In the process of preparing my letter to Grimm
yesterday, I looked up the other things I'd written, and it seems possible that
I had been thinking about writing to them since May.
That one was not pure procrastination, because a lot
of the delay was in knowing where to send it. I ended up tweeting the blog link
to the longstanding production names who have accounts on Twitter (plus one of
the current writers) and to the show's Twitter account as well. It was probably
not effective; more of a shouting into the void situation.
Today's reaching out was more clear-cut. I have been
meaning to write to various elected officials about the massive calamity that a
major earthquake striking the Oregon Fuel Depot would be.
I had been working on earthquake articles for the
preparedness blog after The New Yorker ran an article on the coming Cascadia
Megaquake and how it would spell DOOM! DOOM! for the entire region. People were
concerned, and there were things I could address. I wrote some, but with the
Oregon Frontline special coming in October, it felt like I should wait for
that.
In time I recorded the special, watched the special,
and wrote to one of the people featured in the special. I asked for
recommendations on what to do about the fuel depot situation, because that
seemed like the single greatest threat, and one completely unaffected by
personal preparedness.
I didn't hear back until December, but then it was
time to write to elected officials, only it was the holiday season, and then some
other things happened and it was President's Day weekend, and you just feel
like there are times when your message is more likely to get lost.
Actually, I had already written to the city of Portland contacts, but today I
wrote to federal, state, and local elected leaders. Tuesday morning had always
been the target for effective sending times, and I actually managed that.
Ideally there will have been more people have been
expressing concern and interest. It takes more than one person to really exert
pressure, but it's a start. I meant to have my say, and I said it. (In that
vein, I also remembered to submit a review of Quicken Loans and some feedback
to HUD on FHA requirements today).
Tomorrow's reaching out will have even less chance
of being heard, but I am doing it anyway. I am doing it because I believe that
as a person I am worthy of being heard. I am doing it because I believe I have
good ideas. And especially with today's outreach, I am doing it because I
believe we need each other.
One of the points that I tried really hard to make
in the earlier earthquake articles is that society can only collapse if we let
it. Preventing that requires working together, but that is something that is
possible and it is necessary, so working toward it is the only responsible
thing.
I am trying to do my part.
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