Thursday, April 22, 2004
If I were to assign a value to my current state of mind, using the Homeland Security Advisory System to assess it, I would be in Code Yellow: Elevated Condition. According to the DHS website:
"An Elevated Condition is declared when there is a significant risk of terrorist attacks. In addition to the Protective Measures taken in the previous Threat Conditions, Federal departments and agencies should consider the following general measures in addition to the Protective Measures that they will develop and implement:
- Increasing surveillance of critical locations;
- Coordinating emergency plans as appropriate with nearby jurisdictions;
- Assessing whether the precise characteristics of the threat require the further refinement of preplanned Protective Measures; and
Implementing, as appropriate, contingency and emergency response plans."
What that means for me is an increased focus on activities in which I'm already obsessive enough under normal circumstances: monitoring, sketching out the Worst Case Scenario and planning multiple possible responses to it, and keeping those around me who might also be affected "in the loop" with any new intel. When the military does this, as a cohesive body, it's considered proactive defensive strategy. For individuals, it's often labeled as paranoia.
One [wo]man's paranoia is another's preparedness, my friends! And we're battening down the hatches here at Cheezwerks HQ and sitting ready, just in case. It's the need for "just in case" that has attack-counterattack gameplans spooling through my brain on continuous loop.
On that front, this well-intended warning from a friend: "I think your mind might just be idle enough without this [drama du jour] thing hanging over your head that it might make your thought patterns go wonky. Not that it's a bad thing, just watch out for it."
True enough. So this has been added to my list of Amandaland Security Precautions: monitor self for bizarre thoughts. In the meantime, know that when the heightened alert phase downgrades to mere "guarded" conditions, there will be oh-so-much more story to tell.
# posted by Amanda at 4:03 PM |
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