Chuck wrote the words below and quoted Dr. Martin Luther King:
"The excerpt below is from the Dr. Martin Luther King speech, “Beyond Vietnam.” Although the speech was against the Vietnam War, this passage about opportunity and procrastination rings true for all emergency managers and response agencies today."
OPPORTUNITY – NOW OR LATER?
We are now faced with the fact that tomorrow is today. We are confronted with the fierce urgency of now. In this unfolding conundrum of life and history there is such a thing as being too late. Procrastination is still the thief of time. Life often leaves us standing bare, naked and dejected with a lost opportunity. The "tide in the affairs of men" does not remain at the flood; it ebbs. We may cry out desperately for time to pause in her passage, but time is deaf to every plea and rushes on. Over the bleached bones and jumbled residue of numerous civilizations are written the pathetic words: "Too late.“
- Martin Luther King Jr., New York Riverside Church, Beyond Vietnam , April 04, 1967
I think that many a heart will sink when the ground starts to shake again, either here in Washington state or other states around the country. Emergency managers will be thinking, "What should I have worked on to better prepare for this moment?" Elected officials will be thinking, "Oh, I didn't think this would happen anytime soon; I hope everything is OK." It won't be OK.
Time is our only non-renewable resource. We have time on our side, only if we choose to use it to our advantage to become better prepared for disasters like earthquakes and a whole host of other natural and human caused events.
It is interesting to note that the quote above was exactly one year before Dr. King's death on April 4, 1968. I remember that date because April 4, 1970 is my wedding anniversary, and I remember when I learned of Dr. King's death, in my dorm room that day.
Time ran out for him to make a difference, but we can say he was doing everything possible from his personal perspective to change history. Can we say the same for ourselves when it comes to disasters?
