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A Nation of Hysterics
Submitted by gonzone on Thu, 2008/05/01 - 11:41am.
"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."
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.
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.
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.
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
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.
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
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
That's very intriguing. Thank you.
"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!!
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
Now THAT'S inspiring.
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.
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
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.
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
Jan Hooks rocks.
Fear is the mindkiller...
Liberty and justice for all.
My home
Marie Curie
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