I call it the “la la” state of mind. Let me explain.

I know a man in a midwestern city who is aware that modern society is a complex machine quite capable of going south quickly (as I wrote about here). Frankly, there’s almost nothing I can teach him. There is much he can teach me.

But, part of his thinking is in la la land. He says:

“I’ve been stockpiling gold, silver, food, ammo and other things for years. I know when the food on store shelves disappears people are going to become starving and dangerous. Their behavior could mimic a zombie apocalypse like you see on TV. That’s fine. If they come to my house, I’ll defend myself and my family. They’re not going to get my stuff.”

Why is this la la land thinking?

Now, I totally agree society could become a zombie apocalypse. Most people have maybe a week of food in their houses. If they have two that’s above average. A month or more is rare. Thus, a prolonged absence of food in stores will make them desperate. They will become violent. They will batter down doors of strangers.

This man’s “planning” is to shoot those who do this. How many? Does he plan to sleep at any point, or just be on guard the whole time? And I doubt he’s considered the medieval diseases returning in such a ridiculous scenario. I doubt he’s considered the fact that his place would become a target by ever more people. After all, zealous defense indicates things of great value inside worth defending.

Many more contingencies I could write about how ridiculous this thinking is.

Now, granted, to most, thinking that a zombie apocalypse could occur in the suburbs west of Chicago or north of Dallas seems like a ridiculous consideration. Such would only happen in movies. Thus, not just a few could call me ridiculous for even broaching this scenario.

But I don’t care. The bottom line is that you will not convince me that cities could never become dangerously unstable places. Unequivocally I believe they can – whatever the scenario may be. High concentrations of fire arms and starving, thirsty people is a bad combination. Thus, prepping for the worst IS prudent.

But thinking you can be Rambo in Naperville or Pasadena is NOT prudent. Such thinking is la la land. Such thinking is the result of not reasoning outward sufficiently from your base of suppositions. Frankly, it’s just wishful thinking at its worst, and wishful thinking is rife in the prepping world.

Do I suffer from it? In some ways sure – but not like above. The problem is that virtually no one alive from America today has seen society degenerate into carnage. We don’t know how things will unfold. We don’t know how things will happen. But they will happen. And that’s why thinking beyond wishing is important.

So how dangerous will cities become? And what can you do to prepare if you live in a city? I can’t answer those questions – and you can ask many more. Your situation is unique. But you should know your situation well. You should think about it. You should have plans for escape, food, water and many other facets of surviving.

I would say the biggest cause of la la thinking is the result of not wanting to realize how ugly and dangerous society can become. It’s scary to think about. It’s scary to plan for.

But, there is the Grace of God. There is the charity of others. And, the fact is that the more you prepare, and consider the darkest scenarios, the more you will be able to face them with better insight and decisions.

It does require some courage. I say that because I know how devoid of courage I can be.

What about you?