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Get a grip

Shamelessly copied and pasted from Creative Loafing Charlotte........................................................................

Maybe it's because I grew up hearing my Belgian mother and her family members talk about World War II. Stories in which everyone heard sirens and hurried down to the bomb shelter, then dusted themselves off and went to a concert the next night. Or Mom's memories of getting used to listening for a certain sound when a German V2 rocket flew overhead, knowing that if she heard it, she could keep walking to school and not have to dash into the nearest doorway for cover. Whatever the reason, Americans' reactions to 9/11 have often struck me as, well, kind of wuss-y. I don't mean that in a macho, "you're not tough enough" way. More like, "Settle down, friends, get a grip, this is no way to live."

What is it that keeps a lot of Americans in fear of something they'll likely never be faced with? Some people seem to think their fear is a form of patriotism. Others, for whom the news is mostly a form of entertainment, simply feed on sensationalism. But, as I see it, the primary reason is that we've been bombarded since 9/11 by the Bush administration's fear-mongering. Americans also sense that despite their bluster, BushCo officials haven't done much to make the country safer.


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