“When our smug ‘certainty’ outlasts our evidence”
Last weekend, four widely-separated states (IA, AZ, TX, WA) reported mass 911-System failures. Curiously, the event garnered scant interest from the media.
What caused these simultaneous failures is “not clear,” which is the usual boiler-place “explanation” for such inconvenient service interruptions. As far back as 2020, many in a position to know have warned that our entire nationwide 911 System is not ageing well and is thus far less reliable, and less by the day, than most among the naive have been lead to believe.
Accordingly, the sage need to look-upon our current 911 System as yet another example of “nice-to-have-when-it-works-technology.” Basing our “preparation for personal security emergencies” solely upon “making a phone call” thus represents a naive and flawed personal philosophy, as we see!
Operators accept, at a personal level, the responsibility and obligation to prepare for foreseeable emergencies, to the extent that we reasonably can. Fire extinguishers, trauma kits, serious defensive firearms (along with knowledge and skills involved in strategically employing them at critical moments) are integral components of our personal kit.
Who maintain a landline telephone are few today, and getting fewer. Telephone companies no longer even print, nor distribute, conventional phonebooks. So long as the internet is working, you don’t need a phonebook. But, what happens when the internet is down (indefinitely), and you need to look-up “non-emergency numbers” for your police department, sheriff’s department, state police?
Unavoidable technology glitches (like the one described above), even during otherwise tranquil times, will predicably wreak instant, widespread havoc.
Then, ready or not, we’re on our own!
/John
