Ha! Wonder what Garrett Morris is up to these days...

Without meaning this as confrontationally as it may sound, I wonder how much of this is blaming the victim. Our government has done a damn fine job of (irresponsibly, IMO) scaring the bejeebers out of the public given the faintest opportunity - the introduction of the Orwellian-monikered DHS, the ridiculous color coded threat levels (which are always - always - at orange or red), the continual "sky is falling" rhetoric on 20 zillion cable stations all day every day. Muslims as the enemy, to the point where even building a mosque is unthinkable in many communities, damn the fact the Constitution guarantees freedom of religion. Continual scare stories about whatever global pandemic is going to kill us all next. "Child predator" hourly updates. Everything, including the air and water, will give you some unspeakable disease that will disfigure you horribly before you become a wizened husk.

Can you even imagine a high-ranking U.S. politician giving FDR's first Inaugural? It's unthinkable. Saying something to discourage fear in the population might mean less payola from the security industrial complex. (L3, Rapiscan, this means you.)

Instilling panic in the population makes it easier to control. I'll agree I think more should be done, but I don't think it's out of some inherent weak will on the part of the public (or that young people are somehow simpler-minded than their elders. Here's Orwell again: "Each generation imagines itself to be more intelligent than the one that went before it, and wiser than the one that comes after it.")

I think people are so frightened they don't know what to do, and they're inclined to trust government out of a paucity of other options. (Also, what can you do? Both political parties are owned by corporations, so you can't look to figures at the heads of them for help. You can't run for office yourself, because it costs millions. If you try to picket some corporation, the government it owns will stop you.

Personally, I've given up flying. I'm lucky in that my job doesn't depend on it. I also talk a lot about my boycott to people who would like me to come and visit them...long story, but I used to fly a roundtrip once a month or so.

I've also written letters to all my electeds, every U.S. airline, several hotel chains and the USTA. I realize I'm not 'normal' - but I'm finding it encouraging how many new articles I find every day on the state of things, how many people in the course of my everyday life are now willing to listen to me talk about the irradiation of the public...I guess I just don't think all is lost. And I think those of us who know better are obligated to talk about this as much as we can, because we may be capable of critical thought where others might not be just yet.)