Physical Safety Concerns
When people talk about security, they could be talking about a lot of different things. Rampart deals with a specialized subsection of security- the detection of a burglary or fire, reporting it, and getting a professional response (police or fire department). People want our type of security for two main reasons: 1) to preserve their belongings and 2) to help monitor and maintain their families’ or employees’ physical safety.
Physical safety concerns whatever threatens lives. Robberies, intrusions, and the like are really very rare compared to the threats I want to talk about today. I am on this train of thought because of flu season and politics. I have to post about this— I haven’t been able to stop thinking about health as a security issue. This year is the 100th anniversary of the flu pandemic of 1918, which cased the deaths of millions of people. Our national political discussions are full of gun rights/gun control arguments and healthcare/health insurance. Both things are huge security issues. So, while I applaud all of you who have or are considering beefing up your home security with an alarm system or cameras, I have to admit that your health is a bigger safety concern, and health should matter to everyone.
Most deaths in the United States are caused by the following: (figures are from 2016, CDC)
Heart disease: 635,260
Cancer: 598,038
Accidents (unintentional injuries): 161,374
Chronic lower respiratory diseases: 154,596
Stroke (cerebrovascular diseases): 142,142
Alzheimer’s disease: 116,103
Diabetes: 80,058
Influenza and pneumonia: 51,537
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome, and nephrosis: 50,046
Intentional self-harm (suicide): 44,965
We’re talking about diseases and dangers that have caused a decrease in our Life Expectancy at birth nationwide. Since 2000 it has decreased, which you wouldn’t expect for a wealthy, industrialized nation. Most of these are not contagious, but many are common due to our way of life. We all can fall victim to fast food, less activity, desk jobs, and poor benefits. Many people scared to go to the doctor because of high costs or can’t afford required treatments. You won’t catch your neighbor’s heart disease, but you might get his flu.
So— what can you do?
As I see it:
Get check-ups
Get immunized
Take your doctor’s advice— have the recommended health screenings
Be selfish and consider that nation-wide healthcare is good for YOU
Wear your seatbelt (part of the accident numbers were traffic accidents)
Watch the sodium
Exercise regularly
Keep prescription drugs and guns secure (related to accidents and suicide)
Do what you can to promote mental health
Acknowledgment that this is a weird blog post
I should point out that I know what a weird blog post this is. My company does not provide what you need to address these problems. I just keep thinking about it, and how illness and disease is so much more likely to kill us than the things we can help protect you from. (Although, now that I think about it, we can at least help you secure your gun safe, and we do provide medical panic buttons/ medical alerts.)
I DO think that what Rampart does is of great value and does save lives. I have no doubts about that. I am choosing today to recognize the bigger threats and what we can all do to make our country safer.
To conclude, health threats are the leading cause of deaths in the US. If you have good health care, great! If your neighbors and millions of total strangers don’t, you are in greater danger than you think. We need to all do our part to keep our country safe, and it may start with your flu shot.