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Stephen E. Flynn
When it comes to managing the hazards continent and then allowed the country
of the twenty-first century, it is reckless to cope with the extraordinary challenges
to relegate the American public to the that occasionally placed the American
sidelines. During the Cold War, the threat experiment in peril. From the early set-
of nuclear weapons placed the fate of mil- tlements in Virginia and Massachusetts
lions in the hands of a few. But responding to the westward expansion, Americans
to today’s challenges, the threats of ter- willingly ventured into the wild to build
rorism and natural disasters, requires the better lives. During the epic struggles of
broad engagement of civil society. The the American Revolution, the American
terrorists’ chosen battlegrounds are likely Civil War, and the two world wars; occa-
to be occupied by civilians, not soldiers. sional economic downturns and the Great
And more than the loss of innocent lives Depression; and the periodic scourges of
is at stake: a climate of fear and a sense of earthquakes, epidemics, floods, and hur-
powerlessness in the face of adversity are ricanes, Americans have drawn strength
undermining faith in American ideals and from adversity. Each generation bequeathed
fueling political demagoguery. Sustaining to the next a sense of confidence and
the United States’ global leadership and optimism about the future.
economic competitiveness ultimately But this reservoir of self-su⁄ciency is
depends on bolstering the resilience of being depleted. The United States is
its society. Periodically, things will go badly becoming a brittle nation. An increasingly
wrong. The United States must be prepared urbanized and suburbanized population has
to minimize the consequences of those embraced just-in-time lifestyles tethered
eventualities and bounce back quickly. to atm machines and 24-hour stores that
Resilience has historically been one of provide instant access to cash, food, and
the United States’ great national strengths. gas. When the power goes out and these
It was the quality that helped tame a raw modern conveniences fail, Americans are
[2]
America the Resilient
incapacitated. Meanwhile, two decades of do any upkeep, Americans have been ne-
taxpayer rebellion have stripped away the glecting the infrastructure that supports
means necessary for government workers a modern society. In 2005, after a review
to provide help during emergencies. Most of hundreds of studies and reports and a
city and state public health and emergency- survey of more than 2,000 engineers,
management departments are not funded the American Society of Civil Engineers
adequately enough for them to carry out issued a scathing report card on 15 categories
even their routine work. A flu pandemic of infrastructure: the national power grid,
or other major disaster would completely dams, canal locks, and seven other infra-
overwhelm them. A report on disaster structure sectors received Ds; the best
preparedness released in June 2006 by the grade, a C+, went to bridges, and even
U.S. Department of Homeland Security in that case, 160,570 bridges, out of a
found that only 25 percent of state emer- total of 590,750, were rated structurally
gency operations plans and 10 percent of deficient or functionally obsolete.
municipal plans were su⁄cient to cope with These downward trends in preparedness
a natural disaster or a terrorist attack; the and infrastructural integrity could be
majority of the plans were deemed “not reversed by stepped-up investment and
fully adequate, feasible, or acceptable to more eªective leadership. Unfortunately,
manage catastrophic events.” And even Washington has been leading the nation in
as community and individual preparedness the opposite direction. Since September 11,
is in decline, nine out of ten Americans 2001, the White House has failed to
now live in locations that place them at draw on the legacy of American grit,
a moderate to high risk of experiencing volunteerism, and ingenuity in the face of
damaging high wind, earthquakes, flood- adversity. Instead, it has sent a mixed
ing, hurricanes, volcanic eruptions, or message, touting terrorism as a clear and
wildfires. Climate change will increase the present danger while telling Americans
frequency of such calamities. to just go about their daily lives. Unlike
The United States’ aging infrastructure during World War II, when the entire
compounds the risk of destruction and U.S. population was mobilized, much of
disruption. One of the rationales for build- o⁄cial Washington today treats citizens
ing the interstate highway system was to as helpless targets or potential victims.
support the evacuation of major cities if This discounting of the public can
the Cold War turned hot; in 2006, the year be traced to the culture of secrecy and
the system turned 50, Americans spent a paternalism that now pervades the national
total of 3.5 billion hours stuck in tra⁄c. defense and federal law enforcement
Public works departments construct communities. After decades of combating
“temporary” patches for dams, leaving Soviet espionage during the Cold War,
Americans who live downstream one the federal security establishment in-
major storm away from having water stinctively resists disclosing informa-
pouring into their living rooms. Bridges tion for fear that it might end up in the
are outfitted with the civil engineering wrong hands. Straight talk about the
equivalent of diapers. Like the occupants country’s vulnerabilities and how to cope
of a grand old mansion who elect not to in emergencies is presumed to be too
[5]
Stephen E. Flynn
fear to spur Washington into overreacting Such resilience results from a sustained
in costly and self-destructive ways. commitment to four factors. First, there
Fear arises both from being aware of a is robustness, the ability to keep operating
threat and from feeling powerless to deal or to stay standing in the face of disaster.
with it. And although it is impossible to In some cases, it translates into designing
eliminate every threat that causes such fear, structures or systems (such as buildings and
Americans do have the power to manage bridges) strong enough to take a foresee-
their fear and their reactions to it. For more able punch. In others (such as developing
then six years, however, Washington has transportation, energy, and communications
been sounding the alarm about apocalyp- networks), robustness requires devising
tic terrorist groups while providing the substitutable or redundant systems that
American people with no meaningful can be brought to bear should some-
guidance on how to deal with the threats thing important break or stop working.
they pose or the consequences of a suc- Robustness also entails investing in and
cessful attack. This toxic mix of fear and maintaining elements of critical infra-
helplessness jeopardizes U.S. security by structure, such as dams and levees, so
increasing the risk that the U.S. government that they can withstand low-probability
will overreact to another terrorist attack. but high-consequence events.
What Washington should do instead Second is resourcefulness, which in-
is arm Americans with greater confidence volves skillfully managing a disaster once
in their ability to prepare for and recover it unfolds. It includes identifying options,
from terrorist strikes and disasters of all prioritizing what should be done both
types. Confidence in their resilience would to control damage and to begin mitigating
cap their fear and in turn undermine much it, and communicating decisions to the
of the incentives terrorists have for incur- people who will implement them. Re-
ring the costs and risks of targeting the sourcefulness depends primarily on people,
U.S. homeland. not technology. Ensuring that U.S. society
The United States needs the kind of is resourceful means providing adequate
resilience that the British displayed during resources to the National Guard, the
World War II when v-1 bombs were American Red Cross, public health o⁄cials,
raining down on London. Volunteers firefighters, emergencyroom staªs, and
put the fires out, rescued the wounded other emergency planners and responders.
from the rubble, and then went on with The third element of resilience is rapid
their lives until the air-raid warnings recovery, which is the capacity to get things
were sounded again. More than a half back to normal as quickly as possible after
century later, the United Kingdom showed a disaster. Carefully drafted contingency
its resilience once more after suicide plans, competent emergency operations,
bombers attacked the London Under- and the means to get the right people and
ground with the intent of crippling the resources to the right places are crucial.
city’s public transportation system. That Some small communities, such as Eden
objective was foiled when resolute com- Prairie, Minnesota, are organizing them-
muters showed up to board the trains selves so that everyone can pitch in right
the next morning. away in the case of an emergency. Citizens