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THE PROBLEM: "Presidential Alert" on your mobile Thursday
OUR POINT OF VIEW: No need to get excited about testing the new alert system
At 1:18 pm on Thursday, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Federal Communications Commission will conduct a national wireless emergency alert test. Cell phones turned on and within range of an active cell phone tower should receive a text message.
The wireless emergency alert system is used to warn the public of dangerous weather conditions, missing children and other critical situations through mobile phone alerts. The Thursday afternoon national test will use the same sound and vibration as the Amber weather warnings and alerts. This is the first time that a national wireless emergency alert is tested.
For most people, this news is quite benign. It is hardly different to hear the siren tests of bad weather on the first Tuesday morning of each month, or a break-in of the emergency broadcast system, interrupting a television or radio broadcast. Maybe a little discordant at first, but the wave of recognition "it's just a test" goes on and life goes on normally.
Tomorrow's text message, however, has people imposing themselves preemptively. Why? Because they read the reports in advance of the message. Specifically, it will read as follows: "Presidential Alert: This is a test of the national wireless emergency alert system. No action is required.
Again, harmless. If this is the kind of thing that happens once a month, it will soon become obvious, as will the siren and EBS tests. And given the preponderance of mobile devices capable of receiving text messages in 2018, what better way to reach Americans almost everywhere in the event of a national crisis?
The problem for some people seems to be the word "presidential". Without making any judgments about President Trump himself, it seems reasonable to say that his supporters and critics would also agree to call it controversial. Love it or hate it, there is not much between the two.
Unfortunately, some people in the camp "hate him" triggered a wave of manufacturing controversy over the planned test, implying that FEMA and the FCC are coming together to share information about emergencies. we could expect a joint effort from the specialized federal agencies in these areas.
If nothing else, this simple test recalls that the presidency is a job and not a person, that the federal government that we all pay for functioning exists in the service of the public and that everything that emanates from Washington, DC, does not matter. Is not intrinsically partisan.
There is no big plot. The tests are done in recognition of FEMA's National Readiness Month. The message will not be emitted by Oval Office or Air Force One, typed by the same fingers that make up the tweets that catch the world's attention. Rather, it will be done by anonymous and functional bureaucrats who are simply doing their job: assessing the federal government's ability to deliver a national message in an emergency and determining if technological improvements are needed.
The government might have used a phrase like "FEMA Alert" or "Emergency Test" instead of "Presidential Alert". But they did not do it. And really, it does not matter. If there is a national emergency, Americans expect to hear from the president, from the person who could fill the position at that time and there is no reason to consider this test as something other than a standard procedure.
So, give up, guys. Wait for the text, listen to the follow-up on the radio and on television, then continue your life. This is only a test.
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