A NATION OF FEAR
By Ian Gibson

	In the United States today, almost six years after the traumatic events of 
September 11th, one fixation is prominently present – fear.
	With the attacks on the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon in 
Washington, D.C. has come a perceived threat from an ideology known only as terrorism. 
Terrorism has become the hip word of the early 21st century, a gathering point around 
which democratic nations can rally. Enemies and allies are formed all based upon the ill-
defined notion of terrorism. Turbans, AK’s, and durka durka’s are all mistakenly seen as 
hostile objects employed by terrorists, leading to a significant rise in hatred and a 
correlating drop in racial tolerance.
      Not surprisingly, terrorism bears a striking resemblance to another “-ism” – 
communism. During the Cold War, the United States, beacon for freedom and capitalism, 
faced-off against the sinister “commies” of the United Soviet Socialist Republic. Sparring 
political and economic systems created quite a stand-off between the two leaders of the 
world, effectively establishing the USSR as the number one enemy of the American 
people. 
      Communism was recognized as the scapegoat for America’s problems and 
quickly became the motivational factor behind most of the populous’ endeavors. After 
all, no one wanted to be associated with the Soviets for fear of being blacklisted or 
blackballed or having anything done to them involving that fearfully ostracizing color. 
McCarthyism was the thing of the day, and Russians were quick to be typecast as the 
villain in any major piece of literature or theatre. America was a nation united in the 
effort to combat communism in any way possible, despite the prejudicial implications.
      The fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 and the proceeding growth in fame of David 
Hasselhoff escalated the demise of the USSR, leading to a tumultuous realization for 
America in 1991 – the enemy was dead. No longer was there a uniting force to assemble 
against or an evil menace to bond in opposition to. The United States prospered for a full 
decade, proclaiming itself the undisputed greatest nation in the world. September 11th 
changed it all.
      On the morning of September 12th, 2001, radio waves, TV waves, and brain 
waves were radiating with the new “-ism” that was readily replacing the defeated threat 
of communism. Terrorism was the new thing to fear, the new immorality to despise and 
destroy. Nobody cared that the enemy was indefinable or imperceptible – they just 
wanted vengeance. Today we live in a nation of fear and moderate chaos. Mere mention 
of “Mohammad” heightens tensions and suspicions, forcing eyes to narrow and fists to 
clench. The United States of America is truly united – but only in fear, not in freedom.
      Fear has always stood as a defining element in empirical rule. Roman senators 
orated the loss of civilization in the face of barbarians, European monarchs threatened 
godly wrath upon those who questioned divine rule, and Russian commissars lectured of 
the falling bourgeois boot. In each and every case, those who preached destruction took 
advantage of the frightened masses, robbing them of their inalienable rights in the name 
of a falsified greater cause. Sadly, today is no different. Continued iterations of the 
Patriot Act simply bring suspendatures of habeas corpus, granting big brother an even 
larger magnifying glass. Across the aisle, promises of universal health care are thinly 
disguised licenses to tax rampantly and further control the general populous.
      This is the part of the article where the author is supposed to rescue society from 
certain doom with a plan of action – one that seems immaculately conceived and easily 
achieved. The simple truth is that there is no quick-fix to a problem that has always 
plagued humanity – all you can do is hold on to your rights and viciously attack anyone 
that even threatens to take them away. 
      Over the last 10,000 years, homo sapiens have slowly stumbled from savage to 
serf to stockholders. Along the way, philosophical visionaries such as Plato, Jean Jacques 
Rousseau, and Thomas Paine have crafted rights belonging to every man, and the 
common populous has willingly accepted them. Today, Americans stand as the symbol of 
true equality and democracy – each of us the proud practitioner of a plethora of freedoms. 
Don’t let greedy fear mongers take away from you what the rest of history has worked so 
hard to craft.