The New Cold War
I'm old enough.
I remember doing the safety drills at school in case of the Bomb.
We were taught in earliest grades to get under our desks and cover our heads.

Later, this was upgraded to a lower level interior hall. Was it really safer or were we just getting to big to fit under our desks? I was a worrier and a protective big sister. My younger brothers' classes were still hiding under their desks. I wanted them where I could watch them. I was usually told that wasn't allowed and to get back down in my spot.
By high school, we really understood: We were to "put your head between your legs to kiss your ass good-bye".
As a young adult I remember vividly President Reagan ending the cold war; and I stayed up all night to watch the Berlin Wall come down on CNN. It was surreal after a lifetime of duck and cover.

When the world panicked at end of 1999 with concerns maybe the world was flat - my parents cornered the market in Spam and Vienna Sausages.
(I personally only over stocked toilet paper and laundry detergent. I figured if the market fell, I had bartering power)

Then 9/11 became the real attack. After decades of preparation for the worse - the public was completely unprepared for it. After the Cold War ended we quit being prepared. And the government did nothing to change that. But they knew.

This all rushed in my head while driving to work yesterday.
I was enjoying a favorite song on the radio (The Bus 100.3), when suddenly the music stopped and there was nothing but silence.
Several long seconds of silence.
I checked my radio, increased the volume. Nothing.
Then the blast of alarm from our national defense system assaulted my ears. Only once, no repeated string of edgy alarms.
My radio fell silent again.
My adrenalin kicked in.
My heart was racing.
My skin tingled with nerves.
There was no immediate announcement of "this is only a test......."
I was having the "Oh God, No!" dropping feeling. Remember when the second plane hit on the morning of 9/11? That's the feeling.
After several more uncomfortable moments of silence, finally the announcements came.
It was only a test.
My fear turned to anger. It was a screwed up test that had done a horrible twisting of my emotions.

My emotions turned to cold fear again when the realization hit me:
We are in the Cold War again.
I was waiting to hear the worse, actively expecting it. It would have been horrible, but not a total surprise.

We were pretty clueless of what we were preparing for in the 1950's and 1960's.
The big bomb might hit. If we played Duck and Cover we would be safe. Nobody discussed fall-out with us. By high school we knew surviving the blast might not be the best scenario.

The children today have it much worse than we did.
The world is a much smaller place now. This is the era of information.
They have been bombarded with the news clips of 9/11 all of their lives.
There was Columbine before that.
Not only is the enemy out there unseen in the world; he might be hiding under the desk next to yours during the drills.

Yes, they are starting safety drills again.
You enter your locked down school, where metal detectors are becoming a norm, where there is the plan of action of what to do if the USA is attacked again,or what to do if an attack starts inside your school.

There is a Higher Power kids could turn to in these stressful times. One who could lead the world to peace. But, He isn't allowed in school.

And they wonder why tests scores are falling and drop out rates are rising.