Texans react to terror alert: Security tight at airports, waterways
I have some very mixed feelings about Chairman Ashcroft's heightened security alert. Yes, I understand the need for vigilance in our post-9.11 world. Our world today is a different and far less safe place than it was prior to 9.11. Even so, what purpose can repeatedly alerting the public serve? How often can government officials cry "Wolf!" before we stop paying attention? I'm not saying that I have any answers, but I do have a lot of questions.
I lived in Cyprus during a time when Palestinian terrorists were very active on the island. The American school I taught at was the frequent target of bomb threats. Car bombs were frequent events, and every now and then someone would blow out a shop in downtown Nicosia. Living there, I had to decide how or if I was willing to allow the risk of a random terrorist attack to rule my life. In the end, I decided to largedly ignore the issue. Perhaps I was young and cavalier (and stupid), but I couldn't see the sense in living in a cocoon. I went where I wanted to go, and did what I wanted to do. I wanted to LIVE, not merely survive.
Every now and then, as I strolled down Nicosia's main street, I was struck by the realization that a shop window could explode as I walked by. It can be terribly unsettling to realize that you could be brutally attacked and murdered while simply going about your day to day life. Even so, I simply could not justify living my life in fear of something unpredictable, random, and senseless. I couldn't then, and I cannot now. I want to LIVE.
9.11 showed us that we are vulnerable. Yes, we should be cautious, but, speaking only for myself, cautious about what, exactly? The essence and the effectiveness of terrorism is the fear it engenders. It's success lies in making us change our lives, minimize our activities, and live in fear of what MIGHT happen. The fact that something DOES happen every now and then only serves to reinforce that fear.
Frankly, I don't know what the color-coded scale means. I don't know how ordinary Americans can really do much of anything to impact any pending terrrorist threat. No, I don't plan to live with my head in the sand, but neither do I plan to curtail my life and the way I live it out of fear. I'm not arrogant enough to feel that there would be any value to be gained by taking me out, but if it happens, so be it. I am not about to live my life like Chicken Little. I've survived the Middle East, the war in Yugosloavia, and almost getting shot by a Turkish soldier. If and when my time comes, so be it. I just hope it will at least be an interesting way to go out. I hate the idea of dying of a heart attack while sitting behind a desk.
