Peter David today asks:
Anything I could say about recollections of the day, I’ve already said in previous years.
So this year I’m simply moved to ask…
…anyone feeling safer?
I’d have to say no, I don’t.
I don’t FEEL any safer.
Nor do I FEEL any more endangered.
That’s a bogus question. First off, “feelings” don’t really enter into it. That’s a question of emotion, not of reason. Secondly, reasonably speaking, terrorism is not that big a deal to me on a strictly personal level. Here in West Nowhere, New Hampshire, I’m miles and miles from even remotely possible terrorist targets — and I don’t travel that much. Perhaps on my annual trip to Baltimore, I might be a smidgen more endangered than I am at home, but that’s still pretty scant.
Part of the War On Terror is being fought on a psychological level. Terrorists enjoy killing and destroying, but they got the name “terrorists” because their focus is beyond the immediate destruction — they want to terrorize those who are not killed or injured or otherwise directly affected by their attacks. On that front, we need to focus more on the fact that there have been damned few terrorist attacks on US soil since then — the LAX shooter and the Beltway Snipers are the only two that come to mind. But it seems hardly anyone talks about that.
That might be an error. While on the one hand, a bit of braggadocio might lull people into a sense of security, and challenge the terrorists to try harder, it’s still a noteworthy accomplishment to think that we have been royally pissing off some of the worst terrorists the world has ever seen for almost six years, and they haven’t been able to pull off squat in retaliation.
It’s a tough balancing act. I’m glad I’m not in charge of putting out the right message.
