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> Fear has been the primary motivator in the world of government ever since 9/11. Ah. I really don’t want to tell you what basis to build your private mytholog
by krisoft 3y ago
> Fear has been the primary motivator in the world of government ever since 9/11.
Ah. I really don’t want to tell you what basis to build your private mythology on but fear as the primary motivator did not start with 9/11.
We feared the bear so we become the hunters and killed it. We feared the night so we made fire. We feared the others in the next valley so we sharpened our sticks.
We feared the flood so we built dams. We feared death so we invented delusions to placate ourselves.
Even if you somehow constrain yourself to the history of the US government, would you say the cold war was not driven by fear?
- zlg_codes 3y agoPerhaps it's better to call it another wave, or another style of fear. The point is that the events of 9/11 scared Americans enough to hand over their freedoms with the PATRIOT Act. The impact of surveillance everywhere in society has had an overall chilling effect on public discourse and activity. People act differently when they know they're being watched. I'm reminded of Ben Franklin: "Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety."
- mikem170 3y agoBefore 9/11 we were told to fear the U.S.S.R., right up until the day they fell apart. Then there was global warming, crime, terrorists, immigrants, trans people, and who knows what next. They always want to keep us afraid, it seems. It doesn't help that people in general are not good at qualifying risk.
- Paul-Craft 3y ago> The point is that the events of 9/11 scared Americans enough to hand over their freedoms with the PATRIOT Act. I don't recall being asked if I wanted to hand over any freedoms to anyone. Nobody asked. This was done to me, not done for me.