When did fear become a virtue?
Mar. 6th, 2005 11:30 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
forsyth(Apologies in advance to...somebody, I forget who, who wrote an original blog post with this theme. Google didn't turn it up.)
So, lately, lots of things have been justified by "or else the terrorists will get us!" People are willing to put up with arbitrary searches and bannings at airports and other transportation places. Credit card databases, the FBI snooping in people's library records. And we allow it all, because we're afraid of those nasty terrorists.
Now, I'm not one to be down on fear, it's a useful emotion to tell us "HEY STUPID, DON'T DO THIS!", but in moderation, you can't let it be your master. But this is something else entirely. We're justifying these things because we're afraid. Okay, excuse me, but when the fuck did fear become a VIRTUE, something to be proud of? Fear CAN be good, it can save your life, but it can also cripple you.
Hell, the invasion of Iraq was justified because we were afraid of evil nasty Saddam and his "weapons of mass destruction" that he might give to terrorists. Decisions made out of fear aren't protected by any kind of magical moral virtue. And a lot of the time, they're not as good as decisions made rationally. Boarding up your house because you're afraid of burglars may be UNDERSTANDABLE, but it's not GOOD. And it probably won't help protect you from burglars. Because when you're afraid, you overlook lots of things. Costs, other options, and if that's what you really want. And then you'll regret it, later.
But lately, the entire US has been reacting out of fear. Or at least a good portion of it, and trying to justify the unjustifiable and the inane because we're afraid. Maybe we really are. But it's the mark of adults to be afraid, and know it, and STILL do what needs to be done. And it's high time our country quit hiding under the blankets and started acting like a real country again.
Tags: Politics, Mindscribbles
So, lately, lots of things have been justified by "or else the terrorists will get us!" People are willing to put up with arbitrary searches and bannings at airports and other transportation places. Credit card databases, the FBI snooping in people's library records. And we allow it all, because we're afraid of those nasty terrorists.
Now, I'm not one to be down on fear, it's a useful emotion to tell us "HEY STUPID, DON'T DO THIS!", but in moderation, you can't let it be your master. But this is something else entirely. We're justifying these things because we're afraid. Okay, excuse me, but when the fuck did fear become a VIRTUE, something to be proud of? Fear CAN be good, it can save your life, but it can also cripple you.
Hell, the invasion of Iraq was justified because we were afraid of evil nasty Saddam and his "weapons of mass destruction" that he might give to terrorists. Decisions made out of fear aren't protected by any kind of magical moral virtue. And a lot of the time, they're not as good as decisions made rationally. Boarding up your house because you're afraid of burglars may be UNDERSTANDABLE, but it's not GOOD. And it probably won't help protect you from burglars. Because when you're afraid, you overlook lots of things. Costs, other options, and if that's what you really want. And then you'll regret it, later.
But lately, the entire US has been reacting out of fear. Or at least a good portion of it, and trying to justify the unjustifiable and the inane because we're afraid. Maybe we really are. But it's the mark of adults to be afraid, and know it, and STILL do what needs to be done. And it's high time our country quit hiding under the blankets and started acting like a real country again.
Tags: Politics, Mindscribbles
