All the hype about the upcoming holiday travel reminded me of a post I had written a few months ago - so in the true spirit of the weekend after Thanksgiving, I've re-heated something up for you to enjoy.
Oh Damn! We're At Elmo!!
So how exactly are we supposed to feel right now?
The government has issued another Red Alert after a foiled plot against flights coming from the UK to the U.S. This time the explosive devices were to be comprised of liquids and gels not easily detected by airport security staff.
Hmmm... Creepy.
So am I comforted? Frightened? Apprehensive?
None of the above... but maybe that's because my son doesn't like to sleep at night and I'm an emotionless zombie during the days. Nah - that's not it...
A few weeks ago when I was talking to my brother - who lives in Arkansas - he mentioned that the nation was on Orange Alert. I chuckled and went something like "pssshhh.."
He got really aggravated with me and said " How can someone like you who works in the city everyday and takes public transport everyday not be freaking out?!?!"
I didn't really have a good answer for him - but it did make me think. Maybe it's the message I hear on the train and in the train station everyday about how "Metra is at a heightened state of security awareness..." and how I "should use my eyes and ears... and report any suspicious packages".
Every single day I hear this same message - as do thousands of other commuters. So does everyone feel as complacent as I do? Judging from the woman I saw a couple weeks ago walking through Union Station making the sign of the cross over and over as she looked at everyone with fear - I'd have to say no.
To be honest - I often don't even hear the security messages. I believe that if you hear the same thing over and over - you just tend to not regard it after a while. Kind of like the sensationalist media we all have been exposed to in recent years... Bad news is GREAT news!! Reporting on the demise of entire villages is great - but it seems that nothing gives the media a bigger boner than reporting on what terrible disaster MAY be about to happen. Remember the Avian Flu that nearly wiped out the entire nation last Spring? I still have all those hundreds of gallons of water and thousands of pounds of dry food stored in my basement...
Yeah - so what? I'm a little complacent... it's not that I'm throwing caution to the wind so to speak - I just choose not to be a fear-monger. I'd rather enjoy my friends and family in these last days on Earth - rather than constantly looking over my shoulder for that elusive inner-city terrorist faction trying to disrupt my perfect way of life...
Besides - I'm looking forward to the Red Alert Discount I can get on my upcoming flight to London..
Photo: www.geekandproud.net
1 comments:
yea, my folks....lovily midwesterns from MI... tend to freak out all the time now that we are in NY and so close to Manhattan. I know this is where it all happened but come on I can't live my life in fear or teach my children to be terrified of going out either!! i figure if we get blown up while sight seeing, well then at least we got to see one more thing before we went out eh? is this bad of me??
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