Researcher(s):
Kay Real
ENVS course(s): 400 Initiated: September 2012 Completed: May 2013 Go to project site
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During the Cold War, people sought comfort from the fear of nuclear fallout within the walls of the single-family home. Individual preparedness was not only advocated by government officials, but perpetuated by fear of societal collapse in the aftermath of an atomic war. “Gun Thy Neighbor” attitudes, or a rejection community needs in favor of protection of the nuclear family, dominated popular culture beliefs. Individualistic behavior was touted as a prominent trait of American civic life. However, in response to fears of panic, research in the disaster field has shown how vital community connections are during and after disaster. Today, few people worry about nuclear fallout, but other threats take its place, such as the impending Cascadia earthquake. In my analysis of ten websites giving disaster preparedness advice regarding the Cascadia earthquake, I ask the question of whether individualistic narratives that predominated during the Cold War still exist today. Some of the websites reference the importance of community in successful preparedness suggesting a broader view of preparedness. Still, a majority of the websites showed an individualistic narrative. This is possibly due to media reports that falsely suggest that social panic will cause looting and other crimes. These falsified reports foster perceptions of social disintegration that likely lead to more individualistic approaches to disaster preparedness, which ignores the benefits that community connections serve in successful disaster preparedness and recovery.