Four of the seven people who died in Texas were children. The worst tornado The sudden tragedy occurred last Saturday, when most people were enjoying the plans they had made for the long weekend since 2015. Prepper Broadcasting Network Representative James Walton wants audiences to understand that disasters can happen at any time, and while they can’t always be predicted, they can be prepared for.
It’s a message for all ages, and one of the reasons Walton chose such an unconventional way to get it across is,Lady’s World“
Walton is He lives in central Virginia with his wife, two sons, and three dogs, and spoke to Align about what inspired the book, people’s misconceptions about “preppers,” and why getting to know your neighbors is so important.
ALIGN: Tell us a little bit about your background. What inspired you to write this book?
James Walton: Since becoming a father, I’ve placed a much greater emphasis on preparedness. When Hurricane Irene struck Richmond in 2011, I watched the wind howl from my dining room window for two days while holding my helpless newborn son, now my responsibility. Then the power went out. In that moment, I felt like I’d failed as a husband and a father. I was completely unprepared for the challenges that lay ahead. That day, everything changed. Suddenly, I became obsessed with the idea of preparedness.
After a long and deep dive into the world of real preparedness, I found myself standing in front of a microphone hosting a podcast on the Prepper Broadcasting Network. It was so exciting. I became the owner of the Prepper Broadcasting Network, which has now grown into a podcast network of 15 hosts producing daily shows. The introduction to the network included the phrase, “Create a culture of true preparedness that starts at an early age and trickles all the way up.” That inspired me to create a children’s book on preparedness.
ALIGN: Why do you think emergency preparedness is important, especially today?
JW: The average American is less capable today than he or she has ever been. Decades of comfort and convenience have seriously weakened our country. Killed our skill sets and rendered us ineffective. Many of the men my age would have been completely useless to society 100 years ago. They would probably have been locked away in the depths of a hospital ward somewhere. I call it “100-year amnesia.” In just 100 years, we have forgotten much of what it means to be human.
A culture that normalizes a life where you spend your paycheck on a week’s worth of food, have low physical fitness, zero knowledge of weapons, and no backup plan creates a population with low self-confidence. Our workforce and education system make it easy to scare people into hating their country, which is just a few steps beyond hating themselves. The threats we face don’t care that we’re unprepared, inept, and totally unsure. In fact, this works to their advantage. We face what appears to be war with Russia, potential war with China, increasing belligerent attacks at home, looming economic collapse, and the unchecked release of artificial intelligence on our entire way of life. Not to mention natural disasters. If America wants to survive the next 100 years, we must relearn what we’ve lost.
ALIGN: There seems to be a running joke in the mainstream media that preppers are crazy. Some people try to discredit them by using examples of Y2K or similar disasters that never happened. What do you think?
JW: I think people are conditioned to believe that in a major disaster, every American has government agents and services that will come and keep them going. FEMA will come to the rescue. FEMA does great things, but they can’t do everything. People don’t want to accept the reality that in a major disaster, most people will have to fend for themselves.
Most Americans don’t even understand how many calories it takes to feed one person, let alone a family. We are a calorie-cutting society, but preppers understand that a family of four can feed on 8,000 calories a day, which means it takes 240,000 calories to feed a family for a month.
I imagine this is overwhelming information for the average person. Their to-do list is already too long. They are overstimulated, underpaid, and struggling. The last thing they want to think about is that they, too, have to prepare for the end. Ridicule is a coping mechanism.
ALIGN: Why did you choose children’s literature as a medium?
JW: There are a few issues that preppers struggle with when starting out. The biggest issue is getting the family involved and keeping them involved. A children’s book series helps build a family culture. As a parent, there’s nothing better than finding a book series that will keep your child hooked in this digital age. My wife and I, when our kids fall in love with a book, we buy the whole series. We talk about the book with our kids. We read the books together, buy stuffed characters, put up posters… we do everything. These are our children’s core memories. Why not put that to good use?
ALIGN: If there was one thing that our viewers could do today, either mentally or practically, to be more prepared, what would that be?
JW: Engage your neighbors. The epidemic of loneliness and the hollow world of digital stimulation have created a real thirst for human interaction, even as it has become downright easy to go about life without anyone seeing us. When disaster strikes, the people who live around you will survive with you. They will be there for you, clearing away debris and tarping your roof. Start a community garden, create a neighborhood text line or email group, start talking about things like neighborhood watch. Living with people is so important. We need each other more than we think we do.
