The Ant and the Grasshopper

The Ant and the Grasshopper

Æsop's Fables (sixth century B.C.)

In a field one summer’s day a Grasshopper was hopping about, chirping and singing to its heart’s content. An Ant passed by, bearing along with great toil an ear of corn he was taking to the nest.

“Why not come and chat with me,” said the Grasshopper, “instead of toiling and moiling in that way?”

“I am helping to lay up food for the winter,” said the Ant, “and recommend you to do the same.”

“Why bother about winter?” said the Grasshopper; “we have got plenty of food at present.” But the Ant went on its way and continued its toil. When the winter came the Grasshopper had no food, and found itself dying of hunger, while it saw the ants distributing every day corn and grain from the stores they had collected in the summer. Then the Grasshopper knew:

“IT IS BEST TO PREPARE FOR THE DAYS OF NECESSITY.”

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Excerpt from When All Hell Breaks Loose by Cody Lundin, international self-reliance expert

Are you an ant wannabe? Do you constantly talk about the brown stuff hitting the fan, but do little or nothing to address your talk, preferring instead to crank up your headphones and dance?

Due to the nature of my profession, I know plenty of ant wannabes. They wail and gripe about Armageddon, the Hopi Indian prophecies, the end of the Mayan calendar, the return of Jesus, Elvis, or the mother ship, Y3K, the New World Order, black holes, plague epidemics, depleting ozone, judgment day, earth changes, killer asteroids, and exploding, dying, or newly created suns. After they have talked at me, ant wannabes typically end their monologue with a coy look and the phrase, "Well, when the end comes, I know where I'm headed... haw-haw." Where they're really headed is straight into my stew pot, so I hope their unwanted visit brings them prefattened.

Ant wannabes, be warned, your less-than-positive actions are contributing to the mass hysteria of the planet. Please shut up, calm down, and do something useful with your time instead of needlessly scaring others. In addition, nothing could be more obnoxiously insulting and arrogant than assuming you will be welcome to take shelter and eat the food of anyone who has bothered to prepare as they saw fit while you spewed negative words and did nothing. Helping those who have been trying to be self-reliant and found themselves caught in a tight spot by a twist of fate is another thing altogether. When the talking stops, people show you who they are and what they feel is important by where they devote their action, time, and money.

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Ants are social insects who form colonies ranging from a few dozen to millions of highly organized individuals. Colonies are sometimes considered superorganisms, because the ants appear to operate as a unified entity collectively working together to support the colony. Ants have colonized almost every landmass on Earth. The only places lacking indigenous ants are remote or inhospitable islands. Their success has been attributed to their social organization, ability to modify their habitats, tap resources, and defend themselves.

This behavior was noted over 2500 years ago by Aesop in the fable above as an example for us to follow. Human beings may have many of the same qualities, but we have one thing the ants don't: freeloaders. People who expect others to take care of them, particularly in hard times, when they are fully capable of doing for themselves. Worse than the grasshopper, who learned the lesson as it lay dying, freeloaders never learn that they are their own responsibility. The grasshopper did not play all summer and then take food from the ants; it died. Aesop's lesson was about being prepared, not about rewarding irresponsibility.

Once disaster strikes, it's too late to prepare for it. Even when a crisis is imminent, it's usually too late, as anyone who has tried to get gas, water, or batteries during a hurricane can attest. Only the first in line get what's in stock, so depending on getting it at the store when you need it is much too short-sighted.

I was raised from a very young age to believe that the end of the world was close at hand, during a time when living off the land was a popular ideal. Being prepared for disaster has been in-grained in me for years and has come in handy on several occasions. I am thankful for the fact that I've lived nearly all my life in a rural area, where self-reliance and frugality are the norm and where we have the room and the freedom to do more. I have learned lessons passed down from the Great Depression generation, which still have great practical value for those living in poverty and are generally better for the environment. I have great respect for those who live simply that others may simply live. I may not always practice as thoroughly as I'd like this way of life; I work hard to provide for myself so that I can enjoy some comforts while I can. But my husband and I have taken many things into account when establishing our own home, and we're doing what we can as we can. We're prepared for short-term crises such as power outages and blizzards, and we're working hard to bring longer-term plans to fruition.

If you haven't already developed a support network and a plan for the worst-case scenario, please do so soon. Discuss options that would take care of everyone in your 'tribe', which may not necessarily be family. Different situations may require different plans. Don't assume that you'll be able to pile everything in the minivan and drive to one location or that you'll be able to even know what's going on with some of your loved ones. Remember when the phone networks were overloaded on 9/11? Remember the chaos after Hurricane Katrina? Remember the traffic from the evacuation for Hurricane Ike? Start with the people (and animals) who live with you, and then widen the circle for circumstances that may allow or require more travel. By planning ahead and working together, big expenses may be more manageable.

Don't assume that you will be welcomed with open arms and fed from a limited supply that was stored with a certain number of people in mind. "Ants" who have a year's supply of food and water for 4 will not last long if 6 "grasshoppers" are invited in. I don't know if I'd go as far as Cody Lundin with his stew pot, but a locked door and a shotgun might be what you get if you come knocking at my door in dark times. Those who would be welcomed already know who they are.

Are you an Ant or a Grasshopper? As Frank Sinatra sang, everyone knows that ant can't move a rubber tree plant, but he's got high hopes!