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Dear
Mr. Ridge
February 25, 2003
By Tygrbright
 Dear
Mr. Ridge,
Although you and I have profound ideological, philosophical,
and political differences, I believe we share at least one
very important thing: We both care deeply about keeping our
fellow-citizens safe, and protecting ourselves from an increasingly
dangerous and unpredictable world. Because of this, I am willing
to put aside my differences with you, and offer you some advice
that I hope you will find helpful. I know that, insulated
as you must necessarily be by the absorbing concerns of each
day's problems; isolated as you are from the rest of us by
a wall of bureaucrats and political appointees, you do not
always have a chance to hear what your fellow-citizens really
want, need, and care about.
You are clearly trying. And I give you and your colleagues
credit for a sincere desire to balance the needs of security
(not giving terrorists any information that might help them
perpetrate their heinous acts,) and safety (helping us protect
ourselves from those acts.) But I have to tell you, Mr. Ridge,
that honestly, from my viewpoint, you're not hitting the bulls-eye.
In fact, you're not even on the target. So here, to help you
correct your aim a little, is a list of what is, and is not,
helpful to me as a citizen trying to protect myself and my
household:
|
IS
NOT HELPFUL
|
IS
(OR WOULD BE) HELPFUL
|
| Orange, Yellow, Green, Red,
Pink, Tuquoise, Mauve, etc., alert system. I have no idea
what it means or what the hell I'm supposed to do about
it. |
Knowing exactly how I would
hear about a real, imminent threat. Something along the
lines of the old Civil Defense Broadcasting System would
be nice. I'd like to know that all the radio stations
and TV stations in my area would quickly inform me, that
a certain kind of siren or whistle would blow, etc. And
I'd like to know exactly what that meant, what to do immediately,
how/when I could get more information, and what would
tell me that the danger is past. |
| Duct Tape and Plastic Sheeting
Alerts. Really, Mr. Ridge, this raises more fears and
questions than it addresses. Suppose, in the event of
an "incident," I go ahead and plastic-and-tape a "safe
room" in my house. If I do a seal tight enough to exclude
all chemical and biological agents, how long will I be
able to breathe in there before it gets a little close?
Give me chapter and verse on just how and why this is
helpful. |
I'd like to be able to stop
by at my local fire station, town hall, community center,
police station, elementary school, etc., and pick up an
emergency response kit. The kit would include things that
are not readily available in grocery stores, like an effective
filter mask, quick-action antidotes for chemical exposure,
etc. And a clear, illustrated instruction booklet on how
and when to apply these things. And a list of things I
can obtain easily for myself and what to do with them.
I'd be happy to donate a little cash to pay for this kit,
Mr. Ridge. But I want it to be free, because I know there
are many, many people in my community who could not afford
to donate or pay. And I want to know they have the chance
for protection, too. |
| Hundreds of vague and contradictory
communications from official, semi-official, and unofficial
sources about what's going on and how to protect myself
and my family. |
I'd like to have a clear, credible,
and trustworthy authority charged with the responsibility
of keeping everyone informed. I'd like to know that my
state and local officials and emergency personnel have
a clear channel of communication and a coordinated plan
for dealing with contingencies at all levels. I'd like
to have a regular program of public education, including
school programs, television shows, websites, free computer
CDs, etc., that gave consistent, clear, sensible preparedness
directions to everyone. |
| Local officials with no resources
for contingency planning or coordinated action in the
event of an emergency. |
I'd feel better if I knew that
you were sending my state and local officials the resources
they need to make, and communicate to me, clear emergency
plans. I'd feel better if I knew they had the resources
to recruit, train, and equip emergency response networks
of public safety and health workers, and citizens volunteering
to supplement those workers. And to communicate with those
networks, keep them up to date, hold drills and make sure
they are ready to deal with anything. And I'd like to
know that they have adequate, accessible stockpiles of
the pharmaceuticals and medical supplies they might need,
clear evacuation routes and plans communicated to me,
emergency shelters and stockpiles of supplies to deal
with them. |
| Spending my tax dollars on
a case-by-case effort to police these terrible weapons
from a network of states, terrorist organizations, and
criminals that are as easy to track and cope with as a
whack-a-mole game on steroids. |
I want at least some of that
money to be spent on massive research programs to create
ways to decontaminate large areas of land and bodies of
water quickly, restore arable acreage, effectively destroy
or render harmless toxic agents, develop new treatments
and vaccines, and other ways to clean up when the incident
does happen. Because I don't believe we're good enough
whack-a-mole players to nail every terrorist, every nutball
dictator, every well-financed criminal, every time. |
And yes, Mr. Ridge, I know these things will take time. You
may even be trying to do some of them already. I'm well aware
that you're not getting the help and cooperation you need
from Congress, and you're welcome to share my letter with
them. They will be hearing from me, too. But it would make
me feel much better if I heard from you that these things
are in the process of becoming real. Show me the folks working
to make it happen. Let me hear from credible scientists, planners,
and leaders about the progress toward these goals on a regular
basis. Give me a timeline. Make me believe. Don't underestimate
my intelligence. Don't overestimate my capacity to do too
much of this on my own.
And no, Mr. Ridge, I do not ignore or underestimate the cost
of all this. I'm willing to pay for it. Please don't cut my
taxes-use them to pay for this. And if you still need more
money, get in touch with me. I have a list of things my tax
dollars are currently paying for that I think I could manage
to do without. Let's go over the Federal budget together.
I think I can really be helpful, here.
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