Doomsday Preppers Ain’t Always Crazy

Preppers ain’t always crazy. Sure, they can be crazy in an awesome way. I remember one of my favourite examples was on a show called Doomsday Bunkers or something like that, I can’t even remember the actual name of the show. One of the guys built this awesome bunker underground that had several rooms. It was bigger than a decent size caravan. But the most awesome bit was the entrance. He had pop up sentry guns set up outside, and if you got past those you then had to go down a booby trapped flight of stairs. In the flight of stairs, the guy who had designed the bunker, built in actual flame throwers into the rails on each side, that could be activated behind a solid blast door at the end of the hallway. It would roast to death anyone in the stairway. Brutal, awesome and crazy all at the same time.

The reason prepper shows are fun is because many of the characters on them are a little crazy, but the truth is they aren’t completely crazy. Even the guy who had a box of weapons, ammunition, food, and other rations buried all around his house, so that he is never more than 1 minute from a weapons defence cache…ok that guy is a more than a little crazy. But even though some of these guys are probably not playing with a full deck, many of them are, and many of them know that just because our civilisation is reasonably stable now, that does not mean it will always be, and the way things are looking, society could turn for the worse sooner, rather than later.

The reason so many people make fun of these doomsday preppers is because they are often presented as preparing for Armageddon. Much of the secular world mocks the idea of preparing for Armageddon, because they don’t believe it is going to happen. So often they will just look at preppers as weirdos because of this fact. Even many Christians feel a similar way, because some believe they will be zapped out before things get really bad, other’s just think it is unwise to focus on Armageddon and prepping for it. But I want to give a completely different take on why preppers ain’t always crazy.

Because, while we have no idea, whatsoever, when the world will end, that is up to God, and he alone knows the day and the hour, we do know this: before he returns many civilizations will rise and fall. We know that because we read that in history. Being prepared for such a cataclysm to happen in our time is wise. A black-piller sees the trends in the West today and says, “There is nothing we can do about this.” A man of the West, who wants to leave a legacy for the next generation, and then ten generations after that, says, “Come what may, we will be prepared, and if that fails, at least we went down fighting.”

Many people think our civilization will last forever, and that the world is on a constant progression to better and better technology, and more and more civilization spreading across this world. But the truth is that many other civilizations thought the exact same thing, and they were wrong. Sometimes civilizations progress takes a big leap backwards.

    

The Romans thought their civilization would last forever, that they were the pinnacle of human achievement, and that the sun would never set on their empire. Listen to this from Edward Gibbon (1845, Chapter 1, Kindle Edition);

“It was an ancient tradition, that when the Capitol was founded by one of the Roman kings, the god Terminus (who presided over boundaries, and was represented, according to the fashion of that age, by a large stone) alone, among all the inferior deities, refused to yield his place to Jupiter himself. A favorable inference was drawn from his obstinacy, which was interpreted by the augurs as a sure presage that the boundaries of the Roman power would never recede. During many ages, the prediction, as it is usual, contributed to its own accomplishment.”

In other words, it was official Roman mythology, that their vast Empire would stand the test of all future generations and never fade away. They believed they were destined by the gods to rule over a vast empire that roughly equated to the territory they controlled by the reign of the first emperor, Augustus. It was their god given destiny. Rome would not extend beyond it’s god given borders, but neither would it recede. And for many generations, and many travails, this prophecy appeared to be solid.

Again we read (Gibbon 1985, Chapter 1, Kindle Edition)

“The only accession which the Roman empire received, during the first century of the Christian Era, was the province of Britain. In this single instance, the successors of Cæsar and Augustus were persuaded to follow the example of the former, rather than the precept of the latter. The proximity of its situation to the coast of Gaul seemed to invite their arms; the pleasing though doubtful intelligence of a pearl fishery, attracted their avarice; and as Britain was viewed in the light of a distinct and insulated world, the conquest scarcely formed any exception to the general system of continental measures.”

The Isles of Britannia were too close and too tempting for Claudius, so Briton was added to the Roman Empire in the mid 1^st century, and by the later part of the 1^st century the Britons had been thoroughly conquered and subdued. The Scottish Highlands remained wild, but what we would call England and Wales was made Roman.

The Roman empire was a vast and powerful beast, that subdued nations before it. Anyone who lived in the Roman provinces in the 2^nd Century AD was certain their civilization was secure, and anyone who lived on the other side of those boundaries, was reminded again and again, by the Roman Legions just how secure it was. The Prophet Daniel described Rome thus,

“After this I saw in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast, terrifying and dreadful and exceedingly strong. It had great iron teeth; it devoured and broke in pieces and stamped what was left with its feet. It was different from all the beasts that were before it, and it had ten horns” (Daniel 7:7).

How is such a beast ever subdued? How can such a mighty civilisation such as Rome not last forever? The answer is simple: no human civilisation, no matter how fierce, is invincible to decay. Hence Gibbon (1985, Chapter 1, Kindle Edition) writes this: 

      

“In the second century of the Christian Era, the empire of Rome comprehended the fairest part of the earth, and the most civilized portion of mankind. The frontiers of that extensive monarchy were guarded by ancient renown and disciplined valor. The gentle but powerful influence of laws and manners had gradually cemented the union of the provinces. Their peaceful inhabitants enjoyed and abused the advantages of wealth and luxury. The image of a free constitution was preserved with decent reverence: the Roman senate appeared to possess the sovereign authority, and devolved on the emperors all the executive powers of government. During a happy period of more than fourscore years, the public administration was conducted by the virtue and abilities of Nerva, Trajan, Hadrian, and the two Antonines. It is the design of this, and of the two succeeding chapters, to describe the prosperous condition of their empire; and after wards, from the death of Marcus Antoninus, to deduce the most important circumstances of its decline and fall; a revolution which will ever be remembered, and is still felt by the nations of the earth.”

Oh, how the mighty have fallen. If great Rome, and Rome truly was a great, fell, how foolish are we to think that our civilization is invincible? Civilization is like a garden, and gardens need to be tended to flourish, if they are not tended they revert to their wild state. Indeed, not only is it a possibility that our civilisation will face a period of decline, it’s a certainty to happen to one degree or another. But the degree to which is happens will be largely dependent on how ready the men who are a part of it are prepared for the hard times ahead.

You see, in many ways Australia is like Britannia at the later stages of the Roman Empire. Picture yourself in Roman Briton in the 3^rd or 4^th centuries AD. You live in Roman cities, enjoy Roman baths, enjoy Roman luxuries, speak in the Roman language. How is this made possible? Britannia is on the outskirts of the Roman Empire, far away from the centre of Roman power and influence. It is made possible, because Roman Legions patrol the wall, guard the cities of Britannia, and keep the peace. And they don’t just do that in Briton, they guard Rome along the Rhine, in the Balkans, in Syria and Palestine and many more places. Roman legions maintain the frontiers, so that Roman’s within them can live like Romans. But when the legions can no longer do their job, because of internal decline and decadence, and overwhelming numbers of invading barbarians, then everything starts to fall apart.

If you can’t see the similarities between Australia’s situation now, and Britannia’s in the 4^th and early 5^th centuries, then let me spell it out for you. While we are our own nation, Australia is accurately viewed as an outpost of the Anglo-American Empire. Started as a British penal colony, part of the English Empire, British red shirts made our nation possible from the start. Because we were founded in the height of European power, and the peak of British Colonialism, we have been able to live in relative peace. The barbarians never much troubled these lands. In our most vulnerable moment, during World War 2 many of our men fought bravely to defend this nation. But let’s be honest, it was the British and American Navies who took the brunt of the Japanese onslaught that allowed Australia to fend off the Japanese attacks. This does not diminish the efforts of our brave national heroes, but it should remind us Australians of our place in the world. The Anglo-American empire defended its province, and while first British, and now American, navies patrol the oceans, we can continue to live like Aussies; aka Anglo-Saxons of the southern land. But as India, China, Indonesia, and other non-Western nations rise, the Empires legions will be pushed to the brink, over-extended, and eventually they will be recalled. The question for us is: are we ready?

I refuse to black-pill. Black pilling to me is just another form of cucking. It’s handing the future to other men; don’t do it, don’t ever do it.

So then, how do we prepare? Well there is simple stuff everyone can do.

First, build localized community in your life. Networks of people who you can get along with, who have different skill sets and abilities, that you can pool together to make a community as self-sustaining as possible. Churches are a great place to build community, the Apostle Paul knew what he was talking about when he said we should gather in like-minded communities. While most westerners are building their networks over great distances, which inherently makes them more fragile, we should be putting most of our efforts into localized communities. That doesn’t mean we can’t have larger, even international networks, they are necessary and good, but as civilisation begins to recede, they will become more and more fragile, and the local becomes more vital. 

  

You also need to store important civilisational knowledge and skills. Whether it is in books, personal skills, or skills in your family, the more you can build up in this regard the better off you will be. Many families in my church are learning to prepare their own food, and grow their own produce. One family just learnt recently how to butcher a cow without cutting the stomach open and getting piss and half-digested food all over the meat. Others are skilled hunters, and I have learned a lot going hunting with them. Many have building skills and many more talents. No one can do everything, surround yourself with skilled people and learn from them.

Very importantly we should be teaching ourselves how to live with less, rather than more. A decadent lifestyle inherently makes us soft and vulnerable, and less prepared for hard times. We live in a culture of plenty, but there has never been any place in history where prosperity has continued unabridged forever. Maybe it will continue in our lifetime, but trends say otherwise. Living with less includes shedding ourselves of as much debt as possible, as times get harder, it becomes harder to earn an income. Use good times to prepare for hard times, use times of plenty to prepare for times of lack. Everyone used to know this, but we have forgotten this important life principle.

At the end of the day, we should be ready to fight for our culture, family, extended family and nation.

Men of the West hard times may be upon us soon, are you preparing yourself? Or are you ignoring global trends and pretending that the good times will continue to roll on. Maybe they will, but better to have done some preparation, and not need it, than to have done none and be caught unawares. 

We can’t control the future, but we can make sure we do our best to show up for whatever it throws at us.