I’m really frustrated with the state of our country right now. A lot is going on and we are being held hostage by a pandemic.

This pandemic is serious, but there were a lot of important people who downplayed the seriousness of this virus. That was a mistake, but a lot of people were comforted and stopped from being properly prepared. We kept hearing that this virus wasn’t that bad and it was similar to having influenza. Well, I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to catch influenza. I have helped three loved ones through influenza and they were pretty miserable.

I don’t want to catch COVID-19 either. Again, it sounds pretty miserable. I have read survivor reports that it feels like influenza and pneumonia combined on steroids. To me, staying home when I can, keeping my work environment clean and safe, only going to the stores when I have to, and being aware of my surroundings sounds like the best thing to do right now. I certainly don’t want to catch it and I don’t want my loved ones to catch it either.

What really blew my mind was the period before the shutdowns and stay at home orders. You have a really good idea about how many people were not prepared at all for anything to happen when you saw the panic buying. Due to many factors, stores are now clamping down on how much you can purchase for everyone to have some food and essentials.

Now people are talking about putting in gardens and getting chickens. People are actually home and need to learn how to make bread, how to fix things, how to spend time with their family, and more. For some people, this pandemic was the kick in the pants they needed to start being more self-sufficient.

While many of us have been on this path for a while, this is somewhat mind-blowing. For me, I am just baffled and somewhat frustrated. I would add in a little anxious too because I trust people about as far as I can throw them. I know a lot of people will forget this has happened in a year or so and stop being prepared.

For preppers and other like-minded people, this may not be what we were preparing for, but we were ready or mostly ready. Some of us, like myself, may have made a trip to the grocery store anyway just to plug some holes or get some fresh produce. We eat a lot of fresh fruits and vegetables because we like them and I think healthy eating is one facet of staying healthy. I wasn’t surprised by what I saw at our local stores, but the reality was still sobering.

I took a lot of offense when preppers were called hoarders. (insert your favorite swear word here) seriously? We spent years building up our stockpiles and supplies because we knew this time could come and we wanted to be ready for it. We didn’t want to have to run to the store if we didn’t want to. We have been working on gardens and being self-sufficient so we could supplement (if not supply) our food storage.

We were not the ones who were panic buying and stripping grocery stores. We had already built up our stockpiles over time to avoid this very thing. We did not want to be in that position of having to run to the store like that and hope there was something left for us.

You do not need to feel guilty for being prepared.  

You did the right thing. While I think you should be practicing a fair amount of OPSEC all the time, now is the time to be as closed-mouthed as possible. No one needs to know what you have purchased, what you have in your home, what you have ordered, and what you continue to purchase.

Which leads me to this point: You need to continue prepping. 

This pandemic is just one thing to be prepared for and to learn lessons from. You need to be prepared for an economic downturn, life in general, job loss, and natural disasters. If you feel that something could affect you, you should be getting prepared for that event.

If you have just begun prepping and this pandemic is what kicked you in gear, that is great! Most of us more experienced preppers needed something to kickstart us too. After this pandemic has run its course, you may feel a sense of relief and think you don’t need to be prepared anymore.

Stop that thinking! You still need to be prepared! 

If you encounter anyone who thinks that being prepared stops when this event is over, you need to keep talking to them. Unfortunately, events like this pandemic spawn more events like recessions, food shortages, and more. We hope as a country that we can just start back up again like nothing happened, but we will struggle. We have had interruptions in trade, factories have closed down, people have not been able to work like they usually do, and money is not flowing into the economy like usual. There will be problems.

However, people will start to forget why they started prepping in the first place. They will forget the circumstances that lead up to them being prepared and becoming more self-sufficient. The best thing you can do for those people is to remind them and continue to talk about the pandemic. The more you keep things fresh and remind people of their history, the better the chances you have to keep them prepared.

Whatever you do, don’t stop prepping yourself! You should not be basking in your glory and thinking you have it accomplished. Prepping doesn’t work that way. Something else will happen that you will need to be prepared for. You have to keep growing your skillset and keep contributing your food storage as much as you take away from it. This summer, when you garden, see how much you can preserve for the following year.

I know a lot of people are under the impression that our government will take care of them during times like these, but you can not draw security from that. Our government can not afford to take care of its citizens. The stimulus checks are a loan from next year’s tax refunds. The extra money given to those on COVID-19 related unemployment is coming from who knows where. The government really does not have the means to take care of you so you need to quit relying on that.

You should not feel guilty for being prepared because you are looking out for yourself and your family. You should not feel guilty for continuing to be prepared for that same reason. You have to take care of yourself first and no one is going to do that for you so stay prepared.

Thanks for reading,
Erica

Related posts:
10 Ways To Prepare For An Upcoming Recession/Depression
The Case For Why You Need To Become Self-Sufficient and Self-Reliant Now

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