Monday, July 6, 2009

Unprepared People

Today I saw a person sitting in the passenger side seat of an SUV. There was nothing strange about this man in particular. He looked normal, and acted normally, except that in his lap sat an adult woman that was roughly his age. Obviously this woman had on no seat belt, and everyone in the car was laughing and chatting away. Undoubtedly everything was just fine and they were all having a wonderful afternoon.

This made me think about another site I had seen about a week or two back. I was waiting in a turning lane on a very hot afternoon waiting for a streetlight to change. While waiting, a motorcycle drove on by with a man and a woman riding, and the woman had her arms wrapped around him tight. The woman was only wearing a bikini top, shorts, and sandals. Once again, I'm sure both people were having a great time and I'm sure they are both fine right now as I type this.

What do the people in the SUV and the people riding on the motorcycle have in common? They are not prepared for a potentially bad event. If the SUV got into a crash, the woman would be ejected without question. In the very best situation she might only sustain life threatening injuries. The same is true for the girl on the motorcycle. These individuals were not prepared for a bad situation. In fact, I will go as far as to say that they most likely couldn't have disadvantaged themselves worse if they had tried.

Now, I am no "doom and gloomer." I am a very happy and positive person, but this doesn't mean that I am careless. In case you have not noticed, this is far more encompassing then just people's general safety. People are ill-equipped in nearly every facet of life. Few people really know how to properly preserve food anymore, beyond the freezer and possibly a vacuum sealer, and few people even have a stockpile of nutritious food that would get their whole family past a month of two. In fact, it is often discouraged, or thought of as being ridiculous.

I even had to write an article arguing the different statements I have heard against stockpiling food (you can read it here)! We are so used to having the everyday conveniences of life, like 24 hour grocery shopping, that we've allowed it to make us reckless. We do not think we will get in a crash, so let's not bother with even the most basic of safety precautions. That is insanity to me! If having extra food stored in case of emergency is crazy, then count me in. I refuse to be one of the people in a grocery store physically fighting for the last gallon of clean, potable water.

These situations may not rise everyday, or even consistently, but I will prepare so that when they do arise, my family and I are ready. I suggest that you do the same.

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