What Is An Orange Alert?
Since the horrific events of September 11th, an entire nation has been wondering, "What's going to happen next?" Let's face facts. As much as we try not to let the events of that day hinder us from enjoying our everyday lives there will always be that lingering feeling in the pit of our stomachs. That dark thought that pops out from the back of our mind that says, "Maybe it'll happen tomorrow?" It is a horrible, horrible feeling that I hope that one day we can all overcome. But the United States government is not making it any easier by proclaiming that they are now in a state of "Orange Alert." The questions I ask myself is, "What the heck does an Orange Alert mean?" and "What the hell do I do?"

The Homeland Security Directive was established in March 2003 as a measure to keep citizens aware and prepared for the possibility of terrorist attack. There are five different levels of safety, Green = Low; Blue = Guarded; Yellow = Elevated; Orange = High; and Red = Severe. Most recently, the White House has declared that the United States has been elevated to Orange level status, which means there is a high possibility of a terrorist attack. That's a pretty scary statement. For over a year, we've all been trying to overcome this deep seeded feeling of terrorist angst, but now due to recent events, the U.S. government has successfully resurfaced them with this declaration. Now don't get me wrong I would rather be informed than be kept in the dark, but it still begs the question, "What the hell does that mean to the average citizen?" I mean if someone warns you that there's a possibility that a hurricane or a tornado is coming there are appropriate steps that can be taken to safeguard yourself from this potential disaster. But what do you do when the government tells you that there's a good possibility that you may be a victim of a terrorist attack? I mean the White House is essentially saying, "We don't know what's going to happen, when it's going to happen or where it's going to happen, but it won't be good. So when this thing does possibly happen, be prepared. Have a nice day." As much as the good old U.S.A is trying to protect its citizens from possible disaster, it's also doing a fantastic job of raising the blood pressure of an entire country. It's a real catch-22 situation. You're trying to protect everyone from possible physical harm, but you're also damaging them emotionally. So what do you do?

It's obviously a difficult situation. Personally I'm a bit dubious about the logic behind quantifying the possibility of a terrorist threat through the use of "levels." I mean terrorist attacks are always an unexpected occurrence, so how does the practice of trying to rationalize an unpredictable incident through the use of a rating system make sense? Isn't it a given that in this current political climate that a terrorist action is a good possibility? Do we really need some bar chart to tell us that something could happen? I don't think so. I think a blanket statement by the White House telling everyone to be a bit more aware and conscious of what's going on would be more appropriate than by confusing the masses even more by trying to encapsulate the current situation through the use of some ambiguous colours that really mean nothing.


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