The State of Preparedness 2020
Come out from your bunkers! Happy days are here again! This is the State of Preparedness 2020! Not!
Those of us in the Preparedness Community, who have been in it for a while, have been decrying the current state of preparedness. Please don’t pass this off as a scare tactic. I’m sharing what I’ve been seeing and experiencing for a while now. Preparedness is dying. This is the real State of Preparedness 2020!
I’m not the only one saying it. Others have mentioned it out in public. Many have confided to me through email, not wanting to mention it out in an open forum. It feels almost sacrilegious to admit it.
Possible Reasons for The Prepper Decline?
Some say it is because we have a Republican President in office. I will admit that I did see the overall numbers of Prepper Website go down after Trump’s election. It is like some in the Preparedness Community believe that Republican’s will set the world right and save the Union from any SHTF possibilities. Those who don’t have their heads in the sand know that although President Trump has done some good things (and some questionable things), a President isn’t the only one that makes decisions in this country. And even more, many of the things that were hoped he would do, haven’t been done. There are many factors that come into play here. But those factors are not the purpose of this article.
Others say that the economy is so good that there is no need to prep. As long as the stock market produces big numbers, then we all benefit from the prosperity of the bankers and traders making a fortune. But we know this isn’t true either. The blessings on Wall Street haven’t found their way to Main Street. Just go to the grocery store and buy a week’s worth of food for your family. If you do the shopping for your family, you know what I’m talking about! Everything is getting more expensive and our paychecks aren’t reflecting any real income increases.
The other big reason, in my humble opinion, is that many preppers succumbed to Prepper Fatigue. You can only hear the “sky is falling” so much before you kick Chicken Little in the head and move on. The problem with this is that true preparedness isn’t about just being prepared for the big one! It can include that. But in reality, it is a lifestyle of responsibility for you and your family. Reasons to be prepared come up every single day. But, I know I’m preaching to the choir here.
Seeing the Prepper Flame Burnout
Actually, I’ve been talking about this for a while now, longer than President Trump’s election. In fact, back in May 2017, I wrote Do Dead Prepper’s Tell Tales. In that article, I referenced another article about prepper websites closing up. I wrote that article in August 2014 – The SAD Way of Preparedness Websites – Possibly An Analogy of the Preparedness Life!. The difference between those two articles and this one is that new prepper related websites were popping up all the time. That’s life, the new rise up to replace the old. But this isn’t happening this time. At least I don’t see it!
This week, I removed another 5 websites from Prepper Website. I use a Broken Link Checker to see if websites that I have linked to are still active. I don’t necessarily remove the links to their articles, I remove the link to the website itself. I also removed about 6 different websites from Top Prepper Websites for the same reason. These sites, with all of their preparedness articles and information, just disappeared, without a word.
The Warning
The main issue here is the availability of prepper information to those who realize they need to prep and start to search for the information that is no longer online. Why? Because nothing has changed in the fundamentals of our economy. It is still being propped up in a big way. Nothing has changed with terrorism. Nothing has changed with the possibility of a pandemic jumping over from another country and running through the US like wildfire. Nothing has changed with how Murphy likes to show up and kick you in the pants when you are down.
In fact, things have become worse. If you are still paying attention to what is going on in this country, you know we are more divided than ever. Many believe that the 2020 Election will not be as civil as we would like it. Big weather events seem to be the norm. And drought and flooding can easily see us one growing season away from food prices going through the roof.
There is still a need for prepper information. There will always be a need for preparedness information! And in this world where all sorts of information are so readily available, it is to our advantage that we ensure prepper articles, podcasts and videos are there for the next person who wakes up to the need to prepare!
What Can Be Done in “Preparedness 2020?”
For the “true believer,” there are some things that can be done to help those websites, podcasts, and Youtubers who are providing Prepper content.
1. Read, Listen, Watch and Comment on Preparedness Content. When a content creator produces content and few people interact with it, it is so depressing. Many times, we put our hearts, time and a lot of effort into our content only to hear crickets. Now, not every piece of prepper content is stellar, that’s a fact. But if a piece has blessed you in some way, leave a comment or send an email to the author. I can tell you that it would be greatly appreciated!
2. Click on their Affiliate Links. Many prepper websites don’t make a lot of money. But many of them have an affiliate association with Amazon. When you make a purchase through a preparedness website’s link, it doesn’t cost you any more money and it gives them a little percentage of the sale, no matter what you buy. At the end of the month, even $50 can be a big blessing to someone creating content for free.
3. Support Individuals, Not Companies. This may sound weird, but some companies have purchased active preparedness websites to promote their own agenda. I have been approached to sell Prepper Website many times too. I do what I do more out of mission than money, so I always just send those emails and requests to the delete folder. But you can always tell a “fishy” website because there isn’t an individual behind it or they want to be “anonymous.” Look for “about” pages and real people that you can interact with, that will respond to you!
4. Share Preparedness Content. I’m done with Facebook and Instagram. I’m posting this article on Ed that Matters because FB and IG have been blocking any links to Prepper Website. Somehow, preparedness is against “Community Standards.” However, I’m still “auto-sending” to the Prepper Website FB Group and Page other preparedness website articles. I’m doing this because there are so many people still using FB and IG. I shared about this on IG and talked about it on the podcast. But you can help others by sharing out their content on social media, email, and word of mouth. The more people that hear about preparedness, the better it will be for preppers in the long run.
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5. Share Your Own Preparedness 2020 Story. Preppers who own websites aren’t the only ones that have a story to tell. Every prepper has a story or stories that can help others better prepare, lessons to be learned. For some examples, read – Ice Storm on the Farm and Bugout Before It’s Too Late! If you have an article you would like to submit, CLICK HERE.
6. Don’t Let Your Website Disappear! This one is specific for other preparedness website owners. If you find yourself ready to stop writing preparedness content and you are planning on letting your website domain and hosting expire, please turn it over to someone that can keep it going for you. I’m in talks with someone right now who is considering this. Please don’t let your website just disappear.
Conclusion – Preparedness 2020
As we stand at the beginning of a new year, Preppers know that there are many unknowns. The true believers will continue to prepare because it is a lifestyle and we care about taking responsibility for our families and loved ones. I still expect that websites will go down in the middle of the night. But I’m also hopeful that new preppers will rise to the challenge and become beacons of light in this world that seems to be getting darker.
Here’s to Preparedness 2020! Do your part to make it a good one!
Peace,
Todd
