Burn The Land And Boil The Sea You Can't Take The Sky From Me...Are We Dinosaurs??

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cslinger

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Sorry for the shameless Firefly quote but it brings forth a question.

Are we dinosaurs? Are we obsolete? Has the rest of the world decided that it would rather live under the control of others instead of living free. Is safety more important than freedom. Is the individual no longer as important as the whole?

I carry jumper cables, a fire extinguisher, first aid kit, knife, tools, flashlight etc. and I meet so few other folks who dont so much as carry their own jumper cables. Now I am not a cowboy, nor was I brought up in the wilderness, hell I don't even hunt. So what makes me so different. Why do I want to be self sufficient? Why do I care about self defense of myself and my family? Am I the dinosaur? Am I resistent to change?

Just a random thought as sometimes I really feel like "Burn The sky and boil the sea you can't take the sky from me....I'm still free."

So my question is are we a dying breed. I hope not cuz I am a youngin' comparitively speaking 31, ok 32 in a few days :uhoh:

So what makes us gun folks different?
 
No need to apologize for the Firefly quote. The series and the movie totally rocked.

Are we obsolete? No. After the "big one" (whatever that may end up being, someday - we we KNOW the big one is coming, tomorrow or 500 years from now) those who practice some level of preparedness will be the ones left.

In my eyes, that makes everyone ELSE an "endangered species."

It's not easy staying on the top of the food chain. But it is fun trying.
 
Americans have become pretty complacent - life has been good for us for the last few decades. Urbanization means that you're rarely 3 minutes away from every convenience you can think of. So in a way, yes we are dinosaurs; relics of a bygone era.

Now, I don't mean to paint everybody with the same wide brush, but a lot of us DO live in an urban or suburban area with very few inconveniences. The power rarely goes out. Water is reliable. Services and shopping are a stone's throw away. Cellphones are a dime a dozen.

But I'm with you Cslinger; I still carry all those things with me in the car. Plus food and water. It's just a smart thing to do, especially living in the Baltimore/Washington area with all the nice targets for terrorists, disgusting traffic and wonderful youths such as the nice fellows from MS-13.

"Better to have it and not need it than....." oh why am I preaching to the choir? :confused:

Say hi to that lovely wife of yours for me.
 
Say hi to that lovely wife of yours for me.
Click to expand...

Right back atcha'. Hope the get together at DuClaw went well. How I was thinking about that on December 7th. Well Pearl first but you get the point. Wish I could have been there.

I just don't understand how normally intelligent, educated people do not understand how fragile our infrastructure is. Now I am not talking TEOTWAWKI but something as simple as a short disruption in fuel or power or water etc. Why are we looked upon as a group as crazy just because we want to keep a couple weeks of supplies. Not months or years. Not living in a Bunker. It just boggles my mind. I guess being a Boy Scout did pay off.

But I'm with you Cslinger; I still carry all those things with me in the car. Plus food and water. It's just a smart
Click to expand...
Funny last time I sold my truck I was emptying it out at the dealer and the salesman looked at me like I was ready for anything. Asked me if I was a paramedic or a cop etc as I emptied all my crap. I just said nope but I am prepared to be all those things and more and so should you.

I digress. Anyhow take care.

Chris
 
I've come to the realization in the last couple weeks that, I don't know if obsolete is the right word, but passed by.
The war is over, we lost.:cuss: America, the land of the free is gone, replaced by something that no one would recognize even from 1920, heck, even 1960.
People want their little TV (TV is the scourge of it), their "things", etc and someone that will take care of them. "it's for the children"
We have become a nation of subjects and they like it.
me?

Moulon Labe.:neener:
 
You know, I carry tools, jumper cables, and other stuff. I don't have any food or water or a bug out bag in the truck, but I probably should. Most of the stuff I carry is stuff that I have had to use on occasion. I carry two key rings with house and car keys. I have locked my keys in the car on more than one occasion. It has never been an issue since I carry the spare. The house key thing only happened once. Jumper cables has happenned a few times. I used to carry that Rescue gas substitute. Used it once. It just pays to have those things and it takes so little effort.

It all goes back to learning your lessons and remembering them rather than just dismissing mistakes and continuing on blissfully in ignorance.

As far as our infrastructure being fragile, all I had to do was see how we leveled Iraq in the first Gulf War. We tore their whole infrastruction down in days.
 
I don't think we're a dying breed. We're still at the top of the food chain, however, more and more Americans are taking that position for granted and failing to take responsibility for their own wellbeing and safety. They cede those responsibilities to others.

Those of us that are preparing, self-sufficient or close thereto, and/or reliant upon mainly ourselves still have the opportunity to instill those values in our children and granchildren. That is why we are not dinosaurs - we can teach our young.

We, as Americans, do run the risk of sinking into a more dysfunctional society, more self-centered, more materialistic, more consumer oriented and thus sowing the seeds of our demise. We, as individuals, have the responsibility to ourselves and our progeny to avoid that trap, and help others avoid it also.

My wife and I are lucky. We the parents of two young adult that understand many of the above lessons well - they are on the path of learning, and hopefully we'll be around to help them in the future.

No, we're not dinosaurs, but the risk is very much present that we could have the same ultimate fate if the society we are a part of does not alter its current course.

:cool:
 
Yes. We are obsolete and doomed. One little example from toady. Now this is just one I could list at least ten. 9 year old girl brought from shcool by her mother to my clinic.What is wrong? Why the child fell at school. She says her right knee hurts. It there a even an abrasion, red spot, bruise, any swelling? No to all of these. Can she walk without it hurting? Yes. Does she even limp? NO. --------------BUT SHE SAID IT HURT!!!!!!!!!!!! Does it hurt now> Not really the little girls says. BUY THE MOM WANTS AN X-RAY. I know 100% the x-ray will be normal and it was. I also know by tomorrow it will not hurt at all. But as a group of people this is one of many things I see that tells me we have a BIG problem. My mother and any other I grew up with would not even have known I fell at school. I would not have been taken to a doctor. No x-ray would have been done. Money would not have been wasted and I did not grow up thinking everytime I stumble in life it is an emergency.:eek:
 
I have in the trunk of my car :
Jumper cables, flashlight, extra batteries for said flashlight, road flares, first aid kit, fire extinguisher and minimal tool kit; all stored in the space with my spare tire, tire iron and jack.

When I was taking my car 200 + miles away from home where I am frequently driving mountain highways where I don't get cell phone service I wanted to be sure I could fix anything minor well enough to get me to the nearest town. I know people who dont have so much as a box of tissues in their vehicle and think I am paranoid. Well you know what?

I'm not paranoid I am prepared. I hope for the best and prepare for the worst. That way I'm not in trouble when my optimism turns out to be foild one or two times.

We have (in general, this doesn't apply to all ) become a nation of self centered, want what you want when you want it people. We have instant gratification from the time we are children and expect the government to take the place of our parents when we grow older and continue to provide for us with as little effort on our part.

I am far from old...I'm still in college. But I see most of my peers takeing up the "gimmie" attitude. I am often ashamed to admit that these people are my contemporaries. The most likely solution is going to be that people like those here at the high road teach their children the value of working and earning your privledges and eventualy they will teach their children and hopefuly it will take over as the norm...or mabey I'm too young and naieve/optimistic/idealistic to see where my generation and our decendants are heading...who knows.
 
im 21 years old. are we a dying breed? yea i think so. That being said it wont take much for us to come surging back with avengence. any power outages, water problems(floods or lack of water) or any one of a hundred things could go wrong and we few who took the minute to prepare will be on top. everyone remembers the story of the grasshopper and the ant. the ant slaved all summer while the grasshopper played. guess who starved come winter?

i get funny looks for keeping the most BASIC things in my dorm room! i have a decent pocket knife, which people think is crazy, glow sticks, extra batteries, and a gallon of water/juice or whatever. that and some random other little trinkets like battary powered radios. they ask what will you ever need that for? how often does the power go out at college? I'll tell you what in 03 when the power went out in all of new york, i was the only kid who had anything useful. EVERYONE sang a different tune then.

people think of us as gun nuts and survalists. we ARENT those things. . .okay maybe a few of us are :) but the point is it pays to take the minute, spend the extra dollar, and buy some piece of mind. Be that a gun, some extra food, or even a basic tool kit and a decent flashlight.

we arent extremists, we are realists. forget the society is a shell mentality, sh it happens, in everyday lives. you get flat tires, you run out of gas, the power goes out. the world doesnt stop, but your life gets a lot easier if you took the time to have some foresight.
 
People think i'm crazy...

I carry a large FA bag in my trunk (I'm an EMT, so it makes sense) as well as a relatively large set of tools. I have a full size mag light mounted in my trunk, and I have several other lights in the car. I also have an emergency battery charger in the glove box (you plug it into the cig lighter and it'll let you start your car, even with a dead battery, but only works once).

It's a matter of being prepared, and when it comes to some kind of emergency, we're the people that everyone runs to.

--Jim

~a prepared 21 y/o college student.
 
Spot77 said:
Americans have become pretty complacent - life has been good for us for the last few decades. Urbanization means that you're rarely 3 minutes away from every convenience you can think of. So in a way, yes we are dinosaurs; relics of a bygone era.
Click to expand...
That captures the essence of the issue for me.

"We" (= most of our fellow citizens) have become complacent because life has been good for the last few decades. We've been able to procure our basic needs by {choose one or more} turning on the tap; turning on the switch; turning on the gas; driving to Macs or the grocery; calling 911....

Should things change rapidly {as is inevitable in any nonlinear system like societies - just ask any of the great former civilizations... you think this one is any different?}, few will be prepared to get food & water, let alone jump a dead battery or defend against those trying to take their food, water & battery.

This reminds me of another thread that seems to be somewhat ... quiescent of late.

Nem
 
If they take the Second Amendment from us...they'll rape us to death, eat our flesh, and sew our skins into their clothing. And if we're very, very lucky...they'll do it in that order. ---Zoe, Firefly Pilot Movie (revised version):D
 
Complete set of wrenches, screwdrivers, hammers, sockets, etc. in an old tanker's bag in my trunk. All the necessary fluids and an extra set of belts, along with the usual tow strap, flares, etc. Fire extinguisher stays under my seat. I figure seconds running to the trunk count when something is burning. M3 medkit back there, a couple days of food (MRE entrees) and two canteens of water on my web gear. A maglite and an electric lantern. Two sets of batteries for each. Naturally, I have one or two "equalizers" on me or in the trunk at all times (loadout depending on the situation). This stuff weighs less than an extra passenger, and it has been used, numerous times, for its intended purpose (mostly tools, and never for my car, oddly). I even check my spare every Sunday when I check the other tires.

We had a 9-hour power outage at school October of '04. Kids went home. They couldn't live without power. I was a little annoyed at having to use the head in the dark, but other than that, I thought it was really fun. Seriously, kids went home. We're talking 200 mile drive on a cold and rainy Thursday night because the juice was off. We didn't even lose phones, so their knights in flashing lights were just a 911 away. It was total SHTF to them. It was like a camping trip in a nice cabin at the lake to me. Candlelight poker games, cooking over a Sterno can, and even a couple of ghost stories (and maybe the odd nip of rye... or maybe not. you can't prove anything).

When the power kicked just before lunch, I hoofed it up to my room. I poured the rest of the coffee in my thermos, grabbed the maglite, and headed back outside. I got just past the outside door when I saw this freshman coming down the opposite stairwell. He had a poncho in one hand, and an electric brakeman's lantern in the other. Mind you, this was ~1130.
"Hey, Andy, what was your Eagle project?"
"We did a bunch of landscaping at the nursing home."
"Ah, good one."
"Wait, how'd you know I was an Eagle Scout?"
"Lucky guess."

Andy was one of six people I saw with so much as a flashlight.

The foodservice people, never to be defeated, whipped up a meal for us with some of the outdoor cooking stuff they have for picnics. Nothing fancy, just chili-cheese dogs, burgers, and a couple pans of brownies and rice crispie treats graciously sent to us by another university (yeah, we ate like kings). Out of the five or six hundred who walk through the cafeteria during dinnertime, the count was forty seven when they closed it down at 1900.

Power was back to all of campus by 2100. Pansies. They must be afraid of the dark. Remind me to get away from this idiot factory PDQ if we ever have a real emergency.
 
The Serenity DVD is released Dec. 20 just in time for the holidays. Great series and hope the movie is just as good.
 
cslinger said:
I carry jumper cables, a fire extinguisher, first aid kit, knife, tools, flashlight etc. and I meet so few other folks who dont so much as carry their own jumper cables. Now I am not a cowboy, nor was I brought up in the wilderness, hell I don't even hunt. So what makes me so different. Why do I want to be self sufficient? Why do I care about self defense of myself and my family? Am I the dinosaur? Am I resistent to change
Click to expand...

Should see what most people in the UK dont have in there car's....
over 90% dont even have so much as a gas can or even a road flare, most only are armed with a cell phone and a towing service card...:banghead:
 
Kim said:
Yes. We are obsolete and doomed. One little example from toady. Now this is just one I could list at least ten. 9 year old girl brought from shcool by her mother to my clinic.What is wrong? Why the child fell at school. She says her right knee hurts. It there a even an abrasion, red spot, bruise, any swelling? No to all of these. Can she walk without it hurting? Yes. Does she even limp? NO. --------------BUT SHE SAID IT HURT!!!!!!!!!!!! Does it hurt now> Not really the little girls says. BUY THE MOM WANTS AN X-RAY. I know 100% the x-ray will be normal and it was. I also know by tomorrow it will not hurt at all. But as a group of people this is one of many things I see that tells me we have a BIG problem. My mother and any other I grew up with would not even have known I fell at school. I would not have been taken to a doctor. No x-ray would have been done. Money would not have been wasted and I did not grow up thinking everytime I stumble in life it is an emergency.:eek:
Click to expand...
This is the attitude of my employer. We now have to have a doctors note to use any of our sick leave. I hope they all enjoy me spreading around any cold or flu I get 'cause I'm not using my vacation time when I'm sick. I only go to the doctor for checkups and serious stuff (like broken bones), not every little ache and pain or sniffle.

How many times has someone told me I could save some gas if I wouldn't carry all "that junk" around in my car.
 
1911user said:
The Serenity DVD is released Dec. 20 just in time for the holidays. Great series and hope the movie is just as good.
Click to expand...

THe movie was realy good...I was a fan of the show for it's short lived run on TV and have the DVD's and I saw the movie opening night...It was rely god...i'm gonna stop ther before I ruin it for someone.
 
Beholden To No Man :O)

Love the quote by the way. Not to be trite, but I WAS a Boy Scout..and being preparred (with a couple of noteable exceptions) has served me well.

My wife and I don't owe anyone anything (sometimes we eat beans..but they're from OUR garden!) There's no feeling in the world like that of being free.. and independent of having to rely on others.

I'm older than you and, Brother, believe me.. you're on the right track!

Take Care
 
P.S.

We've stored enough anti-biotics, pain killers, etc. for an army. All a doc will do is hit you for an office visit and give you an RX.

Take Care
 
BozemanMT said:
I've come to the realization in the last couple weeks that, I don't know if obsolete is the right word, but passed by.
The war is over, we lost.:cuss: America, the land of the free is gone, replaced by something that no one would recognize even from 1920, heck, even 1960.
People want their little TV (TV is the scourge of it), their "things", etc and someone that will take care of them. "it's for the children"
We have become a nation of subjects and they like it.
me?

Moulon Labe.:neener:
Click to expand...

Except they don't want a little TV. They've been trained to want a SIXTY INCH PLASMA!!!....that they can't afford, but they have plenty of credit cards, right?

I always wonder at what point vast majorities of the middle and lower classes equated "wealth" as being the same as "credit limit".

You can have the STUFF you've been trained to have, right? No matter if you can't do the math and it'd take you 30 years to pay off three times what the actual price was, when you're done!
 
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