The folks at SurvivalSeedBank.com want you to know that when society collapses, tomatoes and cucumbers will be the new cabbage.   And that collapsewill be here before you know it.  According to the website:    “You don’t have to be an Old Testament prophet to see what’s going on all around us. A belligerent lower class demanding handouts. A rapidly diminishing middle class crippled by police state bureaucracy. An aloof, ruling elite that has introduced us to an emerging totalitarianism which seeks control over every aspect of our lives.

“As the meltdown progresses, one of the first things to be affected will be our nation’s food supply… If you don’t have the ability to grow your own food next year, your life may be in danger.”

 Survival Seed Bank is currently advertising on talk radio, along side the gold sellers who hint you may soon be using Krugerrands to buy venison from your neighbor because the Safeway has been looted, burned and nationalized.  It’s smart advertising,  given the talk format’s current penchant for gloom and doom.  While Glenn Beck is the most noted purveyor of a dark vision, he is hardly alone.  Listeners are subjected apocalyptic tales all over the dial — even if the host must turn to fiction for material.  WSB/Atlanta’s  Neal Boortz , always pessimistic about the future, recently fixated on the novel “One Second After,” which details the aftermath of  an Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) attack on the U.S., including the death of 90% of the population within a year.  Earlier this month a central Florida morning show host did a lengthy interview with a novelist who says the enemies of the U.S. could easily destroy the country by hiding nuclear devices in major earthquake faults and pumping water into those faults.  When the bomb explodes, vaporizing the water, all hell will break loose — from California sliding into the sea, to torrents of flaming oil gushing from wells located in urban areas. 

There’s nothing new or wrong with sprinkling this stuff into the mix.  The media, from fireside storytellers to Internet bloggers — have been whipping up baseless fears for thousands of years.   Everybody likes a scary story — now and then.   But  fear-mongering can’t possibly be a good long-term programming strategy, especially today, when people have a lot of legitimate concerns and stress in their daily life.   Fear is exhausting.  People living normal lives just don’t have time for it.  It’s a niche — one that very likely appeals to older people.   Is that where the talk format – the last, best hope for broadcast radio — should position itself?   Rush Limbaugh doesn’t seem to think so.  Rush’s unyielding confidence and optimism are large (and largely under-appreciated) parts of his appeal.  He never downplays the challenges, but he also makes it clear that he knows America can and will overcome those challenges.

That’s a winning attitude, in more ways than one.