Nothing to Fear, but the Government
So, first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself — nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance. – Franklin D. Roosevelt in his Inaugural Address
The truckers, who haul hazardous material across 48 states, explained how easy it is to spot “Islamics” on the road: just look for their turbans. Quite a few of them are truck drivers, says William Westfall of Van Buren, Ark. “I’ll be honest. They know they’re not welcome at truck stops. There’s still a lot of animosity toward Islamics.” Eddie Dean of Fort Smith, Ark., also has little doubt about his ability to identify Muslims: “You can tell where they’re from. You can hear their accents. They’re not real clean people.” – Time via Boing boing
Perhaps I’m a real strange one, but I try to actively suppress my worries. That isn’t to say I don’t have them, but I find obsessing about them does as much good as walking into a wall repeatedly. (I’ve tried both, so I know.)
I might be a little weird, but on 9/11/01 I actually did my best to apply this. I somehow managed to be unaware of the events until about 2 pm that day. (I slept in because I was exhausted from Jenni’s wedding the day before, and when I woke up I went directly to watching stored television on my TiVO, only getting to CNN about two hours later.) I admittedly spent about two hours shell shocked in fear and awe. I called Jenni and some family, and then said to myself “I have to go about my normal business.” This was not a callous disregard for what had happened, but a conscious attempt to restore life to as normal as possible, as quickly as possible.
I re-assembled my tux from its menagerie of pieces, hopped in the car and started to drive north, toward Wright State and by association Wright-Patt Airforce Base, one of the largest strategic targets in the area (if you’re looking for one) On the way I listened to WYSO‘s NPR coverage of what was happening. At one point I remember breaking down in tears from fear while driving. I got to the mall where I needed to return my tux, and it was closed.
I was at a loss for what to do. (This was supposed to be a day off anyways, so I didn’t have a plan to begin with.) I remember I did manage to make it to Wright State and buy food and a special edition newspaper at the cafeteria, I called work and offered to work if needed, and wandered to my new dorm room.
Its a jumble from there but I remember spending a good few hours in the dorm lounge watching television writing down facts and figures attempting to make sense of what had been happening, and attempting to predict what the future held.
I lost the battle against fear that day. Mind you, in the end I was in about as much danger as any other day.
I think though on that day we as a country entered a new battle, that of fear. Replacing the much missed previous war of fear, The Cold War.
Michael Moore makes the assertion in his new film Fahrenheit 9/11 and he also suggests in Bowling for Columbine that fear in our society is irrational, out of proportion to the actual reality, and is manipulated by many forces, especially the federal government. Additionally he makes the assertion that the Bush administration has actively utilized fear to manipulate the populace to support their goals in whatever they wanted the country to do.
But back to the Time article about the truckers spying on people in this country. (And yes it is spying!) I am all for training people to be alert and mindful of their surroundings. But this appears to be the one remaining branch of the ill fated Operation TIPS, a program to encourage America’s infrastructure workers to spy on the people they serve and report suspicious activities. It doesn’t matter though that programs like these are not indicative of a democracy; programs like these are indicative of totalitarian regimes. So while Operation TIPS wasn’t fully successful, part of it exists. If the logical lines that are being employed here prevail, children will be encouraged to spy on their parents, and George Orwell’s book will have only missed the mark by 30 years. We declared war 83,272 days ago (July 4, 1776) for our freedom from government.
I only fear one thing now. Its not terrorist attacks, being broke and poor, dying young, or being assaulted in the street; I fear for my security from the government.
The United States was goaded into a war built on fear, and started fighting for the wrong side.