President Bush called the Northeast's power blackout a "wake-up call" to improve the U.S. electrical system. But last week's events should also ring an alarm for Bush to put a charge into improving the anemic level of the public's civil-defense preparedness.
When word started filtering through the streets of New York City last Thursday afternoon that the blackout was not a terrorist attack, there was a collective sigh of relief. We knew how to handle the temporary inconvenience of an electricity shutdown. But had the emergency required a far more complex reaction, most people would have had little idea what to do and where to go.
That's because, nearly two years after 9/11, the level of public readiness is shockingly low. A Harvard School of Public Health study this spring found only 12% of Americans have an evacuation plan and just 30% have stockpiled emergency items.
The centerpiece of the federal government's civil-defense-education effort is the Web site Ready.Gov and a series of public service announcements. It is not nearly enough. The government needs to make its outreach to the public clearer, stronger and more authoritative. For example, though Ready.Gov's introductory statement warns that the threat of a terrorist attack is "very real," the campaign's tone is far less urgent: "There are some things you can do to prepare for the unexpected," it suggests. But shouldn't the government be forcefully telling citizens that they should be doing these things? Officials say research testing indicated that the public would respond best if the government didn't "wag its finger." It's time to do some wagging.
Surprisingly, no one in the Bush administration has expressed any concern with the lack of response. In fact, Bush has never once addressed the nation directly on civil defense. Local and state officials have not been any more forthcoming on this subject either. The prevailing philosophy seems to be more laissez-faire than leadership.
In one public service announcement, Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge states that "to be the victor in the war against terrorism, we need all Americans to be engaged." If the government wants Americans to view civil preparedness as an option rather than a responsibility, it must do a far more emphatic and effective job of telling them how to do so.
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