And includes a poll.
"Which Frightens You More, Terrorists or the Government?"
What with his blog naturally attracting law'n'order, conservative, terrorist-hatin' types, naturally my response (Government) was... solidly in the majority.
And for much the reasons given by others:
Yes, the terrorists hate me - not personally, but as part of a group that is Not Of Their Tribe. They certainly want to kill people like me. Heck, it's possible one might stumble across one of the more terrorist-disrespectin' posts on my blog and start hating me personally.
But! Their demonstrated capability is to kill perhaps dozens of people at a time, once in a while, getting up into the low thousands on the rare occasion when a grand plot comes together. (I expect I could run up a bigger body count single-handed, were I so inclined. Fortunately for all concerned, that's contrary to my nature. Quoth a military acquaintance: "I'm glad you're on our side. You are on our side, aren't you?") The likelihood of J. Random American becoming a victim of terrorism is almost laughable.
The government, meanwhile, has a demonstrated capability for wreaking destruction on a massive scale; has a history of rounding up its own people; has vast surveillance systems in place; and has taken on a life of its own.
“THIS is the State above the Law.
The State exists for the State alone.”
[This is a gland at the back of the jaw,
And an answering lump by the collar-bone.]
- Kipling
See also: The Golem of Government.
Further: those currently in power in D.C. and Sacramento hate me - not personally, but as part of a group that is Not Of Their Tribe. They may not specifically plan to kill me, but they make no bones about their intention to put People Like Me in our place, with edicts backed ultimately by deadly force. And, should any of the myriad officials in either of those places be offended by one of my blog posts... well, there are so many laws and regulations that I'm almost certainly in violation of something or other. Oh, look! I have a pipe nipple, and a bag of sugar, and my Internet history shows I looked up a popular al-Qaeda publication back in April. That adds up to possessing an item and a substance with intent to construct a destructive device, no?
So, yes: the government is a vastly greater threat than the terrorists.
And furthermore: much of the damage associated with terrorism is actually caused by government overreaction, which creates large and persistent drains on the economy and destroys trust within society.
Look, an occasional bee sting won't kill you. Even a dozen bee stings in close succession won't kill you. But! If your immune system overreacts to the bee stings... your own immune system can kill you in response to a single sting.
And that, folks, is what's happening to our society. Our immune system - those functions of government set up to defend our society against threats - is instead destroying society through a series of massive and escalating overreactions over the past few decades. Whether the threat is drugs, guns, the Mafia, or terrorists... the reaction is disproportionate, destructive, and never scaled back.
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