Be Ready, visit ready.gov - could this be a message of sorts?

A precursor to what I'm about to say [There is already a similar post on this topic, however, I thought there was room for a more defined question.. specifically dealing with the message and who's putting it out there]




If you have been watching tv or listening to the radio lately you will have noticed the ads brought to us by the department of homeland security for READY.GOV. This program is to raise levels of awareness in response to 'disasters', both natural and unnatural. I have visited their site and actually called the number they give out to see what's going on. It's mostly pamphlets and information to be ready (makes sense) for disasters. Such as having a plan to meet up, what to have stored for survival, and several other helpful steps to prepare for a disaster.



My question about this, which is highly speculative, is..

Is this some form of covert mass message? It's just a thought, and rightfully would belong under the umbrella of skunkworks, but the reason I ask this is there's a commercial running here in america of George Bush Sr. and Clinton.. the whole 'be ready' slogan seems like it could be some sort of message. To whom? I don't know. But there is a slight chance this could be some secret message to some group. What better way to send out a massive message that things are going to start happening to a group of people than the tv? And to do it covertly by a simple message. With the deep ties to the CIA and other covert operations, not to mention the speculative link to more secret organizations, that Bush Sr. has, this message seems to be slightly of concern.

It could also just be another attempt at instilling a little more fear, and letting everyone know that 'disasters' can occur.. and that's a likely case.

Orrr, it could just be to raise awareness about natural disasters, especially after the horrific events that occurred during hurricane Katrina in New Orleans. Just to show that something is being done to remedy future situations.

Or could it be an indication of disasters that are ahead. They discuss masks and sealing off doors incase of contaminated air. So could it be a possible humanitarian effort to prepare people for what is already known to happen?


Either way, I'm just simply questioning the motives behind this.. just something to ponder and discuss. What do you think? Is it just a helpful message, or something else?

It is what it claims to be.

Though, personally I would've called it Duck and Cover 2.0.

Very good point,duck and cover. I well remember the scary duck and cover excerises in school where we would duck under our desk and cover our heads with our hands. Ha, seems absurd now as it would have been a useless thing to do had our cold war enemy gifted us with an atomic bomb.

Also at the same time the government was suggesting we build bomb shelters.

Let's, for a second, think of our leaders as humans like us with families. Why would they not want citizens to be prepared for any emergency?

Yes, IMHO, we are being warned to be ready if the time arises as we have been warned since I remember the first duck and cover excerise in the mid to late 50"s.

Why should we have to be told to prepare for disaster.........seems like the natural thing to do.

Duck and cover 2.0...lol well put.

Let's, for a second, think of our leaders as humans like us with families.

humans like us with extremely wealthy families, sinister covert ties, organized crime connections, and blood money who are completely out of touch with the working and middle class, despite their "common man" PR campaigns.

Why would they not want citizens to be prepared for any emergency?

Perhaps the question is what do they gain by creating an announcement like this, aside from more fear mongering and the continual perpetuation of the idea that something incredibly horrible is always right around the corner? Afterall, natural disasters have occured since the beginning of time, hasn't it always been assumed that if you live in an area where hurricanes frequent you should be prepared for a hurricane. Same goes for flooding, tornadoes, volcanoes, etc..

I, personally, don't think it's too far fetched to speculate that maybe "be ready" is a double sided statement. On the surface our wonderful and truly concerned leaders are reminding us all to be safe and prepared for natural disasters and terrorism. Underneath, maybe a cryptic message to certain comrades that "it's almost time." Maybe not but hey, this is skunkworks and I'm what most would refer to as "paranoid."

Originally posted by dizziedame
Let's, for a second, think of our leaders as humans like us with families. Why would they not want citizens to be prepared for any emergency?

Our "leaders" will swiftly take their own families into their underground bunkers fit for a king and the rest of us will be left to fend for ourselves in whatever tragic situation hits us.

September is "preparedness" month. This is why all the public ads and billboards. You'll even find a display in some of the Sam's Club warehouses, don't know about Cosco. I've been to the Ready.gov site before, along with several other "government" sites.

One thing I wondered about, with Ready.gov, while I read the preparedness part was they recommend a 3 day supply of water and food. That's fine and dandy.

Other sites recommend a 14 day day supply of water and food. These are sites like pandemicflu.gov.

You'd think the government would have one recommended list of supplies and ALL the experts would say the same thing.

After viewing the ready.gov website, I found the following Press Release :

www.dhs.gov...

Ready Campaign Launches Social Media Initiative to Encourage Americans to Prepare for Emergencies

Release Date: January 16, 2009

For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
Contact: 202-282-8010

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Ready Campaign, in partnership with The Advertising Council, is introducing a series of new social media tools today to further engage Americans in taking steps to prepare for emergencies. The initiative is an extension of Resolve to be Ready in 2009, a nationwide effort designed to encourage individuals, families, businesses and communities to take action and prepare for emergencies in 2009.

The social media tools will engage Americans in taking the three simple steps communicated in the Ready Campaign: (1) Get an emergency supply kit; (2) Make a family emergency plan; and (3) Be informed about the types of emergencies that can happen in your area and their appropriate responses.

At the center of the initiative is a new Web page, "Be Prepared," which features an interactive widget that provides users with updates on emergency situations, local emergency contact information, an instructional video, emergency kit checklists and guidelines on how to better prepare for an emergency. Users can also access a clickable map to find contact information for state and local government agencies, where they can learn more about specific emergency information in their communities. Additionally, the widget helps users stay up-to-date on the latest Ready activities through Twitter news feeds (by following the user name “ReadydotGov”). The widget can be posted to social networking profiles, blogs, wikis and personal homepages.

The program also includes a tool with which visitors can create their own comprehensive Family Emergency Plan and share important information with their family and friends. Furthermore, visitors are encouraged to share their story on preparedness by submitting a video to the Ready Campaign Video Blog. The new Web page can be accessed by clicking on an online banner on the homepage of www.ready.gov, the Ready Campaign Web site.

"These new interactive tools and resources will allow the Ready Campaign to engage even more individuals and families and help them build their emergency plans that they can then in turn share with their families," said Ready Campaign Director Erin Streeter. "These tools will makes it easier for Americans to access important federal, state and local emergency information that can be critical in an emergency and in the planning process."

DHS and the Ad Council will distribute a series of new online banner ads to promote the effort in the coming weeks. Outreach will also be conducted on social networking sites and blogs. There will also be an "I Resolve to be Ready" badge that users can post on social networking sites, such as Facebook and MySpace. Additionally, new materials will be developed and outreach will be conducted during key times of year, such as hurricane season and National Preparedness Month.

"During the last six years, our Ready Campaign has been very effective in communicating the importance of taking steps for a possible emergency," said Peggy Conlon, president and CEO of the Ad Council. "By integrating the latest technology and social media strategies, we will engage even more Americans in our critical messages and further the reach and impact of the campaign. This initiative provides individuals with the tools they need to make an emergency kit, develop and share a family emergency plan and stay informed about possible emergencies."

By making the decision to Resolve to be Ready in 2009 and following the simple preparedness steps in advance, Americans will minimize the impact of emergencies on themselves, their family and their businesses. www.ready.gov

so I was watching tv (I think it's halogen tv... not sure it's something my husband turned on) and this commercial came on for ready.gov and we both have been seeing commercials selling BOB's but not government be prepared sites and felt that's kind of creepy but good at the same time that there is at least a site up for it.
So I came on here and did a search and this thread was the oldest (2007) on the first search result page (is there a way to get the search to list by date?) and I was actually a bit relieved that it's been around a while it would be much more nerve wracking if they just now made it. Still I haven't seen that commercial on any main channels like fox, abc, cnn, nbc, bbc etc.
So I was wondering if I just missed it or if they only show commercials for it on specific channels?