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September 2007 September … National Preparedness Month … A Time to Reflect … A Time to Act Todd Stewart, Ph.D. Director, Program for International and Homeland Security Executive Director, National Academic Consortium for Homeland Security
The proclamation for National Preparedness Month states, “Protecting America's homeland and citizens is the shared responsibility of the entire Nation. Individuals can prepare themselves and their families for emergencies by taking simple steps such as organizing an emergency supply kit, making a personal preparedness plan, becoming informed about different threats, and getting involved in preparing their community. These activities create a culture of preparedness and can help save lives.” This is certainly an important message for all citizens. But as I reflected on the notion of creating a “culture of preparedness,” it got me thinking, “It’s an interesting slogan, but what does ‘a culture of preparedness’ really mean?” Prepared for what? As individuals, as a community, as a state, and as a nation – we need to be prepared for “all hazards,” regardless if they are a result of nature (e.g., pandemics, hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes and floods), major accidents or intentional attacks. Useful information to help individuals, businesses, schools and government agencies prepare for emergencies of all types is available from many sources, including the federal-government web site www.ready.gov and in Ohio, at www.ready.ohio.gov . It also occurred to me that the biggest potential threat to homeland security (and national security, in general) for which we need to prepare is not Mother Nature or the terrorist acts of violent extremists. It is our own apathy: the lack of awareness, concern and involvement by many individual citizens, concerning a whole host of issues of societal and community significance … including (and most especially) issues of national and homeland security. This is not an original observation with me, but it is certainly one I share. I think building a national “culture of preparedness” really translates into building a "culture of resilience.” We need to understand that we have never been – and can never be -- totally safe and secure and we need to be prepared to absorb a blow and recover from it. This is a matter of understanding risks and managing the risks, by minimizing threats, vulnerabilities and consequences. That understanding raises a whole host of tough issues that we, as a nation, need to confront and decide: How secure is secure enough? How much risk is acceptable? How much security can we afford, given other priorities, and how do we want to pay for it? Must we compromise the civil liberties and values that define us as a nation to be more secure? To date, much of our preparedness effort has focused on training and equipping our “first responders,” including our police, fire fighters, emergency medical teams, emergency management specialists and National Guard. But are they really the FIRST responders? Not usually. “We the people” are the true “first responders” to any emergency situation – the people who are at or near the scene of the event … family, neighbors, classmates, co-workers. Not nearly as much effort has been given to preparing individual citizens. It made me recall that when I was a kid in high school, we were all required to take a mandatory course in first aid. Regrettably, that is no longer the case. And this got me to thinking about roles and responsibilities for dealing with disasters and emergencies. It is NOT up to the feds or up to state government to respond to every local emergency. And even when disasters overwhelm local capabilities and state or federal assistance is required, we need to recognize it might be several days before that assistance can be mobilized. We need to be sufficiently prepared and self-reliant – as individuals and as communities – to deal with the situation until help can arrive. Nor is it the primary responsibility of government to protect or restore all private property. With the right to own private property and benefit from it comes the primary responsibility to protect it and (when necessary) recover it. Building a culture of preparedness also means restoring a “culture of community,” a culture of caring, and a culture of looking out for one another -- being concerned about the welfare of our neighbors – all of our neighbors. That, of course, presupposes we actually know who our neighbors are – not always the case these days. Wouldn’t it be great if we had a national version of a neighborhood watch. In Ohio, we have a “See something; Say something” campaign. A great idea. I think evolving a “culture of preparedness” also includes encouraging a “culture of volunteerism and community service.” There are unlimited opportunities … donating blood, volunteering for the Red Cross, working with the Citizen Corps, working with various charities and faith-based groups, to mention only a few. But I think the most important thing we can do to build a national culture of preparedness is to restore a “culture of responsible, active citizenship .” In our country, under our form of government (a representative democracy and a unified federation of states), “we the people” are ultimately responsible for the security of the nation … against all hazards and threats. Not the federal government; not the state government or local authorities. They all work for us, as citizens. We need to be informed on government policies and strategies and hold our elected representatives and government agencies accountable. If we don’t like a particular federal or state homeland-security policy or a strategy, we have an obligation to communicate our opinion to our elected representatives. We not only have the right to vote; we have an obligation to vote. It seems to me that “citizenship” is a verb – it’s something you do! One step is to instill this “culture of active citizenship” in our kids. Our schools, K-12 and our post-secondary public colleges and universities, have the mission of preparing students to function effectively in, and contribute to, our society. This mission includes preparing our students to be informed and fully-engaged citizens. Unfortunately, not many people at my own institution – at least not enough people – even know that the official motto of The Ohio State University is, “Education for Citizenship.” Yet, despite this motto, preparing its students to be better (informed and actively-engaged) citizens is not a goal that is ever mentioned in the university’s strategic plan – nor to which any particular emphasis is given. Shame on us. National Preparedness Month gives us the opportunity to recognize that preparedness -- Homeland Security -- begins at home … in each of our homes, in our schools, where we work and, in our neighborhoods and communities, and most importantly, in each of us, as individuals. We the people … |