What do Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, talk-radio superstar Rush Limbaugh, and the creators and cast of the hit series "24" have in common? They were all part of a presentation last week by the Heritage Foundation.
The program was introduced by Sec. Chertoff and a question put to him was, "how closely does "24" correspond to real life at DHS?" "Well, nothing is ever resolved in 24 hours" was his laughing short answer. He was more serious when he said that one of the qualities of the program he admired was that it realistically showed that choices faced by the people at the fictional Los Angeles Counter-Terrorism Unit, like those at DHS, were not simple ones between right and wrong, but tough choices between bad and worse options.
Rush Limbaugh introduced and moderated the panel, composed of James Carafano specializing in DHS at the Heritage Foundation and David Heyman from CSIS's Homeland Security Program, two academics who bracketed Hollywood's Joel Surnow, Robert Cochran and Howard Gordon, all executive producers and writers of "24" and three cast-members among them. In a prelude to the discussion about the contrast between TV and reality, Mr. Limbaugh's personal hearing-enhancement technology wasn't working well enough to allow him to hear most of what the panel was saying.
As we sat in the packed auditorium, at the Ronald Reagan International Trade Center in Washington, DC, listening to this panel, we found ourselves waiting to see the stars of "24." Secretary Chertoff had told us about the tens of thousands of un-sung heros who are putting their lives on the line for us everyday, but we all wanted to see the "stars." We got our wish. There was "Chloe" looking cute, "Tony Alameda," certain that he had all the answers, and "President Logan" sneering at us. Then we realized why we liked them. They were the larger-than-life personifications of the real-life heros who are out there saving our lives everyday. We just don't meet them and get to know their names; we don't get to watch their struggles.
One of the panelists said he had talked to those in the Washington-based Homeland Security unit (which looks very much like the CTU unit in Los Angeles). "So, what are these people like?" Well, they mostly have families and they have to deal with the hundreds of everyday problems we all deal with - mortgages, parking spaces, taking the dog to the vet - all the stuff life is made of. Then they go off to work at Homeland Security where they don't have all the gee-whiz technology we see on the show, where the computers sometimes crash, where the satellites are busy somewhere else, where they don't have instant access to the President and where the hours, weeks and sometimes months drag on before they can connect the dots.
It was pointed out that it's all the little acts of bravery that add up to "no attacks since 9/11." Usually there's not one major break, one major arrest or one major event that makes the difference. It's all the small, seemingly inconsequential actions that make up our security. It was pointed out that strategy is just as important as action. For instance, Homeland Security analyzed and saw no security threat in the Dubai Ports deal and Sec. Chertoff had the (political) courage to say so. However, because most of the nation was weaned on suspense TV like "24," we have a hard time believing it when a background check says everything is OK, nor do we really feel safer when nine suspected terrorists are picked up in Miami. It just doesn't make the impact of one action-packed hour of TV show.
It was brought up that what's generally called "torture" is liberally (ha-ha) used on "24" and did that correspond to a DHS reality. A Heritage academic on the panel with knowledge of American intelligence, author James Carafano, said the ticking time-bomb scenario - you know, the favorite extreme-case rationale for justifying torture - has never really occurred. Well, maybe someone will have to deal with that scenario sometime, but the consensus was that intelligence work was a tedious process of analysis rather than sudden, painfully extracted revelations. No question, however, what makes for better TV!
So, what did we learn from this outing? That we should be thankful for the real-life heros in Homeland Security who are keeping us safe. Their job is not half as exciting or half as techno-enhanced as "24." But we love the show because it lets us love the real heros - whose names we will never know, whose faces we will never see. Thank you, heros!
Peter and Helen Evans, http://peterandhelenevans.com. This husband and wife team - freelance writers and speakers - teach a philosophical approach to conservatism, and are scheduled speakers at Blogging Man http://www.bloggingman.org/ . They are also real estate agents in the Washington, DC area.
