The USA in the post 9/11 era has become a fearful society. We are afraid of terrorists and we’re afraid of losing jobs and income. We are afraid of speaking out against injustice and we’re afraid of our government. We are afraid of calling too much attention to ourselves.
The popular media manipulates us, substituting vacuous scandal for deep values. We live impulsively.
We need to dream bigger and deeper. Fear should not be the defining quality of our society.
The goal of terrorism is not to externally destroy a country with bombs; the goal is to cause a society to destroy itself. The US government is doing a dandy job at that.
Top Secret America by Dana Priest and William Arkin documents some of the ways that the US government has responded to the “crisis” of 9/11. Note particularly how much money has gone to pay for these “protections”.
And, no, I don’t feel safer.
Afflict the Pale 