by Ken Stewart
When the federal government announced its new system of alerting the public and local law enforcement agencies about the various levels of national security risk, I was a bit resentful. According to the announcement, there would be a series of flags of various colors signifying how much our domestic safety is threatened from time to time. Green indicates no danger; blue is little danger. Yellow, the risk level at the time of the national proclamation, stands for medium risk. Orange would denote a need for high alertness, and red conveys a very high risk to national security.
Well, how about those who cannot see, or those like me who have very little color perception? In terms of the Americans with Disabilities Act, we are entitled to reasonable accommodation, aren't we?
My solution is to employ flags we can feel. Green should be lovely plush velvet. Blue could be corduroy. Sandpaper is what the medium-risk yellow flag should feel like, and I'd make the orange flag like goose bumps. But for the highest level of security alert, red, that has to feel like rough wood with plenty of splinters.
Oh, and when our government officials have conflicting information from the FBI and the CIA, when their thinking is not clear on how high the risk is, run a fuzzy flag up the pole!