Posted by
Jason Cunningham on Monday, July 09, 2007 6:07:18 PM
It appears that we prefer the illusion of safety over real safety.
“Always wear a condom: That way you’ll never have to worry about pregnancy, disease, emotional hurt, or the development of bad attitudes about sex and relationships.”
“Ban handguns and the ability to carry concealed weapons: That way, school campuses and other public areas will be safe, and only criminals and the mentally-unstable will be able to get their hands on firearms.”
“When in doubt, always be nice to people who enter the country illegally: That way, they’ll always treat us nice and never do us any harm. … What’s that? What about all those ancient cities that built walls around themselves, you ask? Oh … those walls never actually worked.”
You see, ancient societies, despite their alleged “primitiveness,” knew something that many Americans have failed to recognize: Death can come on any given day, so we must always be on guard -- not "living in fear," but simply keeping an eye out. Living for so long now in an open, democratic society has, unfortunately, allowed many people the illusion that if we are diplomatic and democratic, then no one could possibly want to hurt us, much less actually do just that. The ancients, however, were constantly aware that they were always a mere moment’s lapse in concentration from being on the low end of someone else’s food chain. Animals, too, are always sensitive to this; that’s why they continuously look up between sips when they’re drinking from the local watering hole.
But we Americans? “Just be kind, and don’t be such a stickler,” we say, “and everything will be alright. … Walls? Guns? Personal accountability? Who needs that?”