Prepping Principle by David Fidler, Series Part 6

This is part 6 in a seven (7) parts.

Part 6

Fifth Principle: Community.

This is one that I have found is often overlooked by preppers. At times I am torn between listing it as the number one or two principle as it is that important. Too often it seems that we as preppers have a “go it alone” mindset. While this is often a natural tendency due to the fact that so few are into prepping around us that we are left to ourselves to act, it is not a wise route to take.

Historically, whenever a major event occurred, those who do best are those who are able to come together as a community. Some here may have watched the TV Show on the Discovery Channel, “Doomsday Prepper”. I used to watch it and found a lot of comedy in how people behaved and did their prepping. One big gapping hole in most cases shown on the show and which was only lightly touched upon by the show a couple of times was that of building a good community around you. By coming together as a community you are able to pull resources, experience, and skills that you may not have available by yourself.

Often as preppers we like to become a “jack of all trades” and this is wise and useful. However, reality exists that you may never be able to get and maintain all the necessary skills you will need. This approach also often limits you in your ability to master some necessary skills and knowledge. But if you have a decent community around you then you are more likely to have individuals who may have mastered those skills and have the knowledge you need. A community allows individuals to focus on certain skills and knowledge that allow others to focus elsewhere. Even if you are the only real prepper in your community, you can still pull others together and organize them around you to help improve your survivability.

Another crucial area that a community is necessary is that of security, especially in the dire scenarios of TEOTWAWKI. I don’t care how good or how ‘high speed’ you are, you will never survive a mass looting if you are alone. I often laughed at the ignorance of those preppers on “Doomsday Preppers” who spent the time and money on getting handguns and practicing as a family but happen to live in the middle of Phoenix or some other suburb of a major city. 4-5 people will never be able to maintain adequate security of their home, let alone fight off hundreds or thousands of looters who recognize that you have a decent stock of food and supplies while they are starving. You need a community to help protect what you have.

Planning for a community is a must. In Utah, parts of SE Idaho and surrounding states, this is often an easy thing to accomplish as the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints has a natural community about it which will create the basis of any apocalyptic scenario. Even in discussions with Non-LDS friends they recognize and readily admit that this is the case. If you live where LDS are more scattered or not so organized, then you may have to find and build a community around you otherwise. Family is often one community that is easy to work with, at other times maybe not. The downside is that in today’s USA, family is often spread all the way across the country and trying to get them to move back home or near you may be difficult if not almost impossible to achieve. I have however noticed that in some more rural areas many younger people are moving back to where their parents live. It would seem that many while not actually preppers are recognizing the need to be back with family and have that support.

Our next post will be the sixth Principle and Summary.