I am a Prepper and a Survivor.
I accept responsibility for my own life and lives of my family.
I am an advocate for preparedness, common sense and reason.
I am also an advocate for the freedom to be self-reliant.
I will never give up or abandon a family member or member of my group.
I am disciplined and continue to improve my mental, physical and emotional resilience.
I continue to improve my self-reliance by developing and maintaining not only my tools and equipment, but my also my skills and knowledge.
I am a guardian of civilization and stand ready to serve as a beacon of light in dark times.
I am committed not only to the survival of my family and community but also to enjoying today and making those around me feel cherished.
I am a Prepper.
by Andrew J. Jackson
July 13, 2013
About The Prepper’s Creed
The Prepper’s Creed was published on July 13, 2013 by Andrew J. Jackson who posted it on the Prepper website www.prepography.com, where the original post can still been seen. Since it has been published it has grown in popularity having been shared countless times.
What perhaps has made the Jackson’s Prepper’s Creed so popular aside from its simple but beautiful prose, is how well he has captured the spirit of the Prepper Movement. In capturing the spirit of the Prepper Movement, Jackson’s creed is a masterpiece.
In later blog posts, Jackson, a risk manager with over three decades of military experience, explained that he wrote the Prepper’s Creed to define Preppers from their predecessors – Civil Defenders and Survivalists.
Jackson explains “Think of the three movements as a preparedness family with Grandpa, Dad and Son all sharing interests but approaching those interests just a little differently.”
The Civil Defender movements rose during the Cold War from the 60’s to 80’s when there was a very real threat of nuclear war with the Soviet Union and other communist states. The focus of Civil Defenders was getting ready for this war, hence, their preparations for an all out nuclear war such building bunkers and preparedness for nuclear fall-out and the subsequent nuclear winter featured prominently among Civil Defenders movement.
Arguably, it is said that Survivalist movement grew out of the Civil Defenders. A strong part of the Survivalist ethos was readiness to abandon society. The Survivalist Movement resonated well with independent, hard-core, outdoors-type person. As a result, survivalism was often regarded as outsiders as tending to cater to extreme personality-types.
Possibly as a reaction to the Civil Defenders and the Survivalists, the Prepper Movement was born.
The Prepper Movement’s underlying current is a strong sense of responsibility for one’s family and community. Unlike the Civil Defenders, Preppers tend have a broader focus, and prepare for a disaster or event which will can seriously impact or disrupt society — TEOTWAWKI or “The End Of The World As We Know It”. Unlike Survivalists, the underlying ethos of the Prepper Movement is not to abandon society, but to one day rebuild it.
Download a high-quality picture of the Prepper’s Creed formatted to be used as screen saver here: The Prepper's Creed Screensaver (148 downloads ) .
