Lower-level needs like security and belonging probably do inform decisions, especially when the opportunity costs of changing location seem high to the person making the decision. But these needs themselves are not singular conceptions of one’s relationship to the situation. (I need many different things to feel secure or accepted, some of which may be present or available in different quantities or with different costs at different times.)

The lower-level needs inform the higher-level ones. I can’t be fully self-actualized unless I feel secure and accepted, but once these needs are met how they are fulfilled has a powerful influence on how people perceive themselves (this goes above and beyond how they perceive their situation).

When time-pressure or high-stales (life or death) accompany decisions about whether to stay or go we can be pretty sure that people will not engage sophisticated analytic processes to make their decisions. Under such conditions they are more likely than not to make no distinction between the question itself (should I stay/should I go) and the answer (time to go/no way, I’m staying).

I would not assume a priori that someone who’s self-actualized will decide to stay and some one who lacks security or acceptance will go. If I am really self-actualized, I might have little difficulty seeing myself comfortably situated anywhere. If I am insecure here, I may fear subjecting myself to even greater insecurity or vulnerability of I go elsewhere.

Is this more evidence that the questions are harder to define than the answers are to find? I think so …

What I learned standing as sleet bounced off my face as I stood on behalf of fellow citizen (see: http://www.bigdiglifevest.com), not one fellow resident came out to stand with me, to relieve me to enable me to get wet clothes changed and return and while the station is today the busiest station in (Milton, MA), residents – what I learned about most fellow citizens and neighbirs and what every politician knows, more iften than not, folks are dysfunctional, disinterested if they themselves must get off their bottom to exert themselves and the professional politicians take advantage of this indifference -
this apathy and unfortunately for you as a result, the Life you believed and hoped for has been dashed by your disregard for fellow neighbor and allowing politicians to hold positiosn for lengthy terms becoming far too familiar –

Let me say that we as citizenry cannot rely on Barry in Washington nor your local community’s politicians as once elected a sense of entitlement, a prowess in power and elitist attitude prevails -

I am very involved in Haiti and in the Gulf oil spill and the outrage from citizens is minimal given teh seriousness of 1.5 million Haitians – women, children living in tents abused by heavy rains and soon, heavy winds causing more despair.

Interestingly what is really absurd to me is the fact that Barry S. has an administration with every member tied to Goldman Sachs in every way and that it is the those at GS that are enslaving everyone and not even one protest and CNN/Fox news story about these relationships which I believe are a National Security issue – Goldman Sachs and elected leaders vs citizens – see: The Real Story w/Daniel Happnie – While I was just referred to this site, if in fact this gentleman is really telling the truth, there is no way we can rely on government, however there is no way that in the event of disaster, there will be enough super heros to attend the afflicted – the numbers will be too great and the resources to help fellow neighbors far too little –

My suggestion – in November – boot out every incumbent no matter trhe party – no more professional politicians – limit terms from local to state to national – no more Kennedy and John Kerry idoltry!

These guys could given a damn and you can see by the results of today’s challenges what their work resulted in – the unacceptable downfall of this great Republic and let no one doubt that the good ‘ol fellas across both aisles with their self-accolades and connections to the Goldman Sachs fellas have ruined this nation and yes, a few heros and some resilience may be seen, however for the most part, it will be us standing in the rain and maybe protected by a plastic tarp or tent, not the entrusted politicians who talk a good talk, but hey, they will not walk the walk for there are no leaders as today it is ineptness in leadership and we dear nation, good fellow neighbors, we are in real peril and unless you do come and stand, your house has fallen – and it is not Taliban or AQ, but your government and those who with much influence have willingly and knowingly placed all of us in much peril, with War and strife, anguish the next step in the process as we have seen in history….

Take a good look at every one of Barry’s White House administration and you will find Goldman Sachs – they have duped you and unfortunately their list for power and control in subjecting all to enslavement…well, even they will lose for the impoverishment of mankind, taking the hope and will from him, denying him the essentials result in despair and not a double dip, but a depression forthcoming and War!

Hard questions, no easy answers…I am afraid that unfortunately in this Judeo-Christian nation, I see no Bibles and the answers abound as each page is turned, yet no matter the “hard question” – unlesswe adhere to the simplicity that our Creator gave to us and asked us to follow, just as in history since Babylon, every government and for of government has failed for the questions should never have been difficult and the simplicity of Life and its richness in human dignity and achievement shoudl of assured a Life’s fullness, yet the greed, the self-agenda and the indifference towards another has brought us to the precipice of War once again and this time, within 100 years of the last war and ths time, with onlythe intervention of our Creator as we have not read the Bible nor cared to followed scripture which clearly spells out the simplistic answers of Life.

God Bless you and this wonderful blog which keeps us informed of the calamities which abound here and far yonder as earthquake, oil spills and fallen economies will shatter Peace in every way – unfortunately without leadership and in the midst of the “Brutes of Tehran” – there promises no simplicity of Life, unfortunately just tragedy as there are no power rangers among us….this is reality – see: Roubini!

Keep your eyes on Turkey, on Egypt, listen as you hear more and more rumblings among Arab nations and an Iranian leadership whose sights are set in causing much disruption and death throughout the Middle East and Saudi and UAE as well as others pointing to Tehran and the malice which the “Brutes of Tehran” hold for even fellow Arab nations – never mind the Hebrew.

To the “Brutes of Tehran” I say, your narrow perspective will be your demise and it will not be the overstated virgin, but hell which will greet you for you and the clerics who use the preciousness in words and meaning of the Koran written to encourage humanity in such derogatory manner and send innocents and kill innocents in cold blood, it will be you who will never see the warmth and truly white light, for yours will be thrown to the depths of hell and oblivion….this too we have seen in history. A histiry which stands without your intentional and manipulation in amending the facts.

To my fellow citizens, the hard questions and no easy answers, I say this is not true – Look at the present administration and do your homework as every administration particpant at the White House boardroom table has some connection to Goldman Sachs and you are being duped – enslaved with the bankers again taking care of themselves and yoju and your family being raped of your assets and Life!

The answer is simple and make it resounding in November! The clock is ticking and unfortunately your apathy, your dysfunctional ways have allowed outright corruption to usurp power and gridlock Washington with inept and devious self-agenda among those you entrusted….

Christopher Tingus
CEO & Managing Director
Bibles With Love
PO Box 1612
Harwich, MA 02645 USA
chris.tingus@gmail.com

aka

Joe Citizen
Main Street USA

-Jacob Bronowski, 1967

Mark,

Agreed, “government for its part provides only part of the answer.” You and the Natural Hazards Center captured the key issues of other-than-government homeland security and emergency management: public involvement, social capital, social media, recovery, and resiliency.

Social Media is very much a part of the incarnation of 21st century homeland security and emergency management praxis and that role will likely increase exponentially. In March of this year, I accepted an invasion to join a twitter group from Naval Post Graduate School alumni. The group is a loosely-knit group of federal, state, and local homeland security practitioners and fledgling academics. Its use on May 1, 2010 inspired “if:” http://www.hlswatch.com/2010/05/03/if/#comments

The group hasn’t identified any rules –it works sometimes and when it doesn’t we improvise: 3-5consecutive bullet like tweets or references to websites, blogs, or off-line e-mails. Claire’s posting of the website exemplifies this phenomenon.

Our twitter group represents practitioner-scholars’ connectivity and research tempered by real life experience –one of our group was detailed to Haiti and another is currently in NOLA working on the spill and they tweeted away while deployed.

Assumptions are normal ….they allow us to do most everything we do without the burden of explaining minutia and things that are generally understood and actually work most of the time. Socrates and his methods are worthy of praise but they have their place and that typically is not in the battle space where things actually get done. New researchers come along [myself included] and challenge the status quo and its inherent assumptions and that’s good so long as we acknowledge that academia and its logical methods will be tested in the battle space and not the classroom. For the record: I’m for logic.

Tweeters and bloggers alike empower themselves and inform institutions about what they like, don’t like, and want. Usually it’s something like KISS (keep it simple stupid) and JTF (just the facts).

Jack Nicholson [A Few Good Men] was wrong: people can handle the truth ….most of them anyway. “Just Tell Them!” ….it is noted that that mantra didn’t work out for anti-drug campaigns i.e. Just say no to drugs!

Looking at Haiti is not a fool’s errand –like Katrina and near every other disaster you will find heroism, resiliency, and post-traumatic growth –probably not as much as we would like.

While perhaps profit and exclusivity are sufficient driving forces in other industries, considering the topic of this conference I would argue that not making everything public is beyond a simple disservice to the public.

Bill, I think you’re probably right to a point. People and institutions display their own kinds of inertia. Path dependency, uncertainty, resistance to change and a tendency to underestimate losses and overestimate gains may contribute as you observe.

People may be well advised to value the gains of family, friends and familiarity more highly than the uncertainty of disaster losses, especially if these social connections increase their coping capacity. Whether they consciously choose one course over the other may well be bigger question than why they value one more than the other.

Could be wrong of course. But if jobs are key then the location of business activity is crucial. What is of interest is how little business does in the way of risk analysis when locating. 300 Walmarts went down in Katrina.