After the horrible bridge collapse in Minneapolis, it seems that cities across the nation are taking notice of this potential problem area. The front page of the Post-Dispatch today was dedicated to the safety of our region's bridges. While it definitely serves as a reminder to us all that some things we take for granted may actually be somewhat unstable, it also begs the question, "Why now?" I mean to say, a bridge collapse in St. Louis is no more likely today than it was before the deadly collapse in Minneapolis. This, to me, speaks to the reactive nature of both our governing bodies and more generally the media. We should not be waiting for a reason or a "cause" to study the safety of our critical structures and institutions.

This is not an isolated incident, either. Perhaps there is more being done behind the scenes than I am aware of, but it seems as if every single disaster in this country comes as a "shock" and is followed by an immediate week of panic and a month of feigned interest by the population who is relieved to see something other than Lindsay Lohan on CNN. After that month, people forget about the disaster and move on. When was the last time you thought about safety on college campuses? If you are like me, then you haven't given one second of thought to that all summer. But after the Virgina Tech shooting in April, that is all anyone ever talked about. The idea of the "cause of the moment" is becoming a bit obnoxious. If you care about something, why do you only care about it because of a high profile incident in the news?

There are so many studies and so much research out there, including the soon to be published FOCUS St. Louis Diaster Preparedness Task Force report. The subject of disaster preparedness should be in the public circle BEFORE incidents like this happen. That is not to say that any/all of them would be prevented, but it sure would be nice to see some proactivity rather than reactivity from our region's leaders.