Preparing for the worst is best idea for security

The bad news is there’s no way to guarantee we can prevent terrorism on U.S. soil. The good news is there’s more to protecting ourselves than duct tape and plastic.

Emergency preparedness classes are nothing new in this county. Many residents have signed up and gone through weeks of training to learn how to help themselves and their neighbors should an earthquake strike and leave the area in shambles. Be prepared to take care of yourself for three days, experts often say. That’s how long it could take emergency crews to reach you.

Now we need a new kind of training: How to protect ourselves against weapons of mass destruction. It’s no surprise there’s a demand for such training and the county is fortunate that the Emergency Services Coordinating Agency in Edmonds is hosting the seminar from 7 to 10 p.m. next Thursday in the Mountlake Terrace Library conference room. Those who attend will learn how to detect chemical and biological attacks by picking up on changes in the environment and people. They’ll also learn about "shelter-in-place" and decontamination.

Protecting ourselves from the effects of natural disasters is daunting enough. We’ve stepped into a new era where we must do our best to guard against the horrors some people would inflict upon us out of hatred. Other countries have endured this in the past and many still do today. News reports of adults and children learning to put on gas masks seemed almost unreal before. Now we watch these stories and wonder how long it will be before such practices become routine in our country.

It’s tempting to swing from one end of the pendulum to the other — from thinking there’s nothing we can do to protect ourselves so why bother, to living in a constant state of panic and paranoia. Emergency readiness classes, like the one being offered next week in south county, offer a healthy alternative. Once we’re prepared for the worst, we can continue with more confidence to live our daily lives.