Earlier I made mention of two concepts: paranoid, prepared. I think it’s worth elaborating on them.

To some, a particular level of preparedness is paranoia. You carry a gun? You must be paranoid, thinking everyone is evil and bad guys lurk around every corner. You’re storing food and water? Do you think Armageddon is coming? Yes, I can see how some could perceive these two notions as a range, and how one could classify something closer to one or the other. However, I don’t think these two concepts are mutually exclusive nor on a range. Nor do I think someone who is prepared is (necessarily) paranoid.

Definitions

Everyone loves Doc Webster, so let’s start with him.

Main Entry: para·noid
Pronunciation: \ˈper-ə-ˌnȯid, ˌpa-rə-\
Variant(s): also para·noi·dal   \ˌper-ə-ˈnȯi-dəl, ˌpa-rə-\
Function: adjective
Date: 1904
1 : characterized by or resembling paranoia
2 : characterized by suspiciousness, persecutory trends, or megalomania
3 : extremely fearful
— paranoid noun

and so what is paranoia?

Main Entry: para·noia
Pronunciation: \ˌper-ə-ˈnȯi-ə, ˌpa-rə-\
Function: noun
Etymology: New Latin, from Greek, madness, from paranous demented, from para- + nous mind
Date: circa 1811
1 : a psychosis characterized by systematized delusions of persecution or grandeur usually without hallucinations
2 : a tendency on the part of an individual or group toward excessive or irrational suspiciousness and distrustfulness of others

Apple’s Dictionary app (which I believe draws from the New Oxford American Dictionary):

paranoid |ˈparəˌnoid|
adjective
of, characterized by, or suffering from the mental condition of paranoia : paranoid schizophrenia.
• unreasonably or obsessively anxious, suspicious, or mistrustful : you think I’m paranoid but I tell you there is something going on.

And good old Wikipedia’s entry on paranoia starts off with:

Paranoia is a thought process heavily influenced by anxiety or fear, often to the point of irrationality and delusion. Paranoid thinking typically includes persecutory beliefs concerning a perceived threat towards oneself. In the original Greek, παράνοια (paranoia) simply means madness (para = outside; nous = mind). Historically, this characterization was used to describe any delusional state.

Now let’s look at preparedness.

From Doc Webster:

Main Entry: pre·pared·ness
Pronunciation: \pri-ˈper-əd-nəs also -ˈperd-nəs\
Function: noun
Date: 1590
: the quality or state of being prepared; especially : a state of adequate preparation in case of war

And so, what does the good doctor have to say about “prepared”:

Main Entry: prepared
Function: adjective
Date: 1663
: subjected to a special process or treatment

Apple’s Dictionary app:

preparedness |prəˈpe(ə)r(ə)dnis|
noun
a state of readiness, esp. for war : the country maintained a high level of military preparedness

Finally, Wikipedia:

Preparedness refers to the state of being prepared for specific or unpredictable events or situations. Preparedness is an important quality in achieving goals and in avoiding and mitigating negative outcomes. It is a major phase of emergency management, and is particularly valued in areas of competition such as sport and military science.

Methods of preparation include research, estimation, planning, resourcing, education and rehearsing.

However, of all the definitions and uses of “prepared”, I think the Scouting movement has it best with their motto, “Be Prepared”. What does that mean to a Boy Scout?

The Scout Motto is: BE PREPARED which means you are always in a state of readiness in mind and body to do your DUTY.

Be Prepared in Mind by having disciplined yourself to be obedient to every order, and also by having thought out beforehand any accident or situation that might occur, so that you know the right thing to do at the right moment, and are willing to do it.

Be Prepared in Body by making yourself strong and active and able to do the right thing at the right moment, and do it.

This is evident in the skills and teachings of Scouting. From first aid, to emergency preparedness, to cooking, camping, physical fitness, understanding wildlife, leadership, and the list goes on. These things prepare Scouts for whatever life may give them.

I wanted to provide multiple definitions of the terms in an attempt to avoid particular bias, and by looking at multiple definitions we could attempt to distill the essence of what the terms were about. From this, we can see paranoia is irrational and fear-motivated, and preparedness is about being ready. Could this mean someone is both prepared and paranoid? Yes (that’s why they’re already wearing their tin-foil hats on their heads), but even still these two concepts are distinct and unique — just because you are one does not mean you are the other.

On Being Prepared

Is it a bad thing to be prepared? I’ve spoken with many people and if you directly asked them this question the answer is an emphatic no! It’s good to be prepared! If instead they are presented with particular behaviors or actions, they may not evaluate those actions as one of preparedness. I assert this is because in their mind they never or don’t view the situation being prepared for as one to prepare for.

Let’s look at storing food. Most people do not store more food than is needed to get them through until the next trip to the grocery store. Most people don’t store water, period. However, it’s worthwhile to keep some food and water stored at all times. Why? Because situations that may call for a reserve of food and water can crop up at any time without warning. Look at bad weather situations. Big snowstorm comes, hurricane, tornado… big weather events, and what does everyone do? Run to the store and clear it out of bread and water. What if you weren’t the lucky ones that got there before the storm ran out? Now you’re running around in a panic, wondering if you’ll have enough food and water to get you through. Whether you obtained food or not, either way you were in a panic and rush to obtain some. Wouldn’t life be a little better if you were prepared? What if we have an event worse than Hurricane Katrina? What if you already had a good larder stocked up with enough food, water, and whatever other supplies you would need to get you through? No need to rush, no need to panic, and you’ll have all the stuff you need. There’s comfort in that.

Do you have a fire extinguisher in your home? If so, you’re prepared in case a fire breaks out. Does this mean you’re paranoid, thinking fires will break out at any moment? Unlikely. Now it is fair to say that having a fire extinguisher may be slightly motivated by fear. We are afraid to lose our homes, and would rather not. We’re afraid of what the aftermath would be like, and we’d rather not go through it. But is this fear an irrational fear? I would say being afraid of losing your home and all your possessions is not an irrational fear, I’d say that’s just being human for we need shelter and wish to keep our shelter.

Do you wear a seat belt when you travel by car? Yes, some may do so only because the law tells them to. Most people have come to realize that seat belts actually can save your life. Some people have even realized that using a seat-belt helps them be better drivers because the belt holds them in the seat and they’re not sliding around as you take the curves. In the end, it’s all about physics of motion, and seat belts can play a part in keeping you alive should you be in a collision. So why do you put on a seat belt every time you get in the car? Are you afraid there are drivers lurking around every bend that are out to crash into you the moment you pull out of your driveway? Hardly. You put the belt on every time you get in the car, just in case. Chances are you won’t be in a collision today, or maybe even in your whole life (last collison I was in was almost 20 years ago). But you always put on that seat belt… just in case. You’re being prepared. This is human, because we all wish to preserve our lives and live to see another day.

The Gun

So that’s why, to paraphrase Tom Givens, you need to carry your damn gun, people. We all wish to preserve our lives and live to see another day. Givens has had 50+ students involved in self-defense incidents (such is the unfortunateness of living in Memphis, TN). In only 2 cases did the student not live, and in those 2 cases the students did not have their gun on them for some reason (legal, I believe).

Does this mean there are bad guys lurking around every corner? No. I know most people in this world are good, or at least well-intentioned. Most people will leave you alone. In fact, most people in this world you’ll never come in contact with. But it only takes one to ruin everything. I may only be involved in one car collision in my life, but I’m going to wear my seat belt every time I get in the car. I may never have my house burn down, but I’m going to have a fire extinguisher and smoke detectors and a drill plan for my family. I know bad weather happens, so having enough stores to get by allows me and my family to be comfortable when bad weather hits. This is not paranoia, this is being ready, this is preparedness.

Many people believe in being prepared to defend their home in case of invasion. An old friend of mine told me he keeps a baseball bat by the side of his bed for just such a thing. That’s good. That’s being prepared to defend your home, your life, your family members’ lives. The next question is, what are you doing to be prepared in case of attack outside the home? Most times when someone is attacked it’s not at home in the middle of the night. Sure those things happen, but most home break-ins happen during the day while people are at work. Most personal attacks happen outside the home: parking lots, parking garages, sidewalks, stores, etc.. What are you doing there to be prepared? Do you envision that it will happen and have a plan for how to contend with it? Do you keep aware of your surroundings and avoid potentially problematic situations? Then should all fail and you find yourself confronted, do you have a course of action? No, it doesn’t have to involve a gun; in fact, most measures strive to keep you from ever having to resort to physical violence. However for those 50+ students, the situation pushed them to the last resort. If you find yourself pushed into such a situation, do you have a plan?

To plan isn’t a sign of paranoia, it’s a sign of preparedness. We consider planning to be a good thing. We plan vacations. We plan business strategies. We plan how we’re going to ask someone to marry us. We plan a night out on the town. Plans alleviate the unknown and guide us through the waters. Eventually we learn plans never unfold as we wish, thus we come up with backup and contingency plans. That’s a greater level of preparedness because it acknowledges realities of life and ensures that whatever life gives us, we can contend with it.

Be Prepared is Living Free

Maybe it’s the Boy Scout in me that continues to embrace what I was taught in my years in Scouting. Am I prepared for everything? No. Could I be better prepared for some things? Certainly. I can only do so much in a day, we’ve all got our limits. The important thing is to realize how life can run when we’re prepared vs. when we’re not prepared. Preparedness brings about a higher quality of life. Paranoia… well, to me being irrational doesn’t do much to improve my quality of life. I know life is full of the unexpected, but the more we can think ahead, the more we can plan, the more we can prepare, when those unexpected things come up, we can at least handle them better because while they may have been unexpected they were not unforeseen.

Accept that different people have different ideas about what is important, and what they deem to be an acceptable level of readiness. Someone’s levels may be different than yours and that doesn’t mean they are paranoid; they of course could be, but realize that most people do not prefer to live in fear. As Roy Batty said “Quite an experience to live in fear, isn’t it? That’s what it is to be a slave.” No one wants to be a slave, no one wants to live in that manner. However, when one is not prepared for a situation that comes upon them, fear will certainly overwhelm you. You don’t know what to do, you don’t know how to proceed, resolve the problem, and emerge positively on the other side. Even that sort of short-lived fear is still enslaving and unwelcome. Why set yourself up for it? Be prepared.