. In the early 1940s, there were more than 20 million gardens in America and billions of jars—about 30 for every person in the country.

 Imagine the peace of mind an entire wall of canned foods would bring during tough times. Or a garden. Or a chicken coop. Or a rifle and a smokehouse full of venison. Or, even without those resources, the knowledge that come what may, you were armed with the know-how to take care of yourself and your family.

 

 

 

No comments:

Post a Comment