Living in Fear

Heard on the news today about an airplane crashing into a high rise apartment building on the Upper East Side of Manhatten. The reporter talked about the panic in the streets when the small airplane exploded into a ball of fire on impact. The reporter surmised that the people were afraid of another terrorist attack ala 9/11. It was later reported that the crash was really an accident and no terrorism was suspected, rather a student pilot who lost track of where they were and hit the building. How sad it is to think that someone's tragic accident becomes an object of fear for the people who witness it. This time it wouldn't have made a difference, but what happens when onlookers are frozen with fear of a terrorist act and don't act to help the accident victim? The president and his cronies have created a climate of fear in this country that has almost paralyzed us. The object of a terrorist is to strike fear in the mind of the populous. Thanks to GW they have succeeded. FDR said it best, "the only thing we have to fear is fear itself." It is not healthy to live in a constant state of fear, especially when there isn't much that we can do to stop a committed terrorist who is willing to give his life for his cause. If you want to be afraid of something, worry about getting struck by lightening, the odds on that happening are better and you can do something to avoid it. Better yet, read "Brave New World" or "1984" or "Animal Farm" and see how would be dictators use fear to achieve their goals. The comparison with the current regime is downright spooky.