The survival of sanity

Many things neccessary for survival,yet it is of supreme importance that sanity survive. Having experienced the death of sanity in an emergency situation, it is painfully obvious to me that when our own survival is threatened, our sense of justice, and reason is consumed in a blinding flash of panic.
What follows is a list of what I observed during the evacuation of Houston a few years ago.
1. Thousands of cars on the shoulder of the road, out of gas, and their occupants in a panic.
2. Lines to the gas pumps as much seven miles long.
3. Even small convenience stores completely emptied of all contents, and people still banging on the doors trying to get in.
4. Businesses closing their doors to everyone except those with copius amounts of cash.
5. Government agencies guarding food supplies at gunpoint.
6. Motels full.
7. Restaurants full.
8. People still looking for that "out of the way place, that no one else knows about".
9. Underground gas tanks empty, with cars at the pumps, and lines miles long.
10. The most impatient people risking life, limb, and property, just to move others out of their way.
When in a blind panic, a normal, free thinking person becomes an explosive, reactive, entity unable to think, or reason the simplest of concepts. When joined by a crowd of others in the same state of mind, this crowd becomes a herd of paniced human animals, and it is at this time they are the most dangerous. Having witnessed this state firsthand, I chose to prepare for disaster, to encourage family, and friends to prepare, and if possible to influence others to prepare, hoping that being ready for the worst to come, will stop the flood of stupidity that accompanies disaster.

What lies beneath

Even in a shallow pool, it is not always easy to see what lies beneath. It has been said "the eyes are the windows to the soul", yet to see behind the facade is much more difficult. Give a man a mask, and he will show you his true nature.
For quite some time now, we have been bombarded by Hollywood with disaster movies, one after another. Volcano, 2012, Armegeddon just to name a few, and the ending is always the same, the hero comes to the rescue, and everythings going to be fine. In life, things are not always going to be fine. What if in Volcano, for example, Tommy lee hadn't escaped the falling building, or if the eruption had triggered an earthquake that destroyed the entire pacific coastline?  Just as with the events of Sept. 11, 2001, the hero doesn't always ride to the rescue, and mostly, things are not going to be just fine. In reality, people die, homes are destroyed, and heroes just don't have enough time to save everyone. The difference between living, and dying is in our own hands.
So why is it I wonder, that in the midst of massive destruction, all the victims in Volcano, found racial equality, conquered mother natures destructive fury, or as in Armegeddon " a species has the knowledge to prevent its own destruction". Is this a message that is being bored into our psyche, not to worry about all this destruction, that a hero will ride to the rescue? What would happen to the electronics industry if everyone decided to prepare for an uncertain future, and understood that the latest electronic gadget is the first thing that is going to fail? Is it a coincidence that the largest, most prolific news media, is also an entertainment media? hmmm.