HLSC510
Forum 8 (Module 8)
Topic: Expectations of Disaster Management / Homeland Security
Mackenzie Donnell
The average citizen’s expectation from all levels of government when it comes to disaster
management or terrorism related matters.
When it comes to the expectations in which the average American citizen would like to see from
a governmental stance, whether it be at the local, state, or federal level, greatly depends on the
knowledge and involvement that the individual has divested into the organization as a whole.
Often times, the need for outreach is only expected after the fact of a disaster or attack occurring.
It is during the response and recovery phases that citizen look to the government for much
needed aid and relief. However, it is on the governments shoulders to properly plan, mitigate,
prepare for, and inform the citizen in which they serve of the efforts being put forth to keep them
safe. Therefore, the information, at various levels and classifications, is available to those that
seek it, but more times than none it is presented in a passive manner. When examined at the
holistic federal level, it was noted that the trust and expectations that American citizens have,
specifically towards being protected from domestic terrorist attacks, has fluctuated over the past
two decades with direct signs aiming at significant events and the immediate aftermath of these
events (McCarthy, 2017), immediately following 9/11 the trust rate of the American people
feeling protected by the government hovered to around 70 percent while fast-forwarding 14
years and seeing the trust rate having declined after the San Bernardino terror attack. The
response was highly publicized following the 9/11 attack while in 2015, complacency on the
subject and response at the federal level was much lower. One final example that we can relate to
our current situation on the expectations of the American people with regards to management of
disasters and events would be the response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This outbreak has led to
mass notification to the populous in turn creating the need for the government to respond
appropriately and swiftly. When more people are aware, it become an inherent right that a
response of equal proportion is warranted.
Does government over promise and under deliver?
The answer to this question relies specifically on the situation at hand and the amount of
followers behind the push from all parties involved. As an American citizen, the desire to want
to feel safe and free within your own country is not a far fetched ideology. Based on the
constitutional framework that the forefathers built, the desire to seek assurance from the
government to know that they have everyone’s best interest and safety in mind (to a reasonable
level) is a realistic mindset. There are instances, mainly of political virtue, that limit governments
from fulfilling all that was promised, thus often times portraying an image of over promising and
under delivering. The end state however, reflects that the interest and safety of the citizen is
taken into account, as a whole rather than individually, when preparing for and executing
strategies towards the management of disasters and attacks. For individual, additional measures,
there is a self-inherent right to provide a certain level of personal preparedness as it is built into
every plan and with the realization that nothing in terms of responsive measures will ever equate
to 1-for-1 (Holdeman, 2015).
What was the most important thing you learned in this course and why?
In regards to the most important portion of this course, the biggest take away that I honed in on
was the added in-depth application of attempting to apply the emergency management cycle to
multiple layers and events, whether it was directly associated with disaster management versus
terrorist attacks. The idea of responding in a phased approach with a holistic rational view of say
“all hazards” allows for more flexibility to be disseminated to the appropriate level of
government and responding agency all while maintaining centralized control with decentralized
execution. By attempting to apply each phase into any practicum it allowed for me to understand
the importance on not necessarily the specific event that happened or is expected to happen, but
rather planning towards and identifying generalized concepts that can be applied and fine-tuned
per each individual event. Overall, this course was enjoyable and the conversations amongst all
classmates within the discussion boards definitely has helped share view-points that I otherwise
would have never recognized.
References:
McCarthy, J. (2017). Seven in 10 Trust U.S. Government to Protect Against Terrorism. Gallup
Politics. Retrieved from: https://news.gallup.com/poll/212558/seven-trust-government-protect-
against-terrorism.aspx
Holdeman, E. (2015). Over Promise and Under Deliver: What About Personal Preparedness?
Government Technology. Retrieved from: https://www.govtech.com/em/emergency-
blogs/disaster-zone/overpromiseandunderdeliver.html
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