“The only thing we should really fear is the culture of fear itself ” Frank Furedi
The brutal attack on the Twin Towers meant the beginning of the so-called War Against Terror. In the name of Democracy and Freedom, George W. Bush spread an idea that became a mantra in the Western World and lead everyone to believe that people were not entitled to have any basic right.
Bin Laden was the “WANTED” man. This man could be our neighbor, the baker accross the street or the man walking his dog in the park where we always sit to read our newspaper. Bin was “among us and was anxious to attack again”. The government slipped into our homes and raised the volume of our TVs so we would never forget that we should always be alert and afraid.
“If you see something, say something”. This sentence can be read anywhere in New York. We are all possible suspects. Any time the police can check your bag in the name of freedom.
This fear has nourished the lack of our basic individual rights in the Western World and has made Corporations that ensure our security flourish. Security cameras on the streets, private protection, Blackwater, subcontractors paid under the budget destined to war, reconstruction of destroyed countries…..all these concepts only strengthen and feed our fears.
May 2011, Bin Laden is captured and executed. After the speech dedicated to his death, Barack Obama confirmed that “the world now was a safer place”. But the alert for a possible future attack still remains in our brains and still vibrates in our ears. Until when? And if it ever ends, will we be able to live aside from our fears?