Preparedness Isn’t Optional : Maybe California should mandate household seismic safety inspections to make sure we’re all ready for the Big One.

Americans cherish the right to self-expression and achievement, but even the most rugged individualists among us concede that sometimes, the concerns of the individual must be subordinate to the good of the larger community. We agree, for instance, that people must be licensed to drive on public streets. And to ensure that only safe, non-polluting cars are driven, autos must be inspected and registered. For our children to enter school, we must show proof that they have been inoculated against contagious diseases.

Some of us may grumble at the inconvenience of getting these things done, but we understand why they are necessary. For the most part, we do not rail at the government for forcing us to do them. We do not consider them fascist plots to rid us of our precious right of self-determination.

Perhaps it’s time to extend mandatory requirements to earthquake preparedness, since too many of us seem uninterested in preparing for the self-sufficiency that will be necessary after the next huge temblor. The scenario for chaos and devastation has been illustrated pretty graphically by the Northridge quake last week; seismologists and disaster relief experts say that it can only become worse as our tectonic plates grind and shift inexorably toward the Big One. If a 6.6 earthquake was able to level buildings, snap the ribbons of highways that serve as our arteries for transportation and commerce and threaten to pollute much of our water supply, it stands to reason that even less will be left after an 8.

We know this, and we know that it will take much longer for relief or rescue after the Big One. We know that, unlike the Northridge quake, when help began arriving within hours, we may be on our own for days. We know that the four hopelessly outdated cans of creamed corn, the two liters of bottled water and the Wet Wipes we call our quake kit will be inadequate. Yet as the aftershocks wind down and life returns to normal, it is human nature for us to become less concerned about our chances for survival when the earth moves big-time.

So like children who are vaccinated against their will for a greater good, perhaps it’s time to discuss ways in which we Californians can be encouraged--forced, if necessary--to become more earthquake-ready. Just as our cars are inspected biennially, perhaps our living spaces could be inspected for the presence of seismic bracing and quake kits. Insurance companies now offer reductions to those with good driving records; perhaps points could be given for residents who brace bookcases, bolt foundations, reinforce plate-glass windows. A 1% tax hike could cover the indigent families and the fixed-income elderly and disabled. (Yes, it’s going to cost money, but it’s infinitely cheaper to pay for preventive measures than to finance a massive clean-up. Our purchasing power doesn’t seem to have been affected by the tax invoked to assist victims of the 1989 Loma Prieta quake. Would you really put back that soft drink if it cost a few pennies more?)

Maybe it’s time to revive the Civilian Defense Corps. During World War II, members patrolled their neighborhoods, making sure security orders were obeyed. During the Cold War, they mapped air-raid shelters, taught post-nuclear survival and urged us all to keep water, dried food and blankets ready to survive the aftermath of nuclear attack.

The aftermath of a major earthquake may be nearly as traumatic, but at least we usually can emerge from the rubble without fearing widespread nuclear contamination. The ultimate irony would be to survive the quake only to die in the weeks following from starvation, dehydration or treatable illness or injury if because, like the grasshopper in the fable, we couldn’t be bothered to put some essentials away.

As life returns to normal, do yourself a favor: Clip and keep the quake information provided in this and other newspapers. Use the quake-kit suggestions like a shopping list and, each time you go to a grocery, drug or hardware store, buy one or two items and toss them into your kit. You know what you’d want if you had to live totally under your own steam for, say, two weeks.

The Northridge quake was a huge alarm for Southern Californians; let’s don’t hit the snooze button and roll over. We might not get a second chance.