Renee Taylor
The truck approached Chicago in the early morning light much like any of the thousands of big rigs that travel Interstate 80 on a daily basis. Hauling food, materials and life’s necessities and luxuries, it went unnoticed as it, and its load of potentially deadly chlorine, slowly headed into rush hour traffic. The driver had his credentials in check when he picked up the load – he had gone through the hazardous materials training offered by the small company for which he drove. With no criminal record, he easily passed the Transportation Safety Administration’s background check to get the treasured “haz-mat” endorsement on his commercial driver’s license. His association with his local mosque was never disclosed; his real intent, a mission begun at the time of his application with the trucking company a year prior, known only to him. With unsuspecting commuters sat in the rush hour traffic going into the city and a quiet whisper of “Allahu Akbar,” the truck driver pushed the button on the detonator. The explosive rigged to the sleeper exploded in with a sharp, deafening roar, tearing open the back of the trailer. Fire raging, the chlorine spilled onto the roadway, toxic gas filling the air.
Hundreds die or are wounded from the initial blast and chlorine exposure. Thousands, maybe tens of thousands, will succumb in the days ahead as clean up, investigation and quarantine begin. Hospitals are filled to capacity, unable to care for the sick and dying. Supplies to the survivors are slow to arrive, as the bureaucracy struggles to find answers, excuses and blame. With no clear plan in place, a population in the world’s wealthiest nation is sick, dying and struggling to obtain life’s basic necessities.
The above is a hypothetical, but very real, scenario. Across the nation, people are coping with blizzard conditions, their world frozen under ice and snow. Power, water and even such small daily activities like driving to the grocery store, necessities we take for granted, are gone. Trapped, they wait – wait for the power company to restore service. Long lines form at the local convenience store for the last few cans of Spam, as trucks are unable to trek across the icy roads to deliver goods.
Whether it is a terrorist attack, natural disaster or complete meltdown of our nation’s economy as money for the national debt is printed before the ink on the last batch of $100 bills is dry, the possibility of a “doomsday” scenario is not outside the realm of possibility. Can a people so reliant upon computer technology, public transportation, the vast trucking industry to bring the stores goods and food from far away cities, live for days, possibly weeks, survive?
We live in a house of cards with no clear foundation. We rely too much upon unfriendly foreign nations to provide oil to heat our homes and put gas in our cars. We rely upon other nations to provide produce and other food items that fill our grocery store – food that can easily be contaminated with e-coli and other deadly, infectious disease – food that would not be available in the event of even a partial collapse of the transportation sector. Basic skills such as sewing and cooking are lost upon a generation raised on convenience foods and cheap, “throw away” goods. Could you or your child sew a button on a coat or mend a sock if clothing became scarce? Could you prepare a meal with flour, milk, eggs and canned meat and/or vegetables, or would you stare at the ingredients, wishing for last week’s prepared, frozen dinner?
The federal government cannot, over eight years after the terrorist attacks on 9/11, even effectively handle one terrorist with a bomb in his BVDs. With federal, state and local governments continually intruding upon our lives, from what kind of light bulb we can use in our homes to making more and more citizens dependent upon that government check to pay for basic housing, food and clothing, when those who are directing our lives are in vast disarray as first responders are overwhelmed and real tragedy, far beyond the grasp of politicians who cannot purchase a ream of copy paper without a week’s debate and discussion are unable to make quick, needed decisions, it is up to each individual to take charge of their situation and ensure their family will make it through.
Bob Livingston, founder of Personal Liberty Alerts and editor of The Bob Livingston Letter, has provided, in his book How to Survive the Collapse of Civilization, a good, basic outline on what you can do as an individual to prepare for any situation. While the title of the book and the cover itself – showing an unknown city being destroyed by a nuclear bomb while a citizen looks on from his gas mask – may turn off many, it is a book that should grace the emergency preparedness box of all.
While Livingston gives a selection of scenarios that face a world filled with war, radical Islamic jihadists and natural disaster, this is not a book on the how and why such disasters occur, but a foundation to motivate the reader toward preparedness, a lesson in back-to-the-basics that seem lost in a world of convenience.
Many Americans live in a bubble, so to speak. They do not know how to get out of their own neighborhoods, much less the city, in the event of evacuation for any reason. As we have seen in past natural disasters such as hurricanes and earthquakes, the marked evacuation routes are congested and dangerous. Not only does Livingston give suggestions on securing your home in the event of evacuation – such as turning off gas and water valves to your home – he also reminds the reader to obtain a map and have clear route marked out in the event major interstates and roadways are unsafe and unusable. Global Positioning Systems (GPS) are a nice convenience, but there is no substitute for a good paper map for accuracy and reliability.
Build your emergency kit with such items as needed prescription medications, copies of those prescriptions, birth and marriage certificates – as well as other documentation that will be necessary to prove your identity and that of your dependents. Proof of home and vehicle ownership is a must and, I will add, a complete list of all legally owned firearms with serial numbers and detailed descriptions. Livingston further suggests the following: candles, matches, extra clothing and items such as extra ammunition for your firearms, for hunting and self-defense, as well as pepper spray.
Each geographical situation is different and will be in the event of a major disaster. Those living in the major cities will not have the advantage those in rural areas will have in the way of hunting and foraging for food – for which Livingston provides an excellent guide. The reality of food riots in major cities will not be unheard of if supplies dwindle. Crime and basic savagery will skyrocket, as people – whether motivated by fear or greed – revert to looting and theft. The ends – obtaining some treasure whether it be your big screen television or your last can of soup – will, to those people, justify the means: assault and possibly death. With first responders stretched to the limit and “humanitarian aid” tied up in red tape, it will be up to the individual to reasonably and responsibly protect himself, his family and his life.
From the very basics, such as water sterilization and how to store extra water and food to get you through even the briefest of disasters, to guides to surviving long-term in the case of nuclear or biological attack, Livingston’s book does not tell you how to survive, but provides a foundation to build upon to ensure you and your family are self-sufficient and secure. It is a book for the self-motivated individual who realizes that, in the event of an emergency, it will be up to you – not the Federal government or some other entity holding your hand and handing out rice and beans in a near-riotous food line – to protect your family and property.
How to Survive the Collapse of Civilization by Bob Livingston is available here.
FamilySecurityMatters.org Contributing Editor Renee Taylor is a licensed private investigator with The Taylor Company, an investigations and research company based in Warren, Bradley County, Arkansas, as well as an Arkansas licensed bailbond agent for Bryce’s Bailbonding, Inc.
No comments:
Post a Comment