I've found several factors that seem to keep people in denial and therefore avoid "preparedness education".

First is the comfort in which we all strive for; let's call it the "comfort factor". We are trained from day one, that we should make ourselves comfortable, and content. One way we make ourselves feel comfortable is to consume, and boy are we well trained as consumers, from day-one. But this consumption is not related to preparedness (except for a few if us) it's related to social acceptance, climbing the social ladder, helping us have more time in our lives, make a chore easier, recreate, etc., etc, etc. We can watch sitcoms while the city crumbles...as long as we've got our "comfort factor" and a good set of blinders.

This "feeling the need" to become educated, has recently been regional. Most Floridians, gulf and coastal communities have received the message and hopefully have learned what is necessary to avoid chaos. San Francisco, LA, Seattle, they probably all have small populations of people aware of emergency preparation. However, for those who have never had to hunker-down, researching emergency preparedness can make most people feel helpless, vulnerable, and very uncomfortable.

It's pretty intimidating to educate oneself about all the potential threats out there. So I believe many people avoid the education with the simple justification "....it'll never happen to me", "....it'll never happen here". "Don't suggest it will; you're just paranoid!" And then there are those that still feel some agency will come to the rescue........(good luck).

The Government, CDC, Ready.gov, Red Cross, all have educational websites for those who choose to prepare. Like you said, just a simple 72 hour kit could keep many from joining the chaotic throngs of over-reacting, ill educated people. I've chosen to educate my family and some friends. Still, I'm amazed at how some very intelligent people will avoid this "uncomfortable" issue of preparedness.