Letter: Fear making America crazier every week
“The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” I suspect Franklin Delano Roosevelt has been on the constant spin cycle in his grave these past weeks. It feels like this country gets crazier every week and I’m not sure where it will stop.
Strict “constitutionalists” are ready to throw out the constitution for perceived “security.” We cower in fear of the “other” and the unknown.
No matter how much we spend or do, absolute safety is (and always has been) a pipe dream. The mismatch between our fears and reality is stunning. Fear getting killed by a terrorist? You are 1,400 times more likely to be killed in a drunk driving accident. That new gun you buy for protection? It is 600 times more likely to be involved in a suicide than stopping a mass killing.
Why do we so fear events that, while tragic, are much rarer than everyday occurrences we do little to eliminate? The consequence is that while FDR spins in his grave, bin Laden gloats in his, “Winning!”
Allan Konopka, Kennewick
This story was originally published December 28, 2015 at 4:53 PM with the headline "Letter: Fear making America crazier every week."