L. Douglas Hogan has worked closely with the government, the military and law enforcement for a number of years. He has the overwhelming opinion that when people have too much power they become tyrannical unless they are kept in check. It is our job as citizens of this country to hold our government, that was created by the people and for the people, to the rules of the very law they are enforcing and creating. Doug fears that in a national disaster situation the legislative and judicial branches would no longer exist. He points out that these people have families too and they would want to be at home with them. He also jokes that when small scale weather anomalies occur now they can hardly make it into session to do their jobs as it is.

Mr. Hogan knows that in times of national disaster certain executive actions would be enacted that would take the control away form the people of this country and give it to FEMA. I was curious what type of actions they could take against the people and who would hold them accountable for their actions. Mr. Hogan expressed his concern for our current state of affairs pointing out that current politicians are rarely held accountable for their actions currently so why would anyone do so in a disaster situation? He points out that the class (rich, poor, middle class, Black, White, Asian, Native, Sexual orientation, etc.) of individuals will come into play. Who would hold one class or another accountable for the actions they portray on someone they see as an opponent? Holding on to hope, Doug points out that the accountability of the people in charge would depend largely upon the character of the government at the time. This character of the government is always changing.

Mr. Hogan believes that in a case of a severe national disaster there would only be two governing bodies left with third party intervention. The executive branch would lead the charge and sign over all of the government activities over to FEMA. The third party voice is the United Nation "Peace Keepers." The countries with UN troops and forces in the United States might feel that they have a say in American policy because they have assets dedicated to saving it. These forces will require Americans to do things in a certain way with the threat of removing their relief efforts held over the heads of Americans.

Doug is skeptical of the idea of huge FEMA camps, happily housing thousands of people. Even if we could construct these tent cities who would over see it? Depending on the type and scale of the catastrophe the government might splinter or be left in chaos. If the president is still alive, he cold issue an executive order that would give all of the power to FEMA. Then you would have one individual and one agency controlling all of the resources of the United States of America: food, water, oil, supply lines, etc. Everything would hinge on the character of the nation at the time. What are the leaders willing to do? What are Americans willing to put up with? Who did the people elect to lead them through these difficult times?

"If the people want smart, intelligent people serving in government, they need to elect them but if they want ignorance, they will elect those individuals." (Scary thought in retrospect to the candidates we are voting for in this election!)

If the American people remain divided through class division and endless fighting among these classes the United States of America will remain severely incapacitated. Then if any one of these classes takes power for itself during a time of social weakness the elimination of the other groups regardless of individual skill and value may be the result.

In the end it all comes down to character. If the United States of America where to face a disaster situation would the character of our citizens and those individuals elected to represent those citizens be enough to carry us through the darkness so that a united America can see the light on the other side of the tunnel?