Why Prepare?

My Personal Opinion:

Life is more fun when you know that you are prepared for whatever tomorrow throws at you. When you don't have the worries of "what if" looming over you every day you free up a little more of your life for things you enjoy.

I think the biggest part of preparedness is taking several minutes to step back from the everyday grind and look at what you are exposed to every day. Its the little things that sometimes make the biggest difference. Do you take the subway to work? Do you live near a river that has flooded in the past? Is your area prone to wildfires? Would you be able to function without electricity for several days?

When you break it down, the daunting task of planning for the next emergency suddenly becomes a little more manageable. With minimal research on your geographic location you can find out what threats you encounter every day.

A good starter list can be found at www.ready.gov. With the basics out of the way, when you do find yourself in that unthinkable event you can focus on what really matters, taking care of the health and safety of yourself and the ones you love.

Man-Made Disasters

Here is a quote from DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano, former governor of Arizona with SPIEGEL (a German Weekly New Magazine) :

SPIEGEL: Madame Secretary, in your first testimony to the US Congress as Homeland Security Secretary you never mentioned the word "terrorism." Does Islamist terrorism suddenly no longer pose a threat to your country?

Napolitano: Of course it does. I presume there is always a threat from terrorism. In my speech, although I did not use the word "terrorism," I referred to "man-caused" disasters. That is perhaps only a nuance, but it demonstrates that we want to move away from the politics of fear toward a policy of being prepared for all risks that can occur.

The Article

I understand avoiding "over-simplification from the far right and from the far left," but if this is middle ground what is far left, "acts of misguided youth?"

How about we just call it for what it is:
On {Date} we were { X } by { Y }.

X = action performed
Y= name of person, group, country