the proper use of paranoia

[mellowtigger]

Fear is a powerful motivator, but we must harness it to make it useful. I carry a healthy dose of worries, but I do try to keep them reasonable. When I make predictions based on my fears, I tag them in my blog so that I can revisit them later to measure their predictive value. So far, I have a very poor record of performance. So I reduce my indulgence of those fears.  Fears must be identified before they can be impartially evaluated.

I watched the speech on Friday by NRA spokeperson Wayne La'Pierre.  He obviously went full-on paranoia by advocating a perpetual spiral of arms escalation with crazy people.  In contrast, let me show you how I've balanced worry with practicality in my own life.  I do worry about profound economic problems.  I do worry that our business culture of just-in-time resource delivery means that we have no local stockpiles of vital goods.  We have no resiliency during emergency.  So I prepare for potential problems in a modest way.

1. Water.  I would keep bottled water in my bedroom closet, except that winters in Minnesota last a long time.  If a local disaster interrupted utilities, it's likely to occur during cold weather.  The cold house would cause water to rupture the container and ruin the wooden floors.  So I don't keep water.  I do, however, keep a water filter so I can clean water from the nearby Mississippi River in warm weather or melted snow in cold weather.
2. Food.  Yes, I do keep a bucket of dried food packets.  Just add water.
3. Toilet paper.  I learned during the local Occupation last year that sanitation is much more urgent a priority than we commonly think.
4. Radiation.  I live within 80 km (50 mi) of two nuclear power plants.  After the Fukushima disaster, I finally ordered some potassium iodide tablets as temporary protection until I can evacuate somewhere safer.
5. Medicine.  I keep bandages and antibiotic cream available.  I also keep a secondary supply of these items available at work, since an animal shelter is a bacterial playground.
6. Fitness.  I try to retain my ability to exert myself.  I bicycle and I garden.  Both are good exercise.

That's it.  That's all I do to prepare.  I make the bare minimum changes necessary to survive temporarily during brief emergencies.  I don't stockpile weapons.  I don't even own a gun.  I don't rotate supplies in any "bug-out bag".  I don't own land outside the cities (although I wish I did just for my own personal reasons unrelated to paranoia).  I don't train for triathlons.  I don't build my own underground fortress.  I don't buy gas masks and hazard suits.  Other people do those things.  I think they've watched too much Hollywood fare, and they've succumbed to the mythology of the lone wolf survivor.

Long-term disruption to the local business ecology is a systemic problem, not a personal problem.  Preparation for such possibility requires cooperative planning, not rugged individualism.  I favor local resilience schemes such as localvore food production, renewable energy that doesn't need to be continuously shipped from far away, xeriscaping to conserve water, and energy-conserving building construction.  I worry for our collective preparedness because we don't do these things together.

All of these preparations can be done individually, yes, but they aren't truly effective until a whole community embraces the practices.  I view "personal preparedness" as a sign that someone has already seceded from their community, abandoning the public in favor of their private interest.  I prefer to continue arguing for sustainability and resilience in the collective infrastructure.

Dangers are real.  We should predict and prepare.  It is unreasonable, however, for individuals to try replicating an entire life support system just for themselves.  It is a conspicuous consumption of resources.  I hope to avoid such self-indulgence of my paranoias.  "We're all in this together," as the saying goes.  I try to keep my paranoia constructive rather than disruptive to my personal life.

Comments

[mtbc]

That's an interesting list, thank you for sharing.