Paranoid or Prepared? Survival in our future?

You're just concerned and you are taking precautions. This is a wise thing to do. I too have a gut feeling that our nation is going to experience a great deal of financial stress very soon. I'm not sure how bad things will get, but I believe that things will get worse than most people think. It pays to be prepared. I have been going through many of the thoughts you describe. My wife thinks I'm a little too worried, but she's beginning to come around. I think basic things such as food, water, medicine, fuel, firearms, etc are very important. I really feel sorry for those who have no clue what's about to happen. These people are going to be caught completely off guard. They will be begging people like us for help. And maybe, if we're smart, we will be able to help them out. This whole thing has also had me thinking more about God and my personal Christian faith. It's starting to bring me closer to God and make me realize how important it is.

He says it is going to be like what happen in Japan's economy there was no violence just a depressed economy. The more he spoke it calmed me down study the Japanese recession and maybe it will help you. My husband said don't listen to the fear mongers or the government what will happen will be something in between the two. I grew up with mom telling me things like waste not want not. Penney saved is a penny earned, etc. These little saying packed a lot of wisdom. This is going to make us stronger, wiser and tougher. We are lucky we have the Daily Paul to learn, laugh and lean on on another. Peace

the gang situation won't reach a worst-case scenario. The worst case is most likely to come from a government army as it did in Holocaust times.

My ex-sister-in-law had one set of grandparents killed by the German army and the other set killed by the Russian army. Gangs just aren't that thorough or motivated. They'll take your stuff if they can, but killing you isn't a primary goal.

Maybe I'm wrong. The factions in Rwanda are hard to understand. At what point does a gang become an organized army?

your gonna be just fine. if you plan to stay with your hubby and have lots and lots of ron paul baby's your gonna need to turn him on 2 the r3volution.you need to put together a survival plan with your husband and talk to him about your concerns.

start with a video like this.
Ron Paul: A New Hope
http://www.youtube.com/wa...

then you could jump right into it with something like this IF HE'S READY?

RON PAUL on National sovereignty, North America Union, CFR, Trilateral Commission, Bilderberg & TRANS-TEXAS CORRIDOR:
http://www.youtube.com/wa...

be careful with this one.
Zeitgeist – NORTH AMERICAN UNION & RFID/VCHIP
http://www.youtube.com/wa...

this last one deals with government paid gangs and lot's of good reading!

THE NORTH AMERICAN NIGHTMARE:
http://www.youtube.com/wa...
much thanks to "totalreality2012" for that one, well done sir!
------------------------------------------------
"RON PAUL SUPPORTER SINCE 1997"

Hope nobody hears what I'm telling myself!! I obsessed through the primaries, then I turned down the computer-to-brain input. Stay off the videos and stay on more grounded sites like www.reuters.com or www.bloomberg.com. They're a bit more realistic than the MSM in that they'll give you the facts, but aren't meant to leave you in a high state of anxiety like some of these videos and stories that have a bit of a slant to them. Remember that our grandparents (or great grandparents) went through both the Great Depression and WWII. Can you imagine the desperation these people faced? Yet, through it all, they are considered the "Greatest Generation". Hang tough. Your family needs you grounded.

Going crazy? You sound a lot more realistic to me than a lot of posters here.

The GOP establishment will never permit Ron Paul to be the nominee. If by some miracle the "brokered convention delegate strategy" paid off and Paul did become the nominee, he'd still lose because the mainstream media would tear him apart, the talk radio right would undermine him, and if necessary, voter fraud would be used against him.

But none of that will be necessary, because he isn't going to get the GOP nomination. If there is a brokered revolt at the convention, some other statist insider like Romney will win instead. Wishing otherwise doesn't get it done.

Yes, I think considering survivalism is an excellent idea at this stage--the economy is almost in free fall and will be crashing.

SUPPORT OUR FOUNDERS' AMERICA
Support the Constitution of the United States

I now think that there is a spiritual core that inhabits our bodies and survives and interacts with others after the body dies. So I am not driven by fear so much as curiosity about surviving in really, really bad times.

It has been fun to prepare, to imagine various contingencies and how to cope with them. You don't have to do this on your own either. You can meet up with other survival preparers in your area, exchanging ideas and resources. As you prepare you can help educate others as well. I plan to submit an opinion piece to the local free newspaper and volunteer to help people buy bulk storage food items, especially in my own neighborhood.

March 8, 2008 8:42 a.m. EST London, U.K. (AHN) - United Nations World Food Program (WFP) head Josette Sheeran warns that the agency is already taking precautionary measures by rationing food aid to address worldwide food shortage and the increasing commodity prices which is expected to continue up to 2010.

http://www.allheadlinenew...

March 4 (Bloomberg) -- Global wheat production, after failing to keep pace with demand the past three years, may be hurt again in 2008 by dry weather in the U.S., Canada and Russia, the three largest exporters of the grain.

http://www.bloomberg.com/...

World supplies of rice are reaching dangerously low levels after stores of South Asia's staple food fell to a 25-year low and governments battled to stabilise domestic markets.

The US Department of Agriculture is predicting global rice stocks will fall to about 70 million tons this year, the lowest level since the early 1980s and half the level in 2000.
http://business.timesonli...

Jeepers, Kat, you 'know' an awful lot about our future without it even being here yet. Where did you get so much foreknowledge? Amazing!

Prudently prepare for self-and family preservation? Of course, always a good idea, but no need to ruin your life as it is over it. I too have felt the fear and it's not healthy. I stepped up my dedication of resources to preparation and drastically slowed the viewing of calamity and taser Youtube videos. I feel much better now. Not that I am 'fully' prepared for the very worst that could befall us, but I am more self-sufficient and secure than I have ever been and more so every day.

Make a plan that you and your resources can accomplish and implement it. Try not to scare yourself into a state of social shock. Not good.

You can prepare for the future without living in it already. No matter what happens, you will cope and adapt. You can waste all your time thinking of every awful thing that could happen. Have fun now while everything is still good. Turn off the TV. Turn off the computer. Relax. Enjoy your life now.

I have a suggestion to help relieve your anxiety, and it's something that has helped me immensly. Don't get me wrong... I've been preparing for the worst, and I'm ready to go without notice, but this technique has helped me with the emotional aspect of all that is happening lately.

The website is http://www.emofree.com/

I hope this helps. :)

Fortune Favors the Bold

do you think it makes sense to talk to local police departments about contingency plans and to assure their loyalty to the US Constitution?

You are just waking up to what is happening. We are really going through a monumental shift on this planet. Alot of political changes, earth changes, financial changes, spiritual changes. I have even read some financial experts predicting it will be like a Mad Max movie by 2011 when all these subprime mortgages unravel! And things get crazier and crazier on the political scene---like the Patriot Act 2 makes it a FELONY to stockpile more than TWO WEEKS WORTH OF FOOD! This is so insane it makes me feel like I am trapped in a dark comedy!

I have been studying earth changes (solar flares, Planet X, etc) for years. There are really alot of things we cannot control. We can move to a place that will be less dangerous. We can even leave the USA. (Many of my friends refuse that as an option due to family attachments.) The best thing is to get as independent from the grid as possible (grow your own food for
ex) and also build a community of aware people.

The most important thing to do, really, when all is said and done (since we all have to die anyhow) is to get spiritually grounded. Get centered. Know who you are and know that no matter what happens, this is all a temporary
play we are in. It won't last long even if Ron Paul gets elected and sanity is restored to the planet, because each of us has to die. So if you can realize that this is all a temporary dream that your Higher Self is having, you can even laugh at the absurdity of the drama (like Bush outlawing food!) and even though you will take responsible action to prepare, you won't freak out. What helps me is to imagine the worst. Then I say, "Can I handle that?" And the answer is "Yes, because I know EVERYTHING in this life is temporary." And then I can relax in peace, knowing that even if the worst case happens, I will be OK. Maybe not my body----but my soul, my spirit, who I really am.

2 books I highly recommend are The Power of Now and A New Earth, both by Eckhart Tolle. His message applies to people of all religions.

I was in Los Angeles when we had the "civil unrest" episode with a carload of fire-starters, and looting in their wake. Everybody freaked out and stayed home, while the few lawless had a field day.

My plan is this: knock on doors and hold a neighborhood meeting at the first sign of trouble. Form committees from security to babysitting. In my case we might have an earthquake and be without power or water, so someone who knows how to conserve water or dig toilets would be useful. Also people who know first aid.

Use your imagination (I'm a screenwriter). Yes, have supplies. But the main problem with civil unrest is the fear, not anything else. People don't function well when they're scared. You can be a hero and bring people together to solve the problems. If the neighborhood works together, no one will come from the outside to attack--they'll pick easier targets.

The key is then to spread the organization to the next neighborhood and so, on. If you walk your precinct, you can make notes to yourself of the allies you might find in your area for this purpose as well as for electing Ron Paul.

One neighborhood got together and defended a local shopping center, and the fire-starters drove on by. Another shop owner had a weapon on top of his shop's roof, and saved his business (though if the police had been out, I'd have worried for his safety). Strength in numbers.

Your neighbors will welcome the free-market solution to safety. The real problem starts when people cower inside and watch too much TV.

IMissLiberty

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Fortune Favors the Bold

it's not like you lose anything if a disaster doesn't happen. And hey, you can't predict the future. A frickin' plague could come out nowhere. Unlikely, but the super rich always have stockpiles and contingency plans. It's just common sense.

You are not crazy. You are using common sense. Instead of guessing and debating just look at what FACTUALLY happened in a country that experienced a hyperinflationary currency crisis. The link below is advice from a person that lived through the 2001 economic collapse in Argentina...

http://www.frugalsquirrel...

Sorry, but I have to disagree with your evaluation of the problem.

Our civilization is fragile but strong. I know, sounds contradictory but please hear me out.

Certain types of upheavals we can get through. Economic collapse (due to financial problems) is one of the easier major problems. Hey, all the manufacturing capacity, housing, human capital, farm land, equipment, etc. is all still there and operational. It is just the financial system that has to be reorganized. If there is a financial collapse, it will be painful but it won't threaten civilization. Over history, lots and lots of countries have gone through total financial re-orgs.

Other types of problems could truly threaten civilization including plague, sunspots, volcanoes, atomic war, meteor strikes, zombie attacks, etc. Check your local bookstore sci-fi section (or religious section for you bible thumpers) for different scenarios for an apocalypse, lol, and note that there are few mentions of economic collapse causing any kind of apocalypse.

Also, keep in mind that since the latest financial collapse (near collapse?) in 1929, technology is way better. Computers and networks speed the flow of information so a re-org will happen quicker.

Feel better?

Nor are you paranoid, like someone with their head in the sand suggested. I also know what it is like to engage people around you that things are not what they seem, and they are not being told the real story about the state of our economy by MSM. I have also experience people that have NO interest in hearing any other version, so what can you do, it's their own choice. I look at our current situation as an anology of a serious storm looming, you can feel it no matter what the weatherman is saying. So the intelligent thing to do is to put yourself on higher ground and in a place of safety to the best of your ability. Having said that, a storm can be very beneficial and cleansing. Our current system on many levels is corrupt and has to collapse to make room for something new and improved. The plan of course could be an opening for those running the show to create more havoc, but on the flip side I think there is so much being revealed and the ranks are turning on each other, that their time is running out. I really believe it will allow for a new beginning to bring our country back to what is was supposed to be. My suggestion is to do what you can but don't move into a fear mode, and balance yourself with the everyday small things that bring you happiness, whether nature, pets,children, friends--it is really important at this time to not feel helpless or think it is hopeless, because it is not, far from it.

regardless of the national situation, it pays to be prepared for an emergency. Just looking at the way things were in N.O. after Katrina tells me to have a generator, food and water stored up and the means to protect yourself. These are essential to all in case of a national emergency or an emergency due to natural causes. You just need to have a little common sense about these things. Where I live if they mention a major snowstorm people are out in droves clearing the shelves in the stores. If you have a reserve you don't have to join into that mess!
I buy a couple extra canned items every time I go to the grocery store and always have a few gallons of water on hand. I don't believe that is paranoia.