The Crash Course - Chris Martenson [129]
We each need to be responsible for helping to change the story so that we can have a better future. The alternatives are unacceptable.
The Good News . . .
Again, we don’t need anything that we don’t already have in order to turn this story around. We know what the issues are, and we know what we have to do. Now we need to make those things a priority.
Eventually we will do so, but with every passing day, our energy surplus shrinks, our other resources deplete, debts continue to climb, our environmental predicaments grow larger, world population continues to swell, and our range of potential reactions become fewer and ever more expensive. Our choice is to decide whether we wish to continue ahead with our foot on the gas pedal and risk hitting the wall at top speed, or give ourselves a sporting chance by applying the brakes now.
What we need is for our leadership to make profound, course-altering decisions, and we should put some effort into ensuring that this happens. But at the same time, it’s realistic to recognize that significant changes may not be made in time to prevent some serious disruptions. So call this “good news with an asterisk.” Yes, we have everything we need to begin making the right choices, but as a collective whole, it seems quite likely that we won’t choose enough of them in time to prevent disruptions from occurring. Read on for more about personal preparation and what you can personally do to make a difference.
CHAPTER 27
What Should I Do?
By now your head may be spinning as you think through the implications of the information contained in this book. The good news is that we can make different and better choices to buy ourselves more time and secure a better future. The bad news is that we probably won’t do everything or even most of what is needed at the national or global levels in time to prevent at least a few serious disruptions from occurring.
This possibility leaves you and your community in the position of having to undertake whatever sorts of modifications and preparations you deem appropriate. I’ve personally undertaken preparations that some might consider extensive and others would feel are wholly insufficient. We each must assess for ourselves what seems prudent and feels right, but we all should be doing something, no matter how trivial or insufficient it may seem.
Time to Get a Little Insurance
The purpose of this chapter is to nudge you toward gaining greater control of your future by becoming more resilient and better prepared. If it helps, think of these steps as insurance that you hope you never have to collect on. As a prudent adult, you probably have fire insurance on your house, maybe you have collision insurance on your car, and perhaps you have life insurance on yourself and your spouse because you know life is risky and you want to mitigate what risks you can. The same process applies here.
My philosophy on preparing is simple: Get started. Begin by doing whatever is easiest and fastest as a means of taking that first step. It doesn’t so much matter what your initial actions are, as long as they demonstrate an alignment between your life and the idea that major changes are on the way. Getting started is the key. Relief from worry is the immediate goal. I should note here that everything I recommend next represents things that I have personally done. I do what I say and I say what I do.
To me, becoming prepared is the act of a selfless, prudent adult seeking to control risk in his or her life, not the act of an antisocial loner or anxious doomer. There are no right or wrong answers or actions, since none of us know precisely what will unfold or when. Instead, we must prepare as if for a trip across open water—right