Different world by Festus
In a recent conversation with a very experienced gentleman who has seen many things come and go over the years he said something that made me wonder about the state of things today. Are things really as bad as they seem? Are things in 2020 really different from the way things were in the sixty’s or seventies? There are so many ways to look at that question.
Let’s give the topic some parameters. The discussion was about preparing for hard times, the unknowns of life, and taking care of ourselves and our loved ones. He said that things today don’t seem to be much different from 50 years ago because there were people then who thought the end of the world as we know it would happen any day and they were trying to stock up on necessities. Then there was Y2K. Same thing, preparing for the things to stop working and society to go crazy.
And today it’s the same thing. People anticipating any number of scenarios happening that would end life as we know it now. So are things really different now? People seem to be the same……….some work, some don’t, have emotions, go thru life day to day, sometimes happy and sometimes not. Some strive to get ahead and some drop out. You get the idea. In the Bible it is widely accepted that Solomon wrote Ecclesiastes. In chapter 1:9 he says “what has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.” Specifics may change but we are all basically the same as our ancestors were centuries ago when Solomon wrote it. And I always heard the phrase that history repeats itself. Another variation is history may not repeat itself but it sure does rhyme. If people are basically the same as they were throughout history then are the times we live in different? Are the reasons to prep today different than 50 years ago?
I can’t fully answer the question because in the sixties and seventies I was trying to grow up and survive high school and was not paying attention to the things that my parents or grandparents were. The gentleman I referenced earlier was close to the anti-communist and conservative, constitutional government movement of that time. Nuclear war was on a lot of people’s minds then with the Cuban missile crisis and some people prepared as best they could for that life altering possibility. I’m sure there were other concerns and fears that people had on their minds but I really don’t about them. But my impression of that time is that people in general were on the same team and with the exception of the founding fathers of this country, my parents generation was the greatest generation this country has had.
So are things really different now? Are we actually facing real possibilities or probabilities of life and society altering events happening today? For those who know the Bible, are we really close to Christ’s second coming and the end of the world as we know it? I am not a prophet and have never even played one on TV (oh come on ….loosen up a little). But I wonder how many generations before ours have had the same thoughts. I think probably most generations over the last 2000 years have had similar thoughts.
With that in mind I still can’t help but think that the reasons to prepare are different than they were 50 years ago. From listening to people who were paying attention to things at that time, for the most part it was people in general against the government, as in against the Vietnam war or concerned about the Cold War. In an over-simplified way, Y2K was people against the computers. But now society in general has changed with more anger, drastic changes in the media’s reporting and manipulating the public, divisiveness in politics and economics, a pervasive entitlement mentality, common sense and critical thinking seem to have all but disappeared, etc.
Technology has progressed far beyond what we had 50 years ago. While technology has given us some great tools to aid us it has also begun to control us in ways that can easily destroy us. It has given a lot of power and control to a few powerful people. That makes it dangerous for everyone else. It can also be used against itself and destroy our ways of life in an instant. So yes, I do think that things are different now than they used to be. Y2k was a big computer driven scare that turned out to be a non-event. But the various weapons that exist today could end life as we know it instantly.
What are your reasons for preparing for the unknowns that do and will continue to pop up? Do you look at the big things like an EMP or financial meltdown and are so overwhelmed that analysis paralysis sets in quickly and not much really gets done? You feel like you are on a mental treadmill…….sweating but getting nowhere. Or do you take those big overwhelming events but break things down to your personal/family level, then the local level? Just realize the steps you take and the things you do will help in any event, whether a local tornado or huge grid down event.
Doing things in a thoughtful and methodical way and training/practicing along the way builds your preparations and your confidence and abilities every step of the way. This is hard for most of us to do. We are busy with jobs and family activities and trying to lead a fairly normal life with family and friends. We can spend a lot of time and energy paying attention to what’s going on in the world, prioritizing prep time and expenditures, all while trying to stay balanced in preps and daily life. Doing “everything” is exhausting. Just remember that doing something is better than nothing. And if that something is part of the overall master plan of your preparations then no effort is wasted and you can feel good day by day.
And probably the most important thought I’ll close with is balancing your time and efforts between the physical, mental, and spiritual is a very good combination.
Prepare to be found worthy, pray you don't find out.
Festus out.
Blessings,
Bravo Echo Out
Blessings,
