please don't be afraid

Yesterday, Michael Chertoff, the director of Homeland Security, told the nation that they should be scared out of their minds, because he has a "gut feeling" that Al-Qaeda will launch a terrorist attack within the United States sometime this summer, and a bunch of anonymous government sources are breathlessly leaking truly scary things to Mass Media.

Bull. Fucking. Shit. This is the same recycled crap that we've heard over and over again from this administration, and I'm really fed up with my government doing its best to terrify me and my fellow Americans.

As Radley Balko said in Reason:

By definition, the aim of "terrorism" is not to topple the U.S. government, or even to rack up a massive body count (though that seems to be a perk for them). The aim of terrorism is to cause terror. It's to scare us. Frighten us. Alter our way of life, and get our government to change its policies.

In this sense, the very people who are supposed to be protecting us from terrorists are playing right into the terrorists' hands. Despite the absence of any specific information, and despite the fact that his saying as much would do little if anything to actually thwart a pending attack, Chertoff still feels he has to go public with his "gut feeling" that something awful might happen this summer. And so the newspapers and Drudge and the blogs run with it. And now we get to go about our summer business with the foreboding cloud of a possible terror attack looming on the horizon.

This is pretty consistent with how the government has behaved since 9/11: vague warnings, a lack of specific information, and lots of hassle. We now go through an expensive, invasive, tedious, basically useless ritual every time we get on an airplane because the government feels like if we're hassled and frightened, we'll at least feel safer. When Britain broke up a half-assed attempt at an attack using liquid explosives, the government decided to add a complicated sorta'-ban on carrying gels and liquids onto flights, too. Never mind that the broken-up attack wouldn't have worked, or that it would be nearly impossible to bring down a plane with liquid explosives stored in a carry-on bag. And now, Chertoff casts a shadow over the summer based on rumbles in his gut.

Al-Qaeda doesn't actually have to kill people to cause terror, especially if we're doing their PR work for them.

This is part of a long-established pattern from this administration: when the public begins to see them for what they are, they scramble to issue a bunch of terrorist attack warnings, so we'll be afraid and give them whatever they want, so they can "protect" us. Perfect example: the stupid security theater in airports isn't about safety (certainly not the War On More Than Three Ounces Of Liquid), it is about keeping people afraid and under control.

What's going on right now? Ah, yes, Bush and Cheney have the highest disapproval ratings since Nixon, and Bush's approval among Americans is in freefall. The opposition to Bush's complete failure in Iraq is at an all-time high. The outrageous commutation of Scooter Libby's jail conviction -- well within federal guidelines -- because Bush thought it was "excessive" has infuriated Americans across the political spectrum. The Attorney General is quite clearly a liar, acting not to uphold the Constitution, but in fealty to Bush and Bush alone. Cheney brazenly claimed to be his own branch of government. The US Attorney Firing scandal shows no sign of going away, as Congress finally brings some investigation and oversight to a criminal administration which has acted as if the laws don't apply to it since the day the Supreme Court put them into power. Americans are waking up to all of this, and the reality is difficult to deny: Bush, Cheney, Rove, and everyone in their rotten administration are crooks.

So, in a transparent effort to distract us from the damage they've done to our country, all they have is fear. All they can do is terrify people into submission, and it's disgusting.

We're better than this. We're stronger than this. We're smarter than this.

So, please, don't be afraid this summer. Don't be part of Bush and Cheney's Culture of Fear. Don't let the terrorists win.

Comments

[Upquark]

I agree with Wil and others about the threat and fear that it insues. What bothers me about the current administration is a lack of leadership. Whatever happened to American grit? I think the conversation from the administration should focus on what we can do, should do, not on what might happen or bl bla bla. I was in NYC during 9/11 for business with the US Courts System. The second plane impact literally shook me from my hotel bed. I watched people jumping. Heard them hit the ground. It was ugly and stunning and infuriating. Not once did I hear the Pres or anyone say we will rise above this. That we are a better republic /country and we will become stronger as a result.

I was willing to do what need to be done then move on with my life - make sacrafices; by US War Bonds; just about anything - and the best he did was to say " Keep doing what you are doing" More like "nothing to see here I am from the government, I will take care of everything".

So here we are today - being warned about gut feelings. They are valid feelings to be sure, but there isn't a damn thing any of us can do about it. Stupid comment.

Why not say something, just as neboulus, akin to "We feel that the threats agains the US are increasing and we ask that the US Citizenry maintain their diligence against any suspicious or out of place events or items. Help us help you. "

Bah, my two cents.

[WTL]

Good for you, Wil. I too refuse to live in fear over this crap.

[Lanitta]

You know I agree with you 100% on this and most things that our government sees fit to present upon our nation. I am disgusted with the constant fear tactics that we have seen and I no longer pay much mind to it. I have not and will not alter my life in a response to their bullshit.

[raphael]

Very well put, Wil, and I think your your sentiments and how you couched them quite admirably reflect my own.

Your comments reminded me powerfully of The Power of Nightmares series which aired originally on BBC2 in the UK.

Science fiction has, of course, long forecast this. Doesn't all this sound remind people of the mysterious “terrorist attacks” in Brazil, for example, or about fifty trillion other examples of administrations using fear as a smokescreen in science fiction films and books (even Star Wars)?

[Upquark]

BTW, for those of you keeping track at home; 9/11 was orchestrated by Al Quata via Afghanistan, not by those folks in Iraq. That is not to say S. H. was innocent of any wrong doing. This bait and switch is congruent with the current administrations tool set, fear included.

I wanted to include Saudia Arabia, but only the pilots came from that country.

[nathan]

I love how everyone hates the whole government. Congress has a lower approval rating than Bush

[Greg]

Sadly Bush's longest lasting legacy will be what he's done to the Supreme Court. Forget the Constitution, lets go by fundamentalist doctrine. Sort of like we're supposedly fighting in the Middle East. Reproductive rights? Gay Marriage? Those issues are in grave danger.

[jbay]

Taking Cheney (sorry, I meant Bush) out of the discussion, I won't be surprised if we do get hit again by a terrorist attack. And Chertoff might be right. Something might happen this summer. Or next fall. Or nine weeks from next Tuesday. Or not. I might also be struck down by a meteor. Or a bad piece of fish.

I live close enough to WTC that I can remember what it smelled like as the fires burned in the days and weeks after 9/11. But I don't let that memory rule my life. As the English said during the Blitz, "keep calm, and carry on". If you do anything else, you just live in paralyzed fear. Not to mention giving a victory to scumbags who would attack and kill innocent people for the sake of their "god".

[khereva]

In this sense, the very people who are supposed to be protecting us from terrorists are playing right into the terrorists' hands.

Close, but no cigar. The Usurpation, from Bush to Chertoff, are terrorists. The largest terrorist organization in the world is in Washington, DC, and our tax dollars fund it.
And we-- We the People-- are its all too compliant targets.

[alikitty619]

When I was recovering from treatment for lymphoma, I lived in this constant state of fear and worry that the cancer would come back. Living in that kind of fear was making me physically sick and was draining what was left of my energy. One day, about 8 months later, I had an epiphany-- I can live in fear or I can just live. I chose the later. And that weight was lifted.

Same thing applies for this situation too. We can sit around and live in fear of all the things could possibly happen.....or we can just let it go and live.

[CosmicDog]

sigh.

Is this what the war on terror has been reduced to?

"By the pricking of my thumbs,
Something wicked this way comes."

What is't you do, DHS?

"A deed without name."

[alex]

I really, really, don't need by government terrorizing me with gut feelings, thank you very much...

I refuse to give up my freedoms, I refuse to be scared by my own government (the world can be bad enough without them becoming a bully too), and I refuse to alter my way of life. It's a free, wonderful place, let's keep it that way.

[ChaoticMelancholy]

Indeed.

What we do need to be afraid of is the fact that this has gone on for so long and so blindly followed these wolves in sheep clothes into slaughter.

It's time that Americans take back their political system. Wake up and stop the insanity. It's absolutely ridiculous that we have to deal with this.

The real terrorists are the Executive Branch of the American Political System. Their fear mongering has led to so much inaccurate reporting of details that it's become a laughing stock of the world.

So, when they attempt to scare us more, we don't believe them. It's a classic case of "Bush cries wolf". The sad reality is though, that the wolf is already in the white house.

Do not be afraid of the shit they warn about. Be afraid that the apathy of the American people has allowed all rights and freedoms to be robbed, not by Bin Laden, or Hussain, or other foreign people, it's been robbed by that loser claiming to be President and Vice President of the United States.

Take back your country, and impeach those assholes.

[almagill]

I read something the other day that made me chuckle and seems appropriate to this 'gut feeling'... went something like:

World War II

Churchhill: Okay, so you've bombed half of Europe flat, have ten times more tanks and planes than us, are so far the unbeaten champion of the world... and what? We're meant to be scared of you? Pfft, pass me a brandy and a cigar.

FDR: Oh, so bombing half of our naval fleet while we were still having breakfast was the best you could do? Right sunny Jim, as soon as I get this wheelchair moving I'm going to kick your ass...

Sixty years later and it's The War On Terror:
Bush, Blair et al:
OMFGzords! They're coming for us! RUN! HIDE! MUMMY!!
(My tummy hurts...)

Makes you proud, eh?

[Justin]

You know there was a really interesting piece a couple of weeks ago, on an NPR program that I listen to and the commentator was heavily involved in the research regarding Watergate. He made the point that the American people, as a whole, did not become outraged over all of Nixon's activities until they found out he had cheated on his taxes. This was something that all of America could understand, relate to, and that they instantly considered wrong.

He also made the point that with the massive amounts of media today, a lot of the fundamental issues you bring up here, get muddled and washed away before they can ever become real stories to the American people.

His take was that the majority of the American people have just quit Bush and are just waiting for him to get voted out of office, but he did not see there ever being an even significant enough to make this another Watergate. Although, he did think the Attorney General scandal had some hope.

[Karynth]

It is easy to say "the administration" and label everything they do or say as a tactic to control us. It is too easy.

This follows the same "talking points" method the GOP uses. ALL Political parties are groups of people with similar beliefs that believe they can form the great Voltron of political power and achieve their personal goals.

This scare tactic is inevitable. Before 9/11 we had some warnings but nothing solid to say what, where, when. The administration has been vilified since due to the the "Osama wants to attack America" briefs because we were not warned. Now when we are warned everyone gets pissed. How do you decide what to warn for? Do people have to get killed before we are thankfull for a warning? If so isn't it more likly that everyone will then just say the administration didn't do enough to save those we lost?

There is no winning for a political party any longer. The world and America has changed significantly in the past 6 years and we have had no contemporary comparison to test it with. My theory is that it does not matter who wins the next election. I hope a Dem does not because I am one (I am not affiliated but lean conservative)but so that we can get the mainstream media to beat down on them a while. I am tired of hearing the same crap every day. If the Dems do win we will see political parties are the same. They will hire like minded people and fire those they don't agree with. This has been the way throughout our govt history. The ONLY difference is transparency. We see it now and it stinks. But it has always been there. Then maybe enogh people will see that the system is screwed and we migh get some change.

I strongly advise people to cast aside the political affiliations and support issues individually. Don't follow a party line and get sucked into the "Talking Point" mentality.

[Andrew]

Karynth wrote: Before 9/11 we had some warnings but nothing solid to say what, where, when. The administration has been vilified since due to the the "Osama wants to attack America" briefs because we were not warned.

No, that's not it at all. The administration has been vilified because, when given credible and specific intelligence, they didn't do anything about it. Warning the public is very low on the list of things I wish they had done.

[John]

Uh, Wil, I am not terrified, or even slightly nervous, that the Secretary of Homeland Security has a gut feeling that something might happen this summer. His gut feelings mean pretty much nothing. Solid, credible, and hopefully specific evidence that something is going to happen might worry me, but not a "feeling," no matter who it is that feels it.

Give the public some credit.

[angie k]

I agree. And the only person I'm afraid of is Bush himself. Thank you for writing this. And for providing links to other stories.

Cheers.

[kerowynsmom]

Let me just say, "Amen."

[colmanh]

If Chertoff's gut feeling is right and some kind of attack is coming, it will probably be some tiny half-arsed attack like what happened in London last week. (they didn't even scratch the wheelie bin they parked next to).
While I hope any possible attack is a small as that, I feel Chertoff will use it to present himself and his cronies as "good at their jobs".
They will use a small attack as another excuse to piss us off even more.

P.S. has anyone else noticed the quality of spelling and grammar in the comments on Wil's site to be better than anywhere on the net! At least we can cling to that small joy until the gut feeling passes away.....

[Erin T]

Gavin DeBecker's _Fear Less_ is a logical, reasoned response to fearmongering like that, including how to deconstruct the local news.

[opak]

Its staggering the amount of damage Bush's administration has done to the country and our reputation. They are only trying to hold everything together for the next year and a half until it becomes someone else's problem. I just hope that the justice system can bring their guns to bear on them before or after that. I am not hopeful however.

[R]

yes, yes, yes.

It truly terrifies me how much time these crooks still have left to tear this country and everything it stands for to shreds.

[Eric in Spokane]

Didn't you guys get the memo? The plan is for officials like Chertoff to tell us about his gut feelings and share the terror, which we then ignore with a wink and a nod. That way, the terrorists will THINK we're afraid and they won't actually do anything to prove they're serious. As long as we appear threatened, they won't carry out any major attacks, right? That has to be it, because thinking that our own government is a tool for terrorism just gives me the shivers.