What Does Vince Lombardi Have to Do With Prepping?

The other day a prepper curious friend asked me what kind of gun he should buy. I was excited that he was thinking of taking care of his need to protect himself and his family. The ability and right to protect our persons, family and property come with being human. They are a God-given right, not as some would consider a man-made right.

Before I gave him an answer about weapons, I had to stop and think a bit. (usually I just say something then think later, ask my wife, she'll agree) This time, I asked him a question instead. "Do you have the basics covered?" "Do you have a one year supply of food and water for your family?"

I kind of expected the answer I received, "No, I don't have any food stashed...yet." I didn't want to discourage him about protecting his family but at the same time I feel that FEEDING your family is protecting them also. I gently encouraged him to start thinking about starting his food purchases FIRST, then as money allowed to consider purchasing his weapons.

Psychologist Abraham Maslow developed his theory of Hierarchy of Needs. The basic necessities at bottom of his list of needs are the physiological needs. Breathing, food, water, shelter. Just above that comes security.

So many times we want to get the coolest gadget, radio, solar panel, gun, that we forget about taking care of the basics FIRST. Even though I am constantly ADDING to my already deep larder, I am able to move up and concentrate on security of body, family and property.

The Green Bay Packers' legendary head coach, Vince Lombardi led them to 5 world championships in 7 years including the first two Super Bowls. Although each season, many hardened veterans would return, to the Packers, Coach Lombardi would start with the basics. On the first day of practice each year, Lombardi would hold up a football and say, "Men....this is a football!"

You can't get any more basic than that. So, remember in your quest to prepare your family for uncertainty, start with the basics. Take care of those, then move up.

This link is a really neat little tool that helps calculate just how much food you need for a given amount of people. It is developed by some Mormons. I am not Mormon, but I do respect their deep knowledge and (food) preparedness beliefs.

http://lds.about.com/library/bl/faq/blcalculator.htm

As well as encouraging people to start their own business. William Feller also teaches how to survive in a possible severe economic downturn. Through his blog/audio podcast, http://AwareAndPrepared.com William reaches thousands of people worldwide with practical tips and tools on how not only to survive but thrive in any downturn.

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Are You Worried About Big Brother?

Usually people for some reason or another do not want "Big Brother" or in our case now "Big sister" to know their business. This is particularly relevant when joining or participating in survivalist groups. People out of an effort to preserve their privacy do not want to do things which may possibly draw the government's attention to them. They often avoid some interesting groups and activities as a result of this mindset.

In all reality this secrecy is nothing less than rubbish. If your true interests lied in hiding your identity than you certainly would not be reading this article in the first place. You would be grossly mistaken if you truly believed that you can successfully achieve total privacy from the snooping eyes of the government. If they want to spy on you take my word for it - they will.

Our federal, state and local governments often establish labels and than attach people to those labels. As an example the governments watch list may not list you or I on it by name however they have identified the labels needed to justify their snooping. Within their book you will find mentioned the word, "survivalist" and than the governments clarification of it would follow.

The rightwing extremists which flourishes in America today are logically broken down into various groups ranging from the moderate to the extreme however if you express an interest in weapons, hunting, storage of food supplies or being prepared for any potential emergency you are being placed in the same category. Unfortunately our "Department of Homeland Security" fails to understand the basic principle differentiating our groups from those dangerous right wing radicals.

You and I may look at the situation as ludicrous and deny that these labels fit our philosophy however as sad as it may be the media at large, our government and the public often view us as one and the same.

Rightwing extremism can often be divided into several types of groups or movements which are primarily based upon hate oriented beliefs. These undesirable groups may form their ideals upon a particular religion; they may be racial or ethnic in their fundamentals or even antigovernment in nature. Few people understand that survivalists and preppers are not against our government but merely pro-constitution. We do not hate any particular group nor do we advocate violence to anyone. But once again instead of investigating our beliefs our leaders in power automatically type cast us with extremists.

Although many right-wing organizations express concerns on specific issues that we are interested in as well, we function in a totally different manner. We are both interested in the economy of our country, in gun control legislation and in the seizure of individual power by the federal authorities. This does not mean that we intend harm upon any individual or group. There are proper procedures for these situations. Just this week an Arizona Republican Ms. Gabrielle Giffords was the target of a crazed and senseless shooting. Jared Loughner the accused shooter was in no way representative of survivalists or preppers but merely a hate filled individual. In conclusion, it is up to us how the public perceives us and I for one like to make a favorable appearance. I volunteer for public activities and do not hide the fact that I am a survivalist. I am an emergency actions volunteer for the American Red Cross and participate in various city, county and state activities. We must change how we are viewed by the public and the media or risk being placed in the same light as the accused killer Jared Lee Loughner.

Copyright @2011 Joseph Parish

http://www.survival-training.info

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