by Michael Smith (Veshengro)
In the main those stories are being perpetuated by one particular groups of people, namely those that can make money from them.
First there was Y2K and the claim that all computers would fail and thus it would be the end of the world as we know it (and Y2K probably was not the first of those incidents) and the latest now was the End of the World according to the Mayan Calendar.
In all those cases the survival equipment dealers, the writers of books, and others, had a field day and still do as they keep perpetuating scaremongering.
Other scare stories are those of FEMA concentration camps, of chem trails that are aimed to poison us in order to reduce world population, especially in the USA, and many more.
All of those stories are used by people to further an agenda and especially their businesses and that of their advertisers. But thousands upon thousands of people are buying into this scam.
Yes, prepping for the eventuality of a disaster, whether natural or man-made, and such like, is a good idea, no doubt, but when someone is trying to sell anyone all this special kits and all that jazz under the pretense of needing it in case of the end of the world, etc., the I would suggest that we all take a deep breath and a do a double take.
While predictions of apocalypses have are almost as old as the dawn of time the racket that goes with it of scaring people into buying survival supplies is a relative new one.
If the world ends it ends. You are not going to be one of x-many survivors. Thus any supplies are a waste of money. However, when it comes to disaster preparedness and being set for an economic collapse then it is not so much what you have but what you know that counts.
A good number of handbooks may be something to aim for but the real and foremost important thing is personal skills and knowledge. You don't learn from a book in the time of crisis; you must acquire and hone your skills before.
When, not if, the economy heads down the tube the skills that we will need are those of our ancestors, to a great degree; of making do and mending, and much more. High tech solutions may no longer function too well and buying everything that you want and need more than likely also not.
What you need are not fancy guns and knives and survival kits in such situation, but good old-fashioned hand tools with which you can make the goods for your daily needs and goods to barter for things you cannot – possibly – make. Good solid tools and a solid knowledge of how to is the answer and not how many cans of freeze-dried food you have in your bunker.
Knowledge and honed skills are the answer and not spending thousands to have the latest freeze-dried food and all those gadgets and what have you. The only people who win in that case are the merchants.
Also do not fall for the gold and silver coins that people claim will be the trading rounds of the time after the collapse. They are not going to be of any use whatsoever. Nice to look at but not much use for anything else. Skills and the ability to make things for trade is what counts.
Let the scaremongers continue with their business but do not fall for their tales. Always consider the question of “Quo Bono”, the “who benefits” and the only one that do are those that make money from goods and services they sell to those that they have managed to scare.
© 2012
