Dear Friends,
I know I’ve got readers in Texas, and I really do hope you are doing okay. From what I’ve heard from certain friends, the situation is more dire than news reports are conveying.
It’s something of a once-in-a-century event, a winter storm like this, knocking out power, freezing pipes, leaving people without power or water. The roads are difficult to traverse, and if you manage to get yourself to a grocery store, the lines are long and shelves are empty.
It seems like the national media has decided the storylines for us: Senator Ted Cruz is a really bad man for taking a trip to Cancun and Governor Abbott is obviously a failure because his state is suffering, etc. On the other side, it’s all about renewable energy and the Green New Deal—you do have to admit, having all of your solar panels covered with snow and your windmills frozen stock-still is so ironic Tom Wolfe could’ve made it a plot point in one of his novels.
Those are not the storylines you should be focused on. What you need to be thinking about is what concrete steps you are going to take to prepare yourself and your family for a Black Swan event of this kind. It can happen to anybody, anywhere—a mass power outage, loss of cell communication, an earthquake, a wildfire, a tsunami, a blizzard, hurricane, and much more. This is not hysteria; this is simple wisdom. We are so interconnected, so dependent, so utterly reliant on so many things going perfectly right all the time, without fail.
But this is a fallen world. Things do not go perfectly right all the time. Sometimes engineers don’t think it makes sense to “winterize” power infrastructure in a place like Texas. Builders don’t bother “winterizing” plumbing fixtures in a place that never drops below freezing. And they’re right: it doesn’t make sense. And it works just fine. For 99 years out of a hundred.
It is not difficult to keep a two-week supply of food, water, and shelter on hand. Buy a few extra cans of food every time you go to the store. Buy a few jugs of water. Build up a supply. When things go south, you might even be in a position to help your neighbor.
There are all kinds of helpful places on the Internet to guide you, many of them from pretty hardcore “Preppers” (the kinds of folks who don’t want to be dependent on anybody, ever, for anything at all). I’m not suggesting you go down that (pretty much impossible) route. But even those guys have plenty of good advice for the average person.
But stick to the basics:
Shelter: How are you going to keep warm if you lose your home heating? Do you have candles? Oil lantern? A propane heater with a full propane tank? Here’s a tip if you ever lose power and temperatures plummet: set up your tent in your living room. It will trap your body heat and insulate you. Don’t have a tent or sleeping bag? Well, add them to your shopping list. Nothing fancy—the cheapie at Wal-Mart is all you need.
Water: You can survive a lot longer without food than you can water. Stock up on water jugs, and invest in a decent portable water purifier. And remember that your water heater has already stored 40 or 50 gallons of water for you in a pinch.
Food: Not just food, but how are you going to heat or cook it? Get a camp stove and have extra propane canisters.
I really do encourage you to do some minimal prep. You maintain a “cash flow” in your bank account, I hope. Expand that to other supplies and necessities. You don’t have to engage in overkill, but don’t live every moment of your life entirely dependent on complex and imperfect systems. Give yourself some bandwidth to withstand a week or two of deprivation.
And pray for Texans.
Integrity
World Magazine’s Megan Basham recommended a new show:
It’s a minor miracle that the U.K.’s Channel 5 decided to remake All Creatures Great and Small, the hit 1970s series adapted from James Herriot’s bestselling memoirs. The collection of homely and charming tales about a Depression-era vet working in a small English village includes no sex, no violence, and only a smattering of minor salty language. The highest stakes are whether a cow has been misdiagnosed or a racehorse will have to be put down.
“Who did they make this show for,” one mainstream critic who found it too mild asked grumpily. “Me!” I wanted to shout. They made it for people like me, who are weary of being assaulted by all that is ugly and crass and contentious in the world, who are longing for something comforting and community-minded. All Creatures Great and Small couldn’t offer more warmth and neighborliness if it was a steaming pot of tea next to a plate of shortbread biscuits.
She couldn’t be more right. And, thankfully, in the States the show was picked up by PBS’s Masterpiece Theater. (Click on the official PBS page to explore viewing options). The show is a wholesome delight.
And something occurred to me that I want to share. But I have to be careful not to overshare, so as to spoil any of the important plot points.
There comes a time in this show when our lead character, young James Herriot, finds himself in a moral bind. The nature of this moral dilemma makes it all the more agonizing: nobody is asking James to do or say something unethical. All he has to do is not say something. And, in fact, James has every incentive to keep his mouth shut; indeed, he will personally benefit, greatly, by keeping his mouth shut. What’s a little sin of “omission” in such a circumstance?
James does the right thing, to his own hurt. He speaks the truth.
That’s it. That’s my whole newsletter.
….
Okay. You convinced me. I’ll say more: I don’t remember the last time I saw a character make that kind of choice with integrity. We have been so coarsened and our consciences have been so seared by the rot of moral relativism that when these moral dilemmas appear in our art and entertainment they nearly always serve to show how “nobody’s perfect,” “we all have feet of clay,” or “let’s see how this little omission has wider consequences.” When was the last time you saw a character faced with the choice of personal catastrophe or a “little sin” and he chose the personal catastrophe?
Like I say: Beyond James Herriot, I cannot remember the last time.
Our culture is having a monumental crisis of integrity. Our politics are all theater, with little to no conviction. At an alarming rate our churches and institutions are being exposed as protection rackets for frauds, narcissists, and abusers (I don’t think you need the links). And the people tasked with institutional “accountability”… don’t speak at all. When they do, they attack and spin and circle wagons. How dare you!?
One small act of integrity—one guy speaking the truth to his own hurt in a sweet little show set in the English countryside—was a slaking drink of water that made me realize I’ve been dying of dehydration.
Tell the truth. The end.
Miscellany
Talk radio legend (and, for all intents and purposes, inventor) Rush Limbaugh finally succumbed to cancer. He was beloved by millions and hated by millions. Some of it is a generational divide, some of it a political divide, some of it a dispositional/personality divide, some of it is a simple divide between those who actually listened and those who read the controversial little snippets that Media Matters published. For me, I parted ways with Rush over the past five years as he “led” by following his audience into places I had no inclination to go. In that respect, I don’t think his radio career ended in a good place. As for the various “controversies,” some of it was real but most was just “gotcha” politics—he spoke for three hours a day, five days a week for 30 years. If you play the tape, you’re going to find regrettable things no matter who was behind the microphone.
For my part, what I heard was a guy with a perpetual twinkle in his eye, good humor, and optimism for freedom and human potential. He was nothing like the snarling angry person his opponents portrayed. I will miss his cheerful voice.
Speaking of Talk Radio, here is one of the coolest websites I’ve ever seen. Google Earth that allows you to listen to radio stations all around the globe. Just click here.
Declan Garvey wrote a really magnificent essay at The Dispatch on the past and future of the Republican Party.
Pitchers and catchers have reported to Major League Baseball camp. Spring is just around the corner, and I can’t wait for the crack of bats and snap of balls hitting leather to fill my house for a full season again.
Let’s close it out this week with Eric Clapton and gang singing “Tell The Truth” at the Crossroads Festival. Have a great weekend!