by Martha Quillen
Americans Are Still Strong, Courageous and Bold, But Courage May Be Overrated
Are Americans driven by unfounded fear and anxiety? According to an article in the March issue of The Atlantic, our fears regarding crime and terrorism are way out of touch with reality.
With backup from numerous experts and studies, Jonathan Rauch contends: “The violent-crime rate (which excludes homicides) has declined more than 70 percent since the early 1990s. The homicide rate has declined by half, and in 2011 it reached the lowest level since 1963.” Rape and sexual assaults have also fallen, and armed conflicts have declined by almost 40 percent worldwide. Yet many Americans believe crime is increasing.
And as for ISIS? The new style of warfare, which trends toward civil war and terrorism, actually kills about 90 percent fewer people than “did violent struggles in the 1950s.”
Rauch concludes that “it seems unlikely that Americans’ threat perception has ever before been quite as distorted as it is today. Never have so many feared so little, so much.”
However, I think Rauch makes a mistake in assuming our preoccupation with violence engenders fear – especially fear about our personal safety.
In his attempt to unmask how “trivial” the risk of being murdered by terrorists is, he writes, “Americans are about four times as likely to drown in their bathtubs as they are to die in a terrorist attack.”
And that number does astound me, but not because it’s low. In all honesty, I would have guessed I’d be fifty times more likely to drown in my bathtub, since I spend considerable time there and haven’t been anywhere more populated than Salida in at least a year.
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However, I don’t loathe the terrorist menace because it endangers me personally. I loathe it because it threatens our way of life. Terrorism threatens countries, people, property, commerce and communication systems. It has enmeshed America in two foreign wars, given birth to Homeland Security and the TSA, and has cost Americans plenty in terms of casualties, cash, freedom, trust and anxiety.
America’s mood seems gloomier than it did before Sept. 11, 2001. And it plummeted even more after the financial failures in 2008. But is that because we fear terrorists are lurking behind our woodpiles?
Or is it because we’ve become more aware of our vulnerability? And how ineffective U.S. defense and banking systems can be?
Rauch likewise points out that politicians and pressure groups find alarmism useful, and also warns that “overreaction is maladaptive” and “often more disruptive and damaging than whatever provoked it.” I concede his wisdom concerning that. But are we afraid?
Whatever Americans are feeling, it sure doesn’t come off as frightened.
In the last few decades, American politics have grown so adversarial that our national representatives are hard-pressed to pass a budget or a bill. And this sort of “maladaptive” reactionary spirit has even filtered down to Salida, which has been working toward outshining the U.S. Congress in the “we have nothing but disdain for everything the other side thinks or says” style of modern politicking.
Once upon a time, I (like Rauch) tended to think citizens were driven by fear. In Salida, especially, I thought one side was afraid they wouldn’t be able to afford the new, trendy Salida, and they were thus afraid of losing their old, familiar home.
And I thought people on the other side were afraid of losing the dreams they had come here to pursue, and the investment they had made in our glorious but financially challenged region.
But I no longer think people are driven by fear. In terms of that old fight-or-flight response, Americans have chosen their course, and we aren’t budging. But rage, not fear, is our pedestal.
And I am no exception. My political wrath is easily and frequently aroused these days, probably because I don’t entirely agree with either side in the ongoing Salida Battle of the Budget.
As I see it, some of our skirmishes are hardly worth our time and effort. We quibble over how to put in bike paths. And how much we’re willing to spend on the swimming pool roof, which unquestionably needs repair. And why we can’t afford a modestly priced groover. And meanwhile a significant proportion of our citizens clamor for more, more, more, including more festivals, concerts, subdivisions, and trails, plus a $5 million water park, and a $3 million hockey rink, a campus of some sort and condos everywhere.
It seems to me that if you really want all of that, it would be a lot simpler to move to Vail. Or Colorado Springs. But what bothers me most about our political disputes is that so many of them are not about the issues at all. They are about who people feel is dissing whom. And who is stupid, rude, obnoxious, presumptuous, greedy, selfish, arrogant, corrupt, a psychopath, a liar and a worthless, no-good swindler.
From Washington, D.C. to Salida, our new way of politicking is unpleasant, maddening and unproductive.
Yet crazily enough, at this point I think furiously oppositional factions have actually established some sort of dynamic balance that would be dangerous to back away from.
If the Democrats give up, will the Republicans gut Social Security and Medicare, and make women’s personal reproductive choices a matter of public intervention? And given the chance, would Republicans redouble their efforts to redistrict and eliminate polling places in order to keep Democrats from ever having any say about anything?
And if the Republicans back down, will the Democrats divert funds to serve minorities while ignoring the needs of unemployed workers in the deep South? And would Democrats increase their efforts to silence citizens who dare to disapprove of public funding for stadiums, golf courses, convention centers and entertainment facilities (which poor Americans can’t afford to use)?
Today, the fastest growing political sector in America seems to encompass those who have given up on politics. And who can blame them?
But please, don’t go, ye people who value peace, understanding and calm deliberation. Stay and help the rest of us regain our perspective.
And until we do? Let us hope that those who are locked in continuous combat maintain their zealous standoffs.
And yes, Mr. Rauch, Americans do complain a lot. But we are not afraid.
Martha Quillen fumes about unfair politicking during her walks around Salida. Approach her with caution.
