The Further Costs of Fear

The omnipresence of fear in the United States continues to take a toll on the psyche of the American people. Each day we are reminded of 9/11 and that we are at some indefinable, unquantifiable and inexplicable level of risk that another terrorist attack will occur. This message has been so effectively broadcast and pounded into the consciousness of Americans that even the corner drug store owner in Ottumwa, Iowa lives in fear of an imminent attack unless the Department of Homeland Security is vigilant. At every airport in the nation, we are reminded that the DHS [ an acronym which some of us recall used to represent the Department of Health and Human Services…how times have changed!] has declared a state of orange alert.” There are apparently four levels, with the risk of attack increasing in each step: green, yellow, orange and red. One might question the precision, if not the competence of a system that has had a constant orange alert in every city for more than two years. After all, it would be hard to imagine that New York City and Fargo, ND, have the same risk of attack. But in these times, it may even be against the law to disparage the national security apparatus. So by way of disclaimer, I am SURE that the DHS is doing the best job they know how to do to protect the American people.

But the system of fear has other costs. The head of the Central Bank in Argentina stated in a speech this week that more than 200 corresponding Latin American banks have switched their cash transactions to Europe because of the extensive regulations imposed by the Bush Administration to trace possible transactions relating to persons or organizations which could lead to potential support of terrorists. These restrictions and trade barriers have made the increased cost of doing business with US banks unattractive. This is another example of how the climate of paranoia or fear (depending upon whether one has blind faith in the Administration’s claims of terrorist threats in the US), has unseen costs to the American economy and makes the US less competitive in the global marketplace. The United States is becoming an increasingly less attractive destination for tourists. This may be a result of a combination of the climate of fear and the generalized decline of respect and admiration of this country around the world. In any event, it represents an economic loss. Common sense would dictate that an analysis of the need and effectiveness of all these security measures and barriers to economic activity.

In the current climate, we are fed generalized exhortations daily to beware of “terrorists.” We are reminded that we are at "war with terror." We are told that any laxity in our vigilance or failure to fight the terrorists would be devastating. We are never advised of any specific threats or of any actual terrorist plots or cells in the US that the DHS has effectively disrupted. We are not given any specific information that would support the notion that the entire nation needs to be constantly on Orange Alert. The excuse, of course, is that revealing such information would endanger national security. The logic of how the release of information about an actual success story of intervention that occurred six months ago or more would undermine national security is obscure, at best. In fact, knowledge that all these constraints are actually accomplishing something concrete would conceivably build confidence and tolerance in the public.

However, we are given nothing concrete to hold onto. Nothing, that is, except fear. And we are repeatedly told that our greatest fear should be not being afraid.