In a new post today on the U.S. Homeland Security Department’s Leadership Blog, Secretary Janet Napolitano asks the public “to live in a constant state of readiness, not a constant state of fear.” The post titled, “The Department’s Five Responsibilities,” summarizes a longer speech Napolitano delivered last week at the Aspen Institute. The first “Responsibility”, according to the Secretary is “Protecting the American people from terrorist threats.” Yet the people also have a responsibility there. As she writes:
“Protecting the American people from terrorist threats is the founding principle of the Department and our highest priority. This is an effort where everyone–families and communities, first responders, the private sector, state and local governments, as well as the Department–must contribute. My approach is simple: direct every resource available towards prevention and preparedness, and ask Americans to live in a constant state of readiness, not a constant state of fear.”
The other four Responsibilities are: Fulfilling our mission also means securing our borders;Â When it comes to immigration, we need to facilitate legal immigration while we crack down on those who violate our nation’s laws;Â As a nation, we must develop a more urgent sense of readiness; and Finally, we must unify and mature our Department.
I think it is terrific to see Secretary Napolitano highlight the citizen’s role in the nation’s homeland security as part of the Department’s top priorities. I expect that she will continue to talk about the “constant readiness” theme in the weeks to come. Her full post can be read here.
5 responses so far ↓
1 Question(s) For DHS Secretary Napolitano: “Are Americans In A ‘State of Readiness’? And If Not, What Should We Be Doing To Get There?” // Jun 25, 2009 at 2:15 pm
[...] her new mission statement of “The Department’s Five Responsibilities.” I wrote about that earlier this month focusing in particular on the first Responsibility, “Protecting the American people from [...]
2 Memo To ‘Color Alert’ Task Force: Put Your Citizen Hats On, Design With/For Public, Integrate Into Overall Citizen Preparedness Program, Consider All-Hazards Approach (Maybe Starting With H1N1), Replace Changing Colors With Consistent Communic // Jul 22, 2009 at 4:51 pm
[...] a new mission statement, “The Department’s Five Responsibilities” in which she asked “Americans to live in a constant state of readiness, not a constant state of fear.&#… That seems like a good qualitative description of the nation’s (and the public’s) [...]
3 In Wake Of Terror Arrests, Identifying And Addressing Public ‘Complacency’ And ‘Vigilance’ // Sep 28, 2009 at 11:51 am
[...] Napolitano has called for Americans to be in a “state of readiness,” and she has pledged to treat the public as “an asset” in the nation’s homeland [...]
4 Not Reading NFL Defenses Anymore, John Elway Now Helps Citizens “Recognizing 8 Signs Of Terrorism” In New Video // Oct 6, 2009 at 11:52 am
[...] Napolitano has spoken often about using the public as an asset in the nation’s homeland security yet the challenge is offering Americans guidance on exactly how to do so. This type of video is very helpful in doing so. I would suggest that more law enforcement agencies around the U.S. use it or something similar to educate the public. [...]
5 Are Americans “Seeing” And “Saying” Enough? Times Square Scare Offers Opportunity To Assess, Improve Public’s Role In Homeland Security // May 5, 2010 at 12:23 pm
[...] Napolitano has called for Americans to be in a “state of readiness,†and she has pledged to treat the public as “an asset†in the nation’s homeland security as [...]
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