Dave Barry: Grown-ups used to have fun

In a perverted way, that's how our foreign policy works.

No matter what, we'll invent SOMETHING over which to obsess and worry. On rare occasions (1941, 1962), the threat is real and must be dealt with. Most other times, we feel compelled to deal with shit 8,000 miles away that has no effect on Joe Six Pack living on Main Street USA. There always must be a ''threat'' for an administration to try to deal with and thus keep the people scared.

 

Not saying we took the proper course of action to deal with it. But 3,000 killed on American soil = "threat is real."

 

It seems like people are more scared now than they were 14 years ago.

 

And a main reason these people existed to do this damage is because we funded them and helped them fight 1980's boogeyman (the Soviets) a generation earlier. Which is kind of my point. We didn't NEED to do a damn thing 35 years ago. But our "Hey! Somebody's fighting the Russkies! We gotta help 'em out!" mantra got in the way of our better judgment ("Hey! They're fucking terrorists! The USSR should exterminate them.")

 

That sounds perilously close to 9/11 Trutherism.

 

Sounds perilously closer to Orwell's 1984.

“One does not establish a dictatorship in order to safeguard a revolution; one makes the revolution in order to establish the dictatorship.”

 

Nah. Just another in a long list of the dangers of unintended consequences when you stick your nose where it doesn't belong (1953 Iran coup, etc.) because of shortsightedness and tunnel vision caused by obsessing about the boogeyman of the hour.

 

One of the claims about getting involved with Vietnam was that the communists were killing priests. Catholicism was in danger!!

 

Fixed? I said seemingly. I am quite aware that it is primarily publicity that has made the modern era seem more dangerous.

But, in fact, given that you have no idea where and when I grew up, you can't possibly know if it is safer or the same or more dangerous almost 40 years later.

 

And I was just highlighting the word for emphasis. Instead of "fixed" should have said "tweaked." No need to get bent out of shape.