Preparedness Advice from the Independent American Party

Posted by: Kelly Gneiting at independentamericanparty.org:

(Also see “Be thou prepared…, thou and all thy company… and be thou a guard unto them.” –Ezekiel 38)

“If you are without bread, how much wisdom can you boast, and of what real utility are your talents, if you cannot procure for yourselves and save against a day of scarcity those substances designed to sustain your natural lives?” – Brigham Young

Our patriotism, our love for Liberty, and our knowledge of the Constitution will mean little to nothing if we don’t survive and weather the storms long enough to help rebuild society. In order to weather the coming storms we need food storage, water storage or the ability to purify water for long periods of time, stores of medical supplies, and weapons and plenty of ammunition. On top of that you’ll need to move out of the cities. Cities are death traps. Ideally you’ll want to move to a rural area which is out of the way of major disaster areas and where you know that refugees won’t converge on some day.

Preparing for the future takes a lot of effort and planning and time and money. But you need to start now. It’s so important. There’s something small that you can do each day to prepare. For example, next time you go to the store buy several extra cans of beans or a 20 lb bag of rice. Rice, beans, and wheat are relatively inexpensive and store for long periods. You can forgo soda or ice cream or something that you don’t really need and purchase a large bag of rice that could be a lifesaver. You can forgo going to the movies and use the money you would’ve spent to buy a 25 lb pail of beans that lasts 25 years. Forgo that extra pair of shoes and buy a 50 gallon container of water which can possibly save your family for weeks one day. Forgo buying that DVD that you “need” so bad and buy an extra box of bullets for your gun.

You’ll have to make some sacrifices, but it’ll be totally worth it. Food is going to be the new currency in the near future. You might be fabulously wealthy, have multiple cars and live in a mansion, but when collapse happens, you’ll be the poorest person around if you don’t have food. We recommend having AT LEAST a year’s supply of food and water. That’s a minimum. Most so-called experts will only say that you need a few weeks or many a few months of food, but you’re going to need a heck of a lot more than that! If the power grid ever went down or an EMP hit us or some catastrophe of that nature occurred, it would likely be 1-2 years minimum before the whole nation got power again. And if this type of a disaster is coupled with invasion or war or nuclear attack, the time will be substantially longer that you’ll have to be self-sufficient.

Our forefathers inherently knew that it was a smart thing to have food stored up. They canned food like crazy and had months of food in the pantry. This was common practice. Today, however, people live in the cities and think that food magically comes from the stores. Most stores only have the food that you see on the shelves. In disasters such as hurricanes, the grocery store shelves are cleared out within hours. Face it, if you haven’t prepared before hand, it’s too late to do so when disaster hits. There’s a saying that goes: “It’s better to be prepared 10 years too early than one day too late.” It’s absolutely true.

Please, we plead with you to start getting a food storage. Start thinking about what you and your family would do in a worst-case scenario or major disaster. Here are some questions to ask yourself:

Do you have a safe room or a panic room?
Do you have contingency plans?
Do you have a way to communicate if phone service goes down?
Do you have bug-out bags or 72 hour kits prepared?
Do you have food to last months or years?
Do you live in an area where you could hunt, fish, gather, or forage food?
Do you live in a terrain that would allow you to hide if you had to conceal yourself from a threat?
Do you have the weaponry and know-how to defend your family from a burglar, an intruder, an invading army, or a tyrannical government?
Do you have medical training to assist your family, friends, and neighbors if hospitals were closed?
Do you have medical supplies such as bandaids, rubbing alcohol, burn ointment, gauze, hydrogen peroxide, latex gloves, masks, etc?
Do you have toilet paper, soap, shampoo, and other hygiene essentials stored up?
Do you have a way to keep your family warm if you had no power in the winter?
Do you have the tools necessary to get wood and start a fire?
Do you have safety blankets, sleeping bags, and warm clothes set aside?
Do you have the skills to hunt, butcher, and prepare your own meat?
Do you have extra gas stored that would allow you to drive out of a disaster zone?
Are you prepared for potential natural disasters in your area (floods in Mississippi, earthquakes in California or Utah, tsunamis in Alaska and Hawaii, hurricanes in Florida or Louisiana, drought in Arizona, etc)?
Have you looked at and studied escape routes and alternate routes out of your town or city?
Do you have self-defense or fighting skills?
Do you have well-made and sturdy boots, pants, coats, hats, and gloves for winter survival?
Do you own a tent or know how to construct a shelter?
Do you know the terrain in your area and have you marked out potential retreats?
Do you own a map of your state or region and have you marked it with escape routes and safe locations?
Have you secured the doors of your home against intrusion by installing metal doors, adding bolt locks, and strengthening the frame so it can’t be easily kicked in?
Have you taught your family how to use weapons of all type – including firearms and knives?
Do you have batteries, flashlights, crank radios, ham radio, walkie-talkies, flares, and the know-how to operate them?
Do you have a supply of extra money – some cash, but silver and gold coins as well – stashed away just in case?
Do you have an alternate mode of transport such as a bike?
Do you know how to garden and have you started gardening?
Have you planted fruit trees, berry bushes, or things of the like on your property?
Have you examined your property and thought about the best ways to defend it in a firefight with thugs or anyone of ill-intent?
Are you psychologically prepared to take a life in self-defense or to undergo the rigors of self-sufficiency?
Are you spiritually prepared to be led by the Spirit to do the right and necessary things in order to survive?

These questions and more should be in your mind. You need to answer them and think over them and find solutions that will work for you. Each family and individual is in slightly different circumstances, so your solutions might not work completely for someone else. But regardless of your location or circumstances, you MUST start preparing. Start today. Start with planning and talking to your family. Hold family meetings. Move on to collection of food storage gradually. Then branch out from there.

Below is a list of links that will be helpful in starting out with preparing yourself and your family for disaster. There are links on food storage, survival skills, firearms, etc. We hope you enjoy the articles, but we also hope that you begin thinking about preparing your family. Finally, we’re all at different stages of preparation, so feel free to share with us your suggestions – they might also benefit your fellow countrymen. God bless!

FOOD STORAGE LINKS:

http://www.azprepper.com/blogs/food-storage-where-to-start.html

http://www.moneycrashers.com/long-term-home-food-storage-emergency/

http://www.thereadystore.com/emergency-plans/2611/starting-food-storage-for-new-families/

http://www.backwoodshome.com/articles/tate55.html

http://www.moneycrashers.com/long-term-home-food-storage-emergency/

http://voices.yahoo.com/3-easy-steps-starting-home-food-storage-system-228292.html

http://www.activistpost.com/2013/06/20-items-to-kick-start-your-food.html

http://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/shopping-storing/food/food-storage-00100000077807/index.html

http://www.prepareforfreedom.com/2011/06/22/how-to-start-and-build-a-home-food-storage/

http://ablehaven.com/calculator/

http://foodstoragemadeeasy.net/

http://lds.about.com/od/preparednessfoodstorage/a/foodstoragewhat.htm

SURVIVAL LINKS:

http://adventure.howstuffworks.com/survival/wilderness/survival-skills-quiz.htm

http://www.survivalblog.com/

http://www.ultimatesurvivalskills.com/survival/general-survival/complete-survival-checklist.html

http://www.natureskills.com/articles/survival/

http://www.primitiveways.com/survival_skills.html

http://www.artofmanliness.com/2010/03/11/10-wilderness-survival-lessons-from-hatchet/

http://www.survivalistmind.com/survival-check-list/

http://adventure.howstuffworks.com/survival/wilderness/how-to-build-a-shelter.htm

http://survival.burningman.com/your-survival-in-brc/personal-survival-checklist/#.Uexbl204nvc

http://www.wilderness-survival.net/shelters-2.php

http://www.natureskills.com/survival/primitive-shelter/

http://preparednesspantry.blogspot.com/2012/04/whats-big-deal-about-earthquakes.html

http://www.m4040.com/Survival/Survival.htm

http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/learning/hunter_education/homestudy/outdoor_skills/survival/index.phml

http://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/shopping-storing/food/food-storage-00100000077807/index.html

FIREARMS LINKS:

http://www.survivalblog.com/survivalguns.html

http://www.outdoorlife.com/photos/gallery/guns/rifles/2012/03/survival-guns-survival-rifles-guns-survival-home-defense-shotguns

http://www.survivalandbeyond.net/now-what-gun-should-i-buy/

http://www.survivaltipsandtricks.com/the-ultimate-survival-gun-resource-guide/

http://www.thesurvivalistblog.net/category/survival-guns/

http://www.survivalblog.com/weapons/index.html