On one of your middle points, ("Own a bunch of Firearms...."), -Here you've got to bother. (I'm speaking of Preparedness in general, -which may or may not include firearms, ammo etc, -as the individual case and preference may be.).

In this vein, -I'd add, -"Noah building his Ark, -only to be Laffed at by everyone?!" Why Bother?! Here he'd Bettered Bother! Nevertheless All the Same Bother!

Moreover, -in the End, -it was he who got the Last Laugh there! Much as we Preparedness types finally get from others, -when a Real Emergency and Need comes along!

This said and being so, -I still Follow, Understand, and somewhat Agree with the Spirit and Gist, -of your other Points.

To put it simplest, -perhaps a basic Map of the U.S. should be made available, -with say "Earthquake", "Forest/Brush Fires", "Mudslides", etc, -over say California, "Hurricanes" over say Florida, "Hailstones" and "Tornados" over say the Midwest, "Volcanoes" over Washington State and Hawaii, "Avalanches" over Colorado and the Rockies, etc etc etc. Then people would have right in front of them, -a "No Excuses" Starting Point, -from which to work from.

Of course people of any given locality, -generally already know these things, -if often only somewhere in the Back of their Minds! And All Too Often many still don't even minimally Prepare from there. But such a Readily Available Map, -may serve as at least some sort of Reminder!

And to the extent that X amount of People have gotten somewhat "So So" about even 9 - 11, -only several years after, -how are they gonna Keep Up the Inspiration and Gumption, -and Follow On Familiarization and Preparedness, -from say our recent Tsunami, Floods, Hurricanes, Quakes, and Twisters?!

A certain "Why Bother?!" Dissapointment begins to enter my mind there too, -but as with Noah and Everyday Awareness and Preparedness, -we had Bettered and Best!, -nevertheless Bother!

Paraphrasing Admiral Farragut now,-

"Dang the Lookdown Laugh!, -Full Preparedness Speed Ahead!" Preparedness is certainly a case of that! [color:"black"] [/color] [email]ki4buc[/email]
_________________________
"No Substitute for Victory!"and"You Can't be a Beacon if your Light Don't Shine!"-Gen. Douglass MacArthur and Donna Fargo.