Nothing to fear but fear itself

By Chris Cavagnaro

Al-Qaida's greatest accomplishment is that we all still live in fear.

Since Sept. 11, there have been no substantial terrorist attacks on American soil. Al-Qaida has made several attempts, but those have been thwarted primarily by the efforts of American intelligence agencies.

But American citizens and our government are still scared to death.

Last week, Boston was practically shut down because nine "suspicious" packages were reported throughout the city. Freeways were blocked off, mass transit was frozen and portions of the Charles River were closed in an effort to protect the public.

But an investigation revealed the contents of the packages to be light boards for an advertising campaign for the Cartoon Network show "Aqua Teen Hunger Force." It seems officials were concerned that the electronic signs with images of a moon-man might be explosive devices.

No actual threat existed. Boston officials overreacted and, as a result, the city was stuck in gridlock.

One often hears the argument that in the post-9/11 world, dealing with massive delays is the price to pay for safety. This logic is especially evident in airports, where waiting for two hours to get through security is commonplace.

This culture of fear has changed our society for the worse.

Americans are much more xenophobic since 9/11, and our government is ready to build walls along our borders. We have constructed detention facilities at Guantanamo Bay, where prisoners are given no right to council, no day in court and are interrogated with questionable techniques such as water boarding and induced hypothermia -- all in the name of national security.

Moreover, the culture of fear has affected the way we respond to crisis. Sept. 11 left a huge scar on the American psyche, and the Boston scare is evidence of that. If this is how we are going to respond to security threats, how will we react when the next 9/11 occurs?

The greatest enemy we face in the war on terror is fear -- and the people capable of doing the most harm to the U.S. are ourselves.

This culture of fear must be resisted. While it may be a natural societal reaction to an external threat, a culture of fear is not necessary to successfully fight the war on terror. We must resist the temptations of xenophobia, racial profiling and the indefinite restriction of civil liberties. What will take real bravery on the part of American citizens is continuing to champion human rights and civil liberties in the face of terrorism. Succumbing to our fears is taking the easy way out, and adopting draconian measures to fight terror is nothing but another victory for Al-Qaida.

Chris Cavagnaro is a senior political science major.