Does the public care about civil defense?

• Position: Readers Forum

In reference to the article, "More Education Needed on Terrorism" (p. 6, January 2002), I should point out that, in the late 1950s, a huge amount of money was spent to stock fallout shelters in American cities. Also, money was spent for the upkeep of those shelters.

Every city that applied for money received money for those shelters. When I was in "civil defense" 20 years ago, as a non-city worker, the city that I lived in got money for training in shelter management and the upkeep of shelters. For 40 years, training was available to any citizen who wanted training, free of charge. When I went for training in 1980 to the state of Illinois, the same people (mostly firemen) were always there. Each city was given a certain number of dollars per citizen for civil defense. Maybe $5 - $7 per person. It was the mayor, police chief and fire chief who had control of the money. The city that I lived in spent the money correctly, most of the time.

Over the last 40 years, billions of dollars have been given to city governments and yet there is very little to show for it. Within a year after the Cuban missile crisis, the general public became disinterested in fall-out shelters, and we were not as concerned about being attacked. The general public only becomes interested when the news media tell it to be...