Old & busted: depending on the gub'ment for law & order.
The new hotness: survivalism.
Faced with a multitude of threats - from global warming to housing crisis to a declining economy, and spurred on by what they saw happened during Hurricane Katrina (and even the movie "I Am Legend" with Will Smith), some people are turning on to good ol' survivalism:
They stockpile or grow food in case of a supply breakdown, or buy precious metals in case of economic collapse. Some try to take their houses off the electricity grid, or plan safe houses far away. The point is not to drop out of society, but to be prepared in case the future turns out like something out of “An Inconvenient Truth,” if not “Mad Max.”
“I’m not a gun-nut, camo-wearing skinhead. I don’t even hunt or fish,” said Bill Marcom, 53, a construction executive in Dallas.
Still, motivated by a belief that the credit crunch and a bursting housing bubble might spark widespread economic chaos — “the Greater Depression,” as he put it — Mr. Marcom began to take measures to prepare for the unknown over the last few years: buying old silver coins to use as currency; buying G.P.S. units, a satellite telephone and a hydroponic kit; and building a simple cabin in a remote West Texas desert.
“If all these planets line up and things do get really bad,” Mr. Marcom said, “those who have not prepared will be trapped in the city with thousands of other people needing food and propane and everything else.”
Here's an interesting NY Times article by Alex Williams: Link
Now excuse me while I stock my bomb shelter with ammo. You never know how soon those zombies will come ...
Buying precious metals in the past has been a great investment, and it still is, but the trend of huge gains in precious metals is only worthwhile while the dollar is declining.
Hoarding food makes even less sense. When is the last time anyone in the US was completely unable to obtain assistance more than a day into a major disaster?
Catrina?
Keep calm and carry on, remember? ;-)
Personally, I think it would be cool to live off the grid, as far as electricity goes. No more worries about power outages. I mean, if society did collapse, you wouldn't need your TV, but it would still be nice to have light and heat.
I guess some people are anticipating an end-of-the-world bender.
"...unused property is waste and an offense against nature. However, with the introduction of 'durable' goods, men could exchange their excessive perishable goods for goods that would last longer and thus not offend the natural law. The introduction of money marks the culmination of this process. Money makes possible the unlimited accumulation of property without causing waste through spoilage. He also includes gold or silver as money because they may be 'hoarded up without injury to anyone,' since they do not spoil or decay in the hands of the possessor."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_locke#Theory_of_value_and_property
In the 57 years I have been alive, this country has made larger steps toward becoming a police state in teh last 5 years than in the 53 years preceeding.
No, I don't trust the government. Why should I? Thry don't trust me either.
So many native people and their skills are disappearing and I believe in what Ray Mears (a survival expert) once said about this: That by keeping these skills alive we are honouring those who came before us, their culture became our culture, and in cases where we need to survive we all can look back and reuse those hard-learned skills to live.
Plus, I love this type of stuff from my days as a boy scout! Self-reliance in dire situations is practically a mantra I was drilled into learning. So if ever I'm stuck on an island I'm not going to go insane because I'll know how to deal with it.
These days, parents are so risk-averse and scared that their precious jewel might come to harm by actually learning something useful that fire making and tent pitching are no longer core elements to the scouting experience.
These days, the lazy turds (ie, those that can be cajoled or bribed with Playstation promises into joining in the first place) earn merit badges in computer technology - very useful if you plan on raising corporate drones, not so useful if you're trying to access www.howtocatchafish.com when stuck in the Alaskan outback.
Baden Powell must be rotating in his sephulcre at a very high velocity indeed...
You can use them for hunting, protection, and they also will have great value as currency.
As for the metal stockpiling? I should have buy some pounds of copper or zinc 5 yeas ago instead of financial stocks :( I bet those stockpiling people can make a huge markup.
OK, bye, need to go buy a couple of crude oil barrels...
As far as stockpiling, it boggles my mind that so many people have less than a weeks worth of food, and virtually no water, in their house. Katrina? Heck we've had snow storms around here that have stranded people for two weeks, and any responsible person living near me is prepared to spend at least a month in their home without assistance. Common sense really, bad things sometimes happen.
Thanks for the kind words. It took me a moment to remember who Lord Baden-Powell was until I recalled a picture my Scout Master used to have in our Den of Lord BP standing next to the British flag.
I think kids should get Scout or Camp life activity skills down because in the short term it's a fun experience to enjoy camping and in the long run kids will begin to appreciate the environment and live in a more sustainable fashion.
However, if folks are really serious into learning skills like this ask your Grandpa or someone who used to camp, be in the Armed Services, or even your own kid who maybe a Scout! :) Or if you want a book to read a good one I'm always pointing folks towards is the "SAS Survival Guide" by John Wiseman.
ill raise an army and kill them all!!
NO JUSTICE! NO PEACE!
and if they go hide in thiere underground bunckers ill make the surface of the earth inhabitable and they would have dug their own graves
:) but thats just me
you can go ahead and live of pigeons for all i care
its better to die on my feet than live on my knees