A Survivalist Mindset Amongst Apathy

Rourke: The following was originally published HERE on ModernSurvivalOnline.com.

Apathy is described as a state of indifference, or the suppression of emotions such as concern, excitement, motivation, and passion. Over the course of these last couple of years I’ve found myself more inclined, empowered by a sense of urgency and righteousness in my beliefs, to speak with others, sometimes at great length, about my views concerning preparedness and the necessity of possessing a survivalist mindset. Often, my concerns seem to be better received outside of my most intimate inner circle of friends and family. Perhaps that same intimacy that brings about the emotional and physical bond we often share, is a detriment to my ability to convince those I most wish to convince: my truly apathetic loved ones, of the real perils that await the unprepared. Familiarity does, indeed, often breed dissent.

Casual strangers, or mere acquaintances, will usually indulge my opinions about the impending decline of our world as we know it–at least until they get that “glazed-over look” that tells me they have since tuned me out, and are concentrating their focus on something more important…like who the latest front-runners for American Idol might be; or what Snookie (Jersey Shore) said or did on their latest trashy episode.  Now don’t get me wrong–I seldom, if ever, initiate any conversation regarding the virtues of preparation with anyone I don’t know well; I have simply found the task to be far too frustrating in most cases. It has become my conclusion that the uninformed prefer to stay that way, believing instead that all will turn out well in the end, and that our government won’t let them down when disaster once again strikes. Even pointing out the somewhat recent “Katrina/New Orleans” debacle does little if anything to deter their unwavering faith in the system. They simply see the general lack of preparedness by both the citizens of New Orleans and our federal government as an aberration, a glitch, a hiccup that will never happen again. I cannot help but wonder if the people of New Orleans–those that suffered through the storm and it’s terrible remnants, and choose to remain there to this very day–still have as much faith in their elected and appointed officials as they did pre-Katrina. Hmm…I wonder?

The informed and apathetic are, however, a different breed of cat. These people are generally educated and well informed of what goes on, globally as well as at the local level. They cannot, sadly enough, be classified or pigeon-holed into one neat little compartment of naysayers and denialists any more than Survivalists, Preppers, New World Order Theorists, and Neocons can be all categorized as End-of-The-World Kooks or Chicken Little Alarmists. They have the truth; the handwriting is on their wall just as it is on ours. The difference of opinions, I believe, can be boiled down to one basic and most fundamental tenet: since the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 and, most recently, the September 11, 2001 al-Qaeda terrorist attacks on the Twin Towers of The World Trade Center, and The Pentagon, most Americans have never had their White Castle dreams of isolation and insulation–thus protection from the evils of the rest of the world–put to any real test. They have seen the tragedies and horrors of wars taking place thousands of miles away, in lands and cultures unrecognizable to their own. But those wars would NEVER happen here! We are the U.S. of A, for God’s sake!

Truth be told, I don’t even mind the skepticism and the mocking raised eyebrows of both the informed or uninformed. They have their choices, as do I. What really hurts are the comments from those whom I love the most, would give my very life for, and whom I intend on protecting, despite their lack of belief. When I hear my wife say to a friend or neighbor or fellow family member, when speaking of my passion for all things preparedness, “Oh, that’s just Rob doing his little hobby thing,” I want to scream out, “Wake up, honey! This isn’t my “little hobby.” This is me maybe saving our skins when the SHTF!”

I will continue with my preparations. I will persevere despite the majority of people thinking I’m the crazy one. I will invest as much as it takes to offer my family and loved ones as many opportunities to survive as I possibly can. And, if it never comes to that, then all the better for all of us. Better to be prepared and not need it, than to need it and not be prepared.

RobNPhx