When I first read that in 2010 Frank Gaffney, president of the Center for Security Policy, stated that should America be hit with an EMP attack that "nine out of 10 Americans would be dead, because we can’t support a population of the present size in urban centers and the like without electricity," I thought those numbers had to be exaggerated, but in watching the chaos of the last couple of days as people in multiple states prepare for Winter storm Jonas, I now think Gaffney's numbers may actually be an understatement.
AMERICA THE PAST VERSUS AMERICA NOW
In discussing the idea for this piece, Stefan Stanford sent me over an article which perfectly captures what we have been noticing as we browse the Internet for news and see the utter chaos that a Winter storm is causing in urban areas, we cannot help but to remember how things used to be and compare them to how they are now.... we have changed as a society, and not for the better.
We are no longer the United States of the Minutemen, the Cowboy, The Boys of Pointe Du Hoc, the Mountain Men and Merrill’s Marauders.
Where is the America of Jim Bowie, Jedediah Smith, Wyatt Earp, George Patton, Chesty Puller, Teddy Roosevelt, Molly Pitcher, Rosie the Riveter and millions of anonymous, tough, brave, resourceful heroes who built this great country?
America of 2016 is the nation of overweight kids, soccer moms, socialist public school administrators who ban dodge ball, metrosexual men; transgender TV stars, helicopter parents and college kids who need safe spaces with Play Doh.
Many of us above a certain age remember that one (or two) elderly family member that used to speak about how they used to have to walk to school in two feet of snow after waking up at 5am to get their chores done, when lecturing us on how easy we have it compared to how they had it growing up... well, they were right and it has gotten worse.
A TALE OF TWO WORLDS
A look through the images left over at the Twitter hashtag #snowmaggedon2016, we see example after example of unprepared cities, states and residents, not only empty stores shelves but total chaos is reigning..... over a weather event!
While schools closed in urban areas on Thursday due to a simple one inch of snow, in Western Maryland where we live, we just saw the school bus pass by, on the day where the worst of the snow is expected to fall by evening time.... because it is a whole different world in the rural areas where people prepare before the Winter season hits, store shelves are still stocked because there is no "panic" shopping, it is more like picking up a couple extras, where last minute preparations consist of checking your generator, moving wood for the fireplace indoors so one does haven't to be out in possible blizzard conditions, pulling out the warm blankets just in case the lights go out, etc.....
Having spent the majority of my life living in or around big cities, living out here is like living in a completely different world, one where should a true disaster strike, Gaffney's numbers would be reveresed, nine out of ten here... would survive in my opinion.
WHAT WE ARE WATCHING IS A PERFECT EXAMPLE OF WHY PEOPLE SHOULD PREP
Winter storm Jonas should be a lesson to everyone watching the news and seeing the images over the last couple of days. The lesson being, we should all be preparing for the worst because as I have mentioned, this is just a weather event, one that was forecasted days in advance and we are still still seeing complete disarray.
What are these "panic" shoppers, these stranded motorists, these folks running around at the last minute to prepare themselves for a harsh storm when they should have had all their supplies before the season started, going to do if true disaster strikes with no warning, whether it is a terrorist attack, a weather event, an EMP or any other number of major catastrophes that could hit?
The answer to that, to put it bluntly, is they are going to die.. because we have become a nation of unprepared wimps.
Note - If you are new to ANP and are reading this and are one of those people that have been on the fence about prepping, this should be a wake up call.... start now because if you are prepared for the worst, everything else is just a minor inconvenience.
