It has been eight days since a false alarm warning of incoming missiles shook Hawaii.
The 8:07 a.m. alert that dinged phones across Hawaii on Saturday, Jan. 13, sending people into panic, was a literal wake-up call about the perils of nuclear war. The warning that appeared on mobile phones read: "Ballistic missile threat inbound to Hawaii. Seek immediate shelter. This is not a drill."
For about half an hour, some people in the Aloha State were indeed saying their goodbyes.
Confronted with the prospect of death raining down from the sky, people are said to have curled up in bathtubs and hidden in storm drains. Those who found themselves away from home made mad dashes back to their families and/or texted love notes they assumed might be their last words to their kin.
Parents in Hawaii have flooded Facebook with stories about how they gathered their young children in those frantic minutes to tell them about the emergency, only to realize that the kids didn't have the vocabulary to understand what they were saying.
Nuclear what? Missiles where?
If you didn't come of age during the Cold War, the faint daily threat of nuclear annihilation is not part of your mindset.
Tearing 21st-century children away from their Froot Loops and iPads on a Saturday morning and coaxing them into the fetal position in the basement is not something most of us care to contemplate.
In light of all the sabre-rattling coming from North Korea and Washington, D.C., these days, it might be a good time to polish off those Cold War sensibilities and have a family plan for those too-terrible-to-contemplate scenarios.
First, it seems, a good self-reckoning is appropriate for parents. Are you the kind of person who goes numb in a crisis or one who flies into action? It might pay to think about that in advance.
Thinking about myself, I tend to quickly assess my ability to respond. I can think of two times when I felt waves of panic involving our two sons. Once when a tornado was heading toward my younger son's school (it missed), and more recently my older son was in an auto accident while I was traveling and I didn't know his condition for about 30 minutes. (He is fine.)
In both cases my only recourse was prayer, and - in both instances - I almost prayed a hole in the back of my eyelids.
Maybe the proper response to this incident in Hawaii is for all parents to have an age-appropriate discussion with their kids. Younger kids may just need to be aware that emergencies happen and sometimes families need to seek safety for a while. Older kids need at least a short lesson in the realities of a nuclear exchange, however remote the possibility.
By high school I remember knowing a bunch of nuclear-war-related acronyms: MAD (mutually assured destruction), SALT (strategic arms limitation talks, aimed at reducing nuclear arsenals), ABMs (anti-ballistic missile systems) and ICBMs (intercontinental ballistic missiles), to name a few.
I'm glad today's youth have been spared the Cold War fears we baby boomers lived through. On the other hand, a little fear (and knowledge) is a healthy thing.
So where does that leave us in a random-missile-attack scenario like the one accidentally broadcast in Hawaii?
Here's what the government says to do if a nuclear blast seems imminent:
-Listen for official information, and follow the instructions provided by emergency response personnel.
-If an attack warning is issued, take cover as quickly as you can, below ground if possible, and stay there until instructed to do otherwise.
-Find the nearest building, preferably built of brick or concrete, and go inside to avoid any radioactive material outside.
-If better shelter, such as a multistory building or basement can be reached within a few minutes, go there immediately.
-Go as far below ground as possible or in the center of a tall building.
-During the time with the highest radiation levels, it is safest to stay inside, sheltered away from the radioactive material outside. Radiation levels are extremely dangerous after a nuclear detonation, but the levels reduce rapidly.
-Expect to stay inside for at least 24 hours unless told otherwise by authorities.
-When evacuating is in your best interest, you will be instructed to do so. All available methods of communication will be used to provide news and/or instructions.
Somehow this all sounds competent but not comforting. The best defense against nuclear war is to avoid nuclear war, a goal that requires: a) a strong deterrence force, b) clear-headed diplomacy and c) an educated populace that demands that its leaders are always focused on A and B.
A reawakening is at hand. Let's pray about these matters, but then open our eyes and act.
Contact Mark Kennedy at mkennedy@timesfree press.com or 423-757-6645.