On The Prize
I don't like to use the word "complacent" since, in modern usage, it always is something "now is no time to be." But for the past few years, I do sometimes fear we're getting complacent.
The lack of any major attack on American soil in six years has taken the edge off. (Some have gone so far as to claim the threat is vastly overblown, or even non-existent, but I'm talking about the rest of us, who are the large majority.) I know we shouldn't, and wouldn't want to, feel like every day is the day after 9/11, but I think we should still feel as if it's a few months after. There are plenty of people out there who would like nothing better than to kill tens of thousands of Americans inside the US on one day, and that's what it's all about. We can't allow our enemy's lack of success in repeating a spectacular attack like they had in 2001 to let us forget this.
posted by LAGuy @ 12:49 AM
2 Comments:
Because I work near an identified terrorist target, we've had some briefings from experts about disaster preparedness following a terrorist attack. And it's fairly accepted that once terrorists identify a target, they will not stop until they destroy it (remember that the WTC was the location of a foiled attack in the early 90s). So places like Los Angeles Airport and some of the other major landmarks that have seen attempts made in the past are always on high alert.
I think we're far better off with "the edge off," LAGuy. Putting all of us on edge is one of the primary goals of any spectacular attack, and boy oh boy did it work for a while there.
I pay taxes in part to support professional organizations whose job it is to constantly be on edge for such attacks. I want to live my life concentrating on other things. I think Mayor Bloomberg has precisely the right attitude: go on with your life, but pay attention and if something way out of the ordinary presents itself, tell the professionals.
Maybe it was just us New Yorkers for whom it lasted more than a few months, or even just those of us who were attending funerals, daily remembering scenes, etc., but I have no desire whatsoever to go back to that mindset. It was unhealthy, both on a personal level for me, and more broadly for our constitutional protections. In short, now is the perfect time to be more complacent.
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