Addicted to fear
by Tom Sullivan
Dave Weigel sees all the fuss over The Interview and threats from "Guardians of Peace" hackers against theaters as another case of public overreaction to a perceived threat:
The incident-free Interview screenings should be remembered alongside two other overhyped 2014 fears: the Ebola panic and the reaction to ISIS. The latter stories were handled even worse, because they happened during an election, and because some candidates created a feedback loop of childish speculation that Ebola could spread by sneezes, or that virus-laden ISIS terrorists could stalk across the Mexican border. All of these people were wrong, and thanks to the amnesiac nature of the news cycle, they might never have to answer for that. (Being wildly wrong on live TV during crises is a good way to secure a return invitation.)
Weigel quotes Ohio State University professor, John Mueller, who tracks terrorist incidents: "The lifetime chance of an American being killed by international terrorism is about one in 80,000–about the same chance of being killed by a comet or a meteor."
But the 9/11 attacks have so shaken this country's confidence that Americans now routinely overreact to the slightest perceived threat. It is something Osama bin Laden knew would happen and something the American right's Noise Machine has used to jerk its listeners' chains for years. Americans of a certain sort are easily spooked.
After six years of Obama's tyrannical, iron-fisted rule, I'm still waiting for his jack-booted thugs to kick in my door and confiscate my weapons. Since he took office, the NRA has promised us Obama would be coming for my guns, and so far nada. He's running out of time the way gun stores have been running out of ammo.
Staying afraid is almost an addiction. After enough regular doses, I wonder if the brain takes a certain "set" the way depression can become a habit?
(Updated to correct spelling of John Mueller.)