The development of disaster management has evolved overtime mainly because of
Jefferson, Hamilton, and Jackson’s contributions. Their impact had a nominal effect on disaster
management along with response measures and preparedness. Their influence, helped create and
expand the role of an Emergency Manager. Emergency Managers were to facilitate evacuations,
provide warnings to the public and other government agencies, along with communicating with
first responders. An additional function was to navigate and engage resources in order to provide
the best services for the public. One of the more essential stages to disaster management is
preparedness. (Sylves, 2020) defined it as “estimating and preparing resources to be used in the
response and recovery stages.” This stage is critical to the survival of a disaster. These 3 men
helped sculpt the disaster management process in its totality, which is why they are widely
accredited with their contribution.
Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton were 2 of the 8 founding fathers of the United
States of America. It is obvious that their political influence had credibility and influence when it
came to normative political theories. Not only was Thomas Jefferson a 2 term President but he
also was credited with drafting the Declaration of Independence which impacted human and
equal rights for all. 2 normative political theories discussed in the text pertaining to their
contributions, were Jeffersonians and Hamiltonians.
Both expounded upon the role of a public manager. They believed that “public managers
make their decisions as the product of grassroots public consultation and the consensus of
interest group recommendations (Sylves, 2020).” The author feels that this legitimizes their
intentions in public matters. The Hamiltonian approach keys in on an emergency manager’s
effectiveness. There is a level of expectation that is predicated around one’s knowledge base and
mastery. Their levels of expertise should aptly follow under public law.
(Sylves, 2014) believes “The Jeffersonian approach supports decision-making ensuing
from consultations with interest groups and suggests a strong community participation of
emergency preparedness.” They tend to supervise and manage evacuations, aggregate data and
statistics, and utilize it to mitigate incurred damages. With this responsibility, Jeffersonians also
manage resources and response. The pressure is immense when it comes to this approach as
these emergency managers must uphold a reputation that has been established long before they
were here.
I was reminded when reading about this of Isaiah 41:10 (English Standard Version,
2011) “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I
will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” God never gave us a spirit of
fear, when you stay in his will, he will ensure that all things will work together for the good. IN
life, us a believers must always remember that pressure produces diamonds.
I cannot talk about Normative Political Theories without highlighting Andrew Jackson’s
model contributions. Not only was he the 7th President of the United States but he also was well
respected General in the US Army. Andrew Jackson was credited for “managing the divergence
between state and local governments and responders.” This also created a pathway to the
Incident Command System. The Jacksonian Model limits intrusion in the legislative process.
They provide backing for elected officials and are devoted to accomplishing the ultimate
mission. Usually speaking on behalf of the voiceless.
When thinking about how these theories apply or relate to disaster management, you must look at
the commitment to the governing body and community at large. One must also look at the aspect of social
vulnerabilities (Aguirre et al., 2016) suggest that “social factors are one of the most important
causes of vulnerability of exposed communities to disasters.” In other words, the disaster impact
of those susceptible to social vulnerabilities are hard to bounce back from. (Flanagan et al., 2016)
advised that “effectively addressing social vulnerability decreases both human suffering and the
economic loss related to providing social services and public assistance after a disaster.” This is
why an Emergency Manager’s job is so incredibly important. They should be able to mitigate
risk through assessing data and information, communicating through the proper channels and
allocating resources as needed. The lives of so many lie in the balance of an Emergency
Manager.
The model I support the most or find applicable/useful regarding disaster management
and/or homeland security, is easily the Hamiltonian. As I stated earlier, this approach is
predicated around one’s knowledge base, mastery, & level of expertise. I grew up in the
information age, and believe in working smarter not harder. In today’s world we have access to
unlimited resources of information which could be used to the benefit of this approach.
Researching information and disseminating it can be done at the stroke of a button. Some
interesting attributes about myself is that I am a forward and progressive thinker. Hamilton
always seemed to stay ahead of everyone else through his mastery of forecasting disasters. As
leader in Christ, God reminds us in Proverbs 16:9 (English Standard Version, 2011) that “The
heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps.” Always stay aligned with God’s
word and he will guide your path.
REFERENCES
Aguirre, B., Ardalanb, A., Fatemia, F., Mansouri, N., & Mohammadfame, I. (2016) Social
vulnerability indicators in disasters: Findings from a systematic review. Retrieved From:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2212420916302746.
ESV Study Bible (2011). English Standard Version Online. https://www.bibleonline.org/
(Original work published 2008).
Flanagan, B., Gregory, E., Hallisey, E., Heitgerd, E., & Lewis, B. (2016). A Social Vulnerability
Index for Disaster Management. Retrieved From: https://svi.cdc.gov/A%20Social
%20Vulnerability%20Index%20for%20Disaster%20Management.
Sylves, R. (2014). Disaster policy and politics: Emergency management and homeland security.
CQ Press.
Sylves, R. (2020). Disaster policy and politics: Emergency management and homeland security.
Sage.
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