If we assume our government is 'We the People' (US of A)... The statement "I view sensible Preppers as the new Civil Defence Corps in this world." is synonymous with responsible citizen.
I don't expect the government to do much to help me outside of what my tax pays for.
<I'll skip the obvious issues about bailing out wall st., et.al. And other issues about tax use>
so i call the fire department, I pay taxes to support that, I hope and somewhat rely on the response. This doesn't stop me from taking some precautions against the obvious. I have smoke detectors, a couple of fire extinguishers and hope i never do have to rely on them to extract me in a fire.
in a major disaster, they just don't have the man power to put a band-aid on my skinned knee. they will be busy with higher priority problems. So i have a box of band-aids and a bottle of rubbing alcohol.
If the government serves the people <yes i know there 'is some concern' about that> I don't assume the government should be my mommy and daddy and tell me what to do. if I'm on my own, l'll assess and move on as best i can.
I know that working with more people does two things.
It keeps me from making mistakes - i'm not a 50lb brain <even if my ego is sure of it>.
It provides more resources - material and more importantly people.
this being the case, the existing legal structure gives us some ground rules to quickly organize if the current system is broken in an emergency. It provides a more efficient reaction.
if the system has broken down so far that you and your neighbors are your entire world sphere. Start there and build.
As JM pointed out, do what you can for your family and then start working outwards. Use caution in dealings with your neighbors but keep an open mind and mutual respect. in my experience 10% of the people i run into are dangerous and 2% are A-social critters best kept locked up or otherwise removed from the gene-pool. about 20% are really good people. the rest of us schlubs are just trying to make our way in life.
I'm a civilian - now. I've been in combat. I've lived in 'third world' countries - I've lived in some neighborhoods bad enough that apartment hunting included making sure it had solid brick walls and removing the mattress to the floor if the windows were too low. I have no illusions - i hope - about my fellow traveler's on this planet.
I've decided to plan for supporting my family and maybe even a few friends in an emergency. call it defense of my family.
i guess by Gadget's definition, i fit the profile. but not completely - I'm not going out in a hurricane to see how my neighbors are doing <i paid that societal debt when i was younger>. But i'll go check on them as soon and the weather lightens up. If there is a problem i can't solve, I won't abandon them or just gawk - I'll keep trying. I'll take it upon myself to help out my own back-yard. Yes it's trite, but effective - after a societal meltdown it may be the best way to rebuild. Let Darwinian imperatives slack off a bit and come out from under your rock and start rebuilding.
using the hurricane example - you could clear any roads near you - it would help others by allowing first responders and evacuees a quicker travel time. It is also an advertisement that someone is taking proactive action.
-if you aren't 20 years old anymore or don't own a chainsaw, there is something you can do - make it fit your capabilities and the situation. Heck, put grandma and grandpa in charge of the children so the parents can work.
citizen response is the essence of a civil defense corps.
that 20% i mentioned above will start the process - most of the rest will either actively pitch in or just follow blindly.
