Thu
May 1 2008
11:41 am
A Nation of Hysterics
By: gonzone

"At the beginning of the 21st century, the typical American suburb is just about the safest place that has ever existed in the history of the world - yet it's full of terrified people.

Statistics have little power in the face of a media environment in which extraordinarily rare events, such as strangers kidnapping children, are presented as commonplace by profit-hungry "news" outlets, for whom the bottom line is that fear sells.

Politicians realize this too. The ongoing overreaction to the 9/11 terrorist attacks is only the most vivid example of how our leaders cynically exploit our fears by making wildly exaggerated claims, such as that Islamic terrorism poses an "existential threat" to America."

Topics:
Russ's picture

Bruce Schneier has written

Submitted by Russ on Thu, 2008/05/01 - 12:42pm.

Bruce Schneier has written extensively on the subject of prospect theory, which deals with the psychology of risk assessment. His point is that we are hard-wired as a species to exaggerate certain types of risks (those that are spectacular or unusual) and to downplay greater risks that are more mundane.

Here's a great essay on the subject, with particular emphasis on why and how those evolutionary mechanisms are now failing us, not just in this country, but as a species.

Unless we somehow deal with the group/tribal psychology behind the phenomenon, cynical politicians will continue to exploit the fear of another 9/11 with electoral success. I'm not very optimistic that will ever change.

~Russ

KONAnonymous's picture

:)

Submitted by KONAnonymous (not verified) on Thu, 2008/05/01 - 3:09pm.

That's very intriguing. Thank you.

KONAnonymous's picture

paranoia will destroy ya

Submitted by KONAnonymous (not verified) on Thu, 2008/05/01 - 3:08pm.

"home of the brave" my ass. It's ridiculous. Reminds me of the late sixties when we had "Fallout Drills" in school. The friggin' idiots had us hiding under desks like mice.
Nothing like an ol' Steelcase Teardrop to protect one from a nuclear blast. ;)

Proud to say I always stayed seated. :) Not sure why. I've always had good bullshit radar.

BTW....I heard that Arabics will be hiding in manger scenes this Christmas waiting to eat our kids and steal our freedom.

WE'RE DOOMED I TELL YA! DOOOOOOOMED!!

redmondkr's picture

When I'm feeling troubled by

Submitted by redmondkr on Thu, 2008/05/01 - 3:25pm.

When I'm feeling troubled by these trying times, I find solace in the Tammy Jean Hour of Inspiration.

Then I send a love gift to help make the payments on the Inspirational Cadillac.


Visit us at

The Home

akonability's picture

:D

Submitted by akonability (not verified) on Thu, 2008/05/01 - 4:11pm.

Now THAT'S inspiring.

Nelle's picture

Uh, Mr. Gonzone ...

Submitted by Nelle on Fri, 2008/05/02 - 8:59am.

You probably want to do something with the text of your post to indicate that it's a quotation from the article you're linking to, like put it in italics or a gray box.

Even on the free-wheelin' internets, plagarism is a no-no.

gonzone's picture

The link is embedded

Submitted by gonzone on Fri, 2008/05/02 - 1:39pm.

It is accepted practice to quote a fragment so long as the link is provided, which is what I did.
No violation of protocol there. (think quotation with footnote attribution)
It would be very wrong to either/and/or 1) quote the entire piece 2) fail to link to the original.
Thank you, however, for noticing as that indicates you're very upstanding and ethical.

"When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro."
Hunter S. Thompson

Nelle's picture

Thanks for the pat on the head

Submitted by Nelle on Fri, 2008/05/02 - 2:52pm.

It was only a little patronizing.

I'm aware of accepted practices for quotations on and off the internets, and they include making it clear when a passage is being quoted. That's why I suggested a gray box or italics. Even old-fashioned quotation marks would do.

I'm not swearing out a warrant or anything here, just pointing out a breach in protocol, which I have suggested that you fix, and you are free to fix or not.

My suggestion stands.

gonzone's picture

Good idea

Submitted by gonzone on Fri, 2008/05/02 - 3:54pm.

Good idea on the quotation marks.
Should have done that.
I got a bit too informal I suppose.
I'll take care of it.

And I truly didn't mean to sound patronizing.
I meant only respect and I do appreciate your taking the time and effort point out the issue.
Sorry that you took it otherwise and thanks for the feedback.

"When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro."
Hunter S. Thompson

Factchecker's picture

Tammy

Submitted by Factchecker on Fri, 2008/05/02 - 12:24pm.

Jan Hooks rocks.

lovable liberal's picture

Fear is the

Submitted by lovable liberal on Sat, 2008/05/03 - 12:43pm.

Fear is the mindkiller...

Liberty and justice for all.

My home

Average Guy's picture

Mindkiller

Submitted by Average Guy on Sun, 2008/05/04 - 1:32pm.

Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood. Now is the time to understand more, so that we may fear less.

Marie Curie

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