The End of Fear?

[Alan Grayson]

About a year after 9/11, I was sitting in an airport terminal, waiting for a flight, when nature called. I turned to the young lady sitting next to me, and asked her if she would watch my carry-on baggage while I went to the restroom.

She looked at me, she hesitated, and then she asked, “How do I know that you’re not a terrorist?”

She wasn’t kidding. She looked a little scared.

I thought about delivering some snappy retort, like “I used to be a suicide bomber, but I quit, because I didn’t like the pension benefits.” I could see, though, that she was actually feeling some fear, so I looked her in the eye and said, “I’m not a terrorist.” She thought for a moment, and then she said, “OK, I’ll watch your bags.”

And off I went.

After that conversation, I realized that 9/11 had not only radically altered our national security priorities, but also the way that many people thought about others. And the weird possibility grew in many people’s minds that any stranger could be a killer.

Now that Osama Bin Laden is dead, I hope that that feeling also is dead. The feeling that we live in fear. Judging by all the spontaneous celebrations, maybe that feeling is dead.

We have often heard the phrase, “if xxxxxxx, then the terrorists have won.” Martha Stewart once told her employees that if not enough of them attended her company Christmas parties, then “the terrorists have certainly succeeded.”

Here is one formulation of that formula that we didn’t hear: “If the terrorists make you feel terror, if they make you fear them, then the terrorists have won.”

I hope that that’s over, now.

We spend roughly $3000 for every American each year on the U.S. military. There is a theory that the reason for this is that the military-industrial complex controls our foreign policy, in much the same way that the medical-industrial complex controls our health policy, and Wall Street’s money-industrial complex controls our economic policy. That public opinion is simply irrelevant.

Maybe. But public opinion since 9/11 has been skewed by the real fear that many Americans have felt. Urged on, of course, by certain parasites in the body politic who want us to believe that they are the only ones who can save us from the threat.

In George Orwell’s book Nineteen Eighty-Four, the fundamental basis for the totalitarian state that he portrays is the fear and hatred of the foreign enemy, Oceania. A siege mentality, brought about by endless war.

I hope that the death of Osama Bin Laden will mean the death of the siege mentality. The end of the perceived need for foreign occupations, and the end of foreign occupations.

I hope for peace.

Courage,

Alan Grayson

[stjohndoe]

1. Thank You, Alan, for all you do.

nm

[sakabatou]

2. And we still have the fear ratched up

We have the intrusive pat-downs and body scans.
Parts of our rights have been removed or lowered in power.
We're stuck in quagmires in the Middle East

And so on and so forth.

Thank you so much, Mr. Grayson.

[JuniperLea]

3. Beautiful!

Thank you Alan.

I was afraid on 9/11, I'll admit to that much. Over the previous week I had been speaking with many people in one of the towers setting meeting schedules for my boss, who was to fly on 9/11 and have meetings over the following two days. Those buildings held the east coast offices of many firms whose west coast offices were in the building where we worked in Century City, Los Angeles. I was also managing a reception staff of five (we had 2000 employees between offices in Century City and Woodland Hills). The attack on the WTC hit us all hard, emotionally. The assistants and offices I'd come to know were gone, just gone, and now my own building was listed as a target. I was driving in and reaching out by cell phone to my receptionists. The building was being closed and I couldn't even park in the structure. It was truly frightening.

That was then, this is now.

Al Qaeda must be shaking in their collective boots, wondering what we know and who is next. Hillary Clinton's statements made me cry... it was a release of fear. Her speech was as soothing as Obama's to my ears.

My hopes are in line with yours, no question.

Thanks for reaching out to our collective psyche like this! :hug:

[byronius]

4. I and everyone I know thinks you're the Bomb, sir. Seriously American.

Great love for you out here.

Anytime anyone complains about the 'spineless Democrats', your name is mentioned, and immediately everybody can agree -- 'oh, yeah, he's cool. I love him.'

Please live forever.

[Cal33]

5. I hope you'll run again, even though I don't live in your state and

won't be able to vote for you.

[bigmonkey]

6. Thanks for writing that.

And thanks for what you did in Congress. Hope to see you here often, until you're in office again. :-)

[Demeter]

7. The way to end fear is to end emnity

Declare peace, get out, build democracies in Egypt, Tunisia, Saudi Arabia by NOT putting in BFF stooges over their peoples....

And Mr. Grayson, because I think you already know this, I would LOVE to vote for you in the Democratic national primary.

[OwnedByFerrets]

8. My feelings concerning fear are voiced in the attached thread

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=439&topic_id=1015365&mesg_id=1015365

Seige mentality? We middle class and poverty level Americans are under seige by the rich and powerful in this country....which unfortunatly includes MOST of our congress people. When will they start working for the masses instead of their own ends? If THAT happens, I will once again feel safe in this country to grow old and wish for a future.

[checks-n-balances]

9. Thanks for your thoughts & for your service to our country.

Seriously.

I think it's safe to say you are widely admired & appreciated on this forum. Too bad your forthrightness & courage weren't more contagious among Dems in Washington. Thanks for reminding them of what (and whom) we've always stood for as a party.

Please don't go away!
:loveya:

[mountainlion55]

10. Mr. Grayson

Thank you for your service in the congress. :smoke:

[intheflow]

11. Thank you, Alan.

I hope and pray for peace too, and take courage from your optimism.