Originally published at Notes from the bunker…. You can comment here or there.

Its a lovely day here in western Montana. Or, as some have taken to calling it, the American Redoubt.

This is something I’ve been mulling over in my head for a few weeks. I’ve no problem with the notion that the preparedness lifestyle is something that is embraced, or at least not ridiculed, around here and that those unfortunate souls in places like California, Texas, Illinois, and New Jersey may want to migrate here. I dont really have a problem with that. My only problem comes from those people then trying to change the place they’ve just moved to into something it isnt. Montana has been, as long as Ive been here, a fairly live-n-let-live place. If you wanna have gay sex on top of a pile of rocket launchers while snorting cocaine and watching porn, go for it…just do it on your own property and dont do it where the kids can see it.

While I welcome more preparedness-minded individuals moving into the state I’m hoping that they leave things pretty much the way they are. For better or worse, a large amount of the preparedness community has some, shall we say, ’strong’ religious beliefs. Nothing wrong with that. I figure folks can believe whatever they want as long as they dont try to push those beliefs onto those who dont share them. Unfortunately, I’m worried that’s what is going to happen. As someone elsewhere so aptly put it, religion is like a penis – its great that you’ve got one, I’m glad you’re proud of it, but don’t wave it around in public and dont try to force it down my throat.

I’m sure they’d say “Whats wrong with wanting to make a place moral, upstanding, decent and family friendly”? Well, Montana is already all those things or they wouldnt be moving here. Additionally, some folks don’t feel that the laws they have to live under should be predicated on a religious belief they may not share. Once that starts happening we get into the whole “my god is better than your god” nonsense…whose religiously inspired laws and guidelines should we use? The Jews’? The Catholics’? I rather like things the way they are now….schools don’t teach creationism, Planned Parenthood has a location across the street from my favorite porn shop, theres a quiet and unobtrusive gay bar downtown, and religious institutions tend to stick to their own knitting.

Many people I’ve met who are into preparedness have religious values and ideals, but we seem to get along just fine. I think part of it is because the majority of these people understand boundaries and share a certain ‘rugged individualist’ value that precludes trying to impose a lifestyle on someone else. While I welcome anyone who wants to move to Montana in the name of preparedness, I hope these don’t turn into religious enclaves that wind up trying to force their values onto others through political means.