|
"Eye on Conservatism"
October 22, 2001
Nothing to Fear
by Robert Yoho
It has yet to be discovered if militant
Islamic terrorists are solely to blame for the mass mailings
of Anthrax-laden letters in this country. However, if
the Taliban actually believed that random exposure to
Anthrax could inflict mass destruction on the American
people, then it is obvious that their head dresses must
be cutting off the proper oxygen supply to their brains.
If Anthrax exposure was their plan, then
I am proud to say that their second reign of terror has
been a dismal failure. So far, only one person exposed
to the Anthrax spores has died.
While the death of one individual may
not seem insignificant to the person involved--or to those
who survive him--it certainly does not constitute a national
crisis. It definitely does not equal the level of carnage
that our nation experienced on September 11th.
One person dead - we kill a lot more
people than that every year on our highways. Snake bites,
allergic reactions to bee stings, or lightning strikes
claim a higher death toll than that. In fact, a moonlight
car drive with Sen. Ted Kennedy has the same number of
casualties.
Approximately 42,000 Americans are killed
every year in traffic accidents. Another 4,000 people
in this country die from drowning. About 750 American
fatalities occur from bicycles. Exposure to Anthrax isn't
nearly as dangerous as getting behind the wheel of an
automobile on one of our major highways. Now that is a
real life threatening experience!
If the American media applied their same
level of reporting hysteria to these other fatalities
that they do to the deaths from Anthrax, then no American
would feel safe to leave his house.
We can only imagine the excitement that
Peter Jennings and Dan Rather must have felt, when their
staffs were exposed to Anthrax the same as those who worked
for Tom Brokaw. The only thing better than reporting the
suffering of others is when you make yourself the subject
of your own reporting. Moreover, what network anchor wouldn't
enjoy waxing eloquent with his feelings about being a
target, when he realistically knew that the threat to
his life was non-existent. What a ratings coup that must
be!
No amount of ink or newsprint can ever
adequately describe the horror and suffering that America
experienced on Black Tuesday. But this latest "crisis"
barely merits a small headline at the bottom of page nine.
But someone must lend some perspective in the midst of
panic.
Like the Phoenix, America rose from the
flame and ashes stronger than ever. The spirit of America
and the torch of freedom were not extinguished by the
events of 9-11. Each one of us experienced the same feelings
of shock, horror, anguish, and outrage. But time has passed
and we realized that life indeed must go on.
Our airliners were hijacked and America
did not surrender. The World Trade Center was leveled
and we did not give in. The Pentagon was in flames. Hundreds
of police and firemen were buried in the rubble, their
blood mingling with those they were trying to save. Thousands
of our people were killed in a matter of moments and the
United States did not run up the white flag. But we get
one powdery letter in the mail and we cower in the corner,
sucking our thumb.
In his first Inaugural Address, Franklin
Roosevelt said, "There is nothing to fear but fear itself."
The same could be said of Anthrax.
After seeing the death of nearly 6,000
of our citizens, how can we let a couple of contaminated
letters slow us down or close our Capitol? The United
States has taken the worst the Taliban could throw at
us and we are still standing. We are much too great a
nation to surrender now!
Perhaps we should save our fear for something
really scary. As far as terrorist activities go, exposure
to Anthrax should barely elicit a good yawn. ***
© 2001 Robert Yoho
|
