Don't
Panic.
I
have a confession to make:
a few weeks ago when our federal
government suggested that
we all rush out and purchase
duct tape and plastic to protect
our homes and families in
case of a chemical terrorist
attack, I didn’t do
it. I know, call me crazy,
call me reckless call me...
rational.
I
mean, come on – I’m
no chemist, but common sense
tells me that if there is
some sort of an event on a
large enough scale to affect
me here in “middle of
nowhere” Connecticut
then honestly duct taping
and plastic wrapping the house
are going to be the least
of my worries. This is not
to say I’m not concerned
about terrorism – of
course I am. I’m just
starting to think that we’ve
worked ourselves into such
a tizzy over potential threats
that we’re quickly losing
touch with reality.
I’m
only asking this: as horrible
as the events of 9/11 were,
is the world really a more
dangerous place right now
than it ever has been before?
Sure,
September 11th, 2001 was a
scary, horrible day. But I
can only imagine that December
7th, 1941 was equally as scary
and horrible. Or any day between
the years 1941 and 1945. Or
1917 and 1918. Or even 1965
to 1974.
Heck,
my parents grew up in an era
when people built bomb shelters
in their backyards. They lived
in terror of the communists
and almost got into a nuclear
war with Cuba. The president
of the United States was assassinated,
our own government investigated
and blackballed US citizens,
and people feared germs from
space, aliens, and rock and
roll.
I
grew up in the eighties, the
height of the nuclear arms
race. Every morning brought
another doomsday prediction
and frankly we wondered each
day whether complete and total
nuclear annihilation would
come before or after lunch.
Remember the chilling film
“The Day After?”
And
if the idea of being blown
to smithereens by nuclear
missiles didn’t terrify
you enough, there were plenty
of other issues to worry about:
serial killers, airplane hijackers,
terrorists taking over cruise
ships, hostages in Iran (not
Iraq), killer bees on their
way from Mexico, people dropping
cyanide in Tylenol. Were you
worried about a razor in your
Halloween candy?
My
point is this: the world has
always been a dangerous place.
While the threat we live under
today is certainly legitimate,
it’s important to realize
that although the description
of this threat may be new,
the nature of the threat has
been constant throughout the
history of mankind. As Thomas
Hobbes wrote in The Leviathan
in 1651:
“Whatsoever
therefore is consequent to
a time of war, where every
man is enemy to every man,
the same consequent to the
time wherein men live without
other security than what their
own strength and their own
invention shall furnish them
withal. In such condition
there is ... continual fear,
and danger of violent death;
and the life of man, solitary,
poor, nasty, brutish and short.”
Be
careful out there, but be
reasonable.
This
Essay © 2003 Lee Totten
|
