What is the best political party for preppers?
by Ric Hubbard • January 4, 2020
Prepping and survivalism have always been a politically charged subject. It should come a no surprise that the editor of a preparedness website might be a little political. For a long time, I have avoided politics on this blog, but I have spent much of the last two years involved in local politics and I have come to the realization that you cannot separate the two.
This begs the question of which American political party is the closest fit for the preparedness community? Before we dig into that, let’s take a quick look at where we have been.
At the very beginning what would become the Survivalist movement and then “Prepping”, there was the Back To The Land movement. Hippies who were sick of the conservative nature of American society bailed out and moved to the country. They grew their own food and made their own clothes. They disconnected as much a possible from dominate, mainstream society and found a sense of security being away from “The man” by building a culture that fit their individual needs. They were a liberal bunch best represented by the Democratic Party.
Sometime in the late ‘60s or early ‘70s, the cold war and the threat of nuclear war changed the face of the back to the land ethic. When you add in the fear of the apocalypse and what those who are unprepared might do, you get the survivalist movement of the ‘70s and ‘80s. Their more conservative nature was best represented by the Republican Party.
I grew up and came of age during this time of fear. I read about the effects of a nuclear war and at some point very early in my life decided that I would not allow myself to be a victim of it. I found a copy of Howard Ruff’s book How To Prosper in the Coming Bad Years and read it. This led to other books written in the early ‘80s, such as Nuclear War Survival Skills and Life After Doomsday that convinced me that being prepared was a good idea. I believed in the Constitution and the conservative nature of these books had me believing that The Republican Party and political conservatism was the right path. Forty years later I no longer believe that it fits.
Today I am an active member of The Libertarian Party. While the two biggest parties tout their support for the Constitution and individual liberty, their actions speak volumes about their actual intentions. At various times both Republicans and Democrats have supported increasing the size of government, fought for laws that infringe on the individuals right to lead their life as they see fit. I do not wish to get into a detailed discussion on the laws in question, just take a look at laws on the books and explore how they help or hinder your preparedness and decide for yourself.
It is my position that if you truly want the personal freedom to live off grid, home school your children and maintain a level of preparedness in your life than The Libertarian Party is your natural home. We believe that you have the right to defend yourself, your family and your community with the best tools for the job. That is why we oppose all gun control laws. We believe that you are the owner of your body and you can do with it as you see fit. That is why we advocate an end to the drug war, the decriminalization of recreational drugs and most of us are pro-choice.
We believe that you should be able to do with your property as you see fit. That is why we oppose laws that prevent people from going off grid and cutting the cord to the electric company. That is why we oppose laws that prevent people from collecting rainwater.
In short, we believe that you should be able to live as you see fit, so long as you do not infringe on another’s right to do the same. That is why we oppose big government and work to shrink its size and scope.
I am telling you this to make the option available to you, not to suggest that to be a prepper you must be Libertarian.
That would be very Anti-Libertarian of me. For more information on The Libertarian Party, check out their website
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