
     WE ARE SURVIVALISTS
    He who fails to prepare for the night, fails to prepare for the dawn.

  I am a survivalalist and by nature a survivalist is an OPTIMIST.  I do not
have one pessimistic bone in my body.  If what I just said sounds odd to you
then you are not yet a survivalist and you do not understand the modern
survivalist at all.  It has been very difficult to communicate to the public
and the mass communications media, the concept of an optimistic, hopeful
survivalist.
  A fireman is a fireman, not because he believes everything will burn, but
because he believes much can be saved.  Doctors don't believe in death, they
believe in life, and a survivalist is not a survivalist becuase he beleives
everything must be destroyed and everyone must die, he beleives that life and
freedom can be saved, if people of good will are prepared.  A fireman does not
start fires, a doctor does not make disease and a survivalist does not make
disaster.
  Crime, disease, war, revolution, fire, flood, periodic financial collapse
and famine are the results of nature and the nature of man and unfortunately
are not within the power of anyone on this earth to prevent.
  We all know that the sun will set each day, leaving us in darkness and we
all know that warm summers give way to cold winters and that we can do nothing
to keep the sun from setting ot the cold winds from coming, does this make us
pessimistic?  I think not! So then why is the survivalist called a pessimist
when he makes ready to face events that are just as much part of history and
nature as the sunset and changing of the seasons.
  Another misconception is that survivalists are predicting world disaster.
On the contrary, we seem to be the OPTIMISTIC MINORITY that is predicting
world survival.  We are hard pressed to find any well recommended historians,
economists, political scientists, sociologists or military strategists that
can come up with a scenario that gives even a fifty-fifty chance of avioding a
large scale catastrophe, yet we survivalist dare to be OPTIMISTIC about the
future.  We survivalists do not need to predict the probability of disater
anymore than we need to predict the sun setting.
  Those who critize survivalists, are like men who refuse to look at a
calendar, in the hope that through self-imposed ignorance they can keep from
aging another year.
  "You survivalists will be disappointed if we don't have a world cataclysm",
here is another accusation that is pure B.S. and I could not think of a milder
phrase to describe it. We survivalists have loved ones we don't want to see
hurt or killed, we have homes we don't want to see destroyed, we are not fools
to think that just because we are suvrvivalists a world cataclysm would be fun
for us or the we would not experiance danger, loss, hunger, injury, cold or
even despair and death.
  We have spent time and money to improve our chances for survival and
recovery from disaster, but we would have a great celebration if some day we
could be assured that we had wasted our time.  No, we will not be disappointed
if there is no disaster to survive, anymore than the Red Cross is disappointed
when there are no floods and storms or the man who buys an insurance policy is
disappointed when his house fails to burn down.
  It may be said that the survivalist would much prefer the pleasant (but
unlikely) surprise of being wrong to the (probable) deadly rude awakening that
the nonsurvivalist will face if he is wrong.
  
  So, you see the survivalist can not lose because his survival prepartions
will be of value regardless of what the future has in store.  In time of
crisis, those who have not prepared to turn to each other, will turn on each
other.
  It is most regrettable indeed, that many people consider survivalists as a
threat and regard them with suspicion and even hostility.  This attitude is
logically indefensible and is rooted in the nonsurvivalists own sense of fear
and guilt.  Subconsciously, the nonsurvivalist may hate the survivalist for
reminding him of how fragile his lifestyle is.  Now, let's get the facts
turned around right.  THE MOST DANGEROUS PEOPLE IN AMERICA TODAY ARE THE
NONSURVIVALists.  Every person who has not made provisions for surviving
without food, water, fuel and other essential needs from the outside, is a
mortal danger to his neighbors.
  What will a man do when he and his family are freezing, hungry, thirsty,
sick and starving?  He may ask or beg his neighbors for help, but when they
have no extra fuel, food, water or medicine to give, will he just go back home
to die with his wife and kids?  What do you think?  We survivalists who stock
up on food and other supplies, now do a favor to society because what we now
buy is replaced on the shelves so there will be that much more available in an
emergency. We survivalists won't be looting and killing for food.  We won't be
a burden  on the medical facilities or a danger to the police.  Since we will
be able to turn to each other, we will not need to turn on anyone and we may
be able to help at least some.
  Survival preparation should be regarded as a social obligation, one that
every individual owes to his family and community and his nation.  The
nonsurvivalist is simply a poor and irresponsible citizen.
  So the reality is, that survivalists are optimistic, self-reliant
individuals, who cannot help but see the imperitive of preparing for the worst
possible events, while hoping sincerely, that they won't happen.  Today's
survivalist is an asset to his community and to the world and should be proud
to be called SURVIVALIST.
                    LIVE FREE  BOX 1743, HARVEY,IL 60426
