ARE YOU NORMAL?

Let’s say a man with a microphone comes up to you. He

says:

“Excuse me, sir (or madam), may I ask you a

question? Are you normal?”

Seems like such a simple question, doesn’t it? It’s a

rare individual who believes that they’re not normal.

You’d probably give him a strange look and walk on.

The truth, however, is that the answer is not as simple

as it seems.

Okay, then, let’s talk a little about “normal” people.

The word “normal” has several definitions, but we’ll

focus on two:

1. “Standard, average or conforming to the

group”, and…

2. “Sane”.

“Normal” people have certain characteristics that would

match the above. You’d agree, I’m sure, that “normal

folks” need a level of organization in their life. They

don’t want a lot of clutter, so they make sure to keep no

more than 3 days’ supply of food in the pantry. They

wait until the gas tank is nearly empty to refill it, and

have no medical supplies other than a few Band-Aids and

some aspirin in the medicine cabinet.

Whenever there’s a crisis, whether it’s national (like

the 9/11 attacks) or personal (like losing a job), they see

before them just a bump on the road. When they

stumble, they pick themselves up, brush the dirt off, and

continue on their merry way as if nothing had happened.

Normal folk don’t feel that there are lessons to be

learned by current events. A major storm is just a news

story or a chance to play some board games with the

kids. This is because they are confident that others will

resolve all their problems.

They pay taxes, so they believe the government will

step in and give them a helping hand whenever they need

it. The help could be in the form of food stamps in hard

financial times, in swift emergency responses in natural

calamities or in efficient and effective intervention in

areas of civil unrest. Most people believe wholeheartedly

that help will always be on the way, even if they have

personally experienced a disaster situation.

Various surveys prove that this is the “normal”

thinking of most people in civilized countries. Given the

definition of “normal” listed above, this attitude certainly

is “standard” and conforms to the group, but is it

“sane”?

Let’s take the case of essential personnel for any

municipality. This would include police officers,

firefighters, emergency medical techs, etc. These are the

emergency responders that “normal” folks expect to get

them out of a crisis. But what would really happen?

In surveys performed in several cities’ police

precincts and fire stations, many public servants we

depend upon have indicated that they will NOT report in

the case of a truly serious catastrophe. The same goes

for various other essential personnel, such as doctors,

nurses, and paramedics.

Unthinkable? To some, perhaps; however, the

professional that we count on to rescue us in times of

trouble also have wives, husbands, parents, and children.

Who do you think they will rush to protect in a

horrendous emergency, you or their own families? This

is just a simple fact of life, and not a criticism of the

brave men and women who keep us safe.

In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, the New

Orleans Police Department surveyed those law

enforcement officers who did not report for duty.

Although some, indeed, were victims of the catastrophe,

most cited their families as the reason for their absence.

To expect them to do their duty and, at the same time,

leave their own loved ones at risk might be standard and

“normal” in our society, but it certainly isn’t “sane”.

So how do “normal” people become “sane” people?

By realizing that society can be fragile and there are

events that may occur to send the world into disarray.

Once things happen that knock us off-kilter, a

downward spiral will make life difficult. Certainly, it will

be a challenge for all, but less so for that small minority

known as “Preppers” or “The Preparedness

Community”.

Preppers are what we call people who stockpile food

and supplies for use in a societal upheaval. They also

take time to re-learn skills largely lost to modern

urbanites/suburbanites; skills that would be useful if

modern conveniences are no longer available.

What types of events could cause such a collapse to

happen? There are various scenarios that could lead to

times of trouble: Flu pandemics, terrorist attacks, solar

flares, and economic collapse are just some of the

possible calamities that could befall a community, a

region or even a country. The likelihood of any one of

these life-changing occurrences may be very small, but

what is the chance that NONE of these events will occur

over the course of your lifetime? Your children’s

lifetimes?

The preparedness community (perhaps 3% of the

population) understands that there could be storm clouds

on the horizon. Unlike the oblivious majority, they face

perilous circumstances with a “can-do” attitude. It can

be argued that they are the “normal ones”. Even though

they are not “conforming to the group”, they are more

“sane” than their fellow citizens.

Instead of facing an uncertain future with fear and

desperation, the preparedness community is using this

opportunity to learn new skills that can get them through

any catastrophe. Many of these skills were common

knowledge to their ancestors, such as growing food and

using natural products for medicinal uses.

By learning things that are useful in a power-down

situation, they increase the likelihood that they and their

loved ones will succeed if, heaven forbid, everything else

fails. If a calamitous scenario transpires, they will be

prepared for the worst, even while hoping for the best.

Some documentaries have portrayed Preppers as

clad in camouflage, armed to the teeth, and hunkered

down in some foxhole. For the grand majority of them,

this could not be farther from the truth. The self-reliant

nation is not eagerly waiting for some terrible series of

events to bring society down. They want nothing more

than to die at age 100, with their grandchildren

whispering in their ear: “Gee, Grandpa, what the heck

are we going to do with all these supplies?”

They view their preparations as insurance. You buy

health insurance, but that doesn’t mean you want to get

sick; you buy life insurance, but you certainly don’t

want to die. Being prepared is insurance as well. Instead

of paying money for something that isn’t tangible,

you’re buying food, medical supplies, and other things

that will ensure that you and your loved ones will do well

regardless of what slings and arrows life may throw at

you.

The road to self-reliance is a long and winding one.

It will take some of your time and some of your energy

to become self-sufficient. It will take some of your

money, as well, to accumulate things that will be useful

in obtaining a head start to success in dark times. This

can be done frugally; a 50 pound bag of rice, for

example, is still under $20 at the time of this writing.

Many of the products that will be useful in a collapse

scenario can also be improvised. A bandanna and a stick

will be almost as good a tourniquet as a high-tech,

commercially manufactured one. Look at what you have

in your home and consider the ways that an item can be

used in a survival situation.

A realistic assessment of your storage will give you a

good idea of how prepared you are for an unforeseen

event. Where are you deficient? What purchases or

improvisations will offer you the best opportunity to be

ready? What skills would be useful to learn?

Benjamin Franklin once said: “When the well is dry,

we learn the worth of water”. The same can be said of

many aspects of modern technology. If you are thrown

into a situation where there is no electric power, how

many items in your house will be useless? Quite a few, I

suspect.

Thus, it stands to reason that, among other things,

you should consider the ways that you will produce

power. For most people, there are a few un-rechargeable

batteries in a drawer somewhere. This may get you a

few hours’ worth of flashlight or radio use, but what

then? It’s important to have a strategy that will give you

a steady supply of at least minimal power. Switch to

rechargeable batteries, and get a solar battery charger so

that you can keep a renewable power source in your

possession at all times. Consider the various other

options, such as propane gas, wind power and solid

solar panels with marine batteries and inverters.

You don’t have to be an industrial engineer or an

extremely wealthy person to put these together; just

some motivation and perhaps a little elbow grease, and

you’ll be on your way.

This volume is meant to help you begin your journey

to medical preparedness. You won’t be a physician after

reading this. I promise you, however, that you will know

more about assuring your family’s medical well-being

and be more of an asset than a liability to those you care

about.

If you begin to prepare for difficult times, and

maintain a positive attitude, you will be an example for

others in your family or community to emulate. If they

see that preparing just makes good old common sense,

they might start to prepare as well. Imagine an entire

community, nation or even the world ready to deal with

life’s untoward events. In that circumstance,

“conforming to the group” would actually be “sane”, and

we would live in a truly “normal” world.