air-raid drill?

[keannu]

What is the figurative meaning of "air-raid drill"? Is it a sudden action that happens abruptly and goes away in a heart beat?

ex)Most of us live our lives like one long air-raid drill, filling our days with activities that seem important in the moment but that count for little in the overall scheme of things....

 

[JMurray]

What is the figurative meaning of "air-raid drill"? Is it a sudden action that happens abruptly and goes away in a heart beat?
ex)Most of us live our lives like one long air-raid drill, filling our days with activities that seem important in the moment but that count for little in the overall scheme of things...

keannu.
I'm not sure about this, but here's what I think.
As you know, an air-raid drill is a training exercise where people practice what they must do if an air raid occurs during wartime. Presumably the writer is saying that most of us live our lives as if we are preparing for a life-changing event that, as things turn out, never happens. But, to follow the analogy through, if the "overall scheme of things" does include a probable air raid then not only does the drill seem important, it is important. So, for me, the analogy doesn't quite work. The writer may be thinking of the nuclear bomb air-raid drills that were widespread in the 50s, particularly in the US, and are looked back on as being largely futile. This particular case represents better the idea that we place too much importance on aspects of life that are irrelevant in the long term.

not a teacher