The news has been covering the concern over terrorists getting nuclear bomb capability. Recalling the threat of Russia in the early 50s, (Yes, I clearly remember the anxiety and fear that we all lived with then), I see history repeating itself....just a different cast of characters. The theme even got incorporated in the movies of the day, though I was not interested in viewing them.
If you ever wondered what a 'sitting duck' felt like, just think that someone who hates you has a tool to kill you, all the people in your city, and even more. Scary thought, right? The major accompanying memory is the utter helplessness one feels thinking about what someone can do to cause you a painful death and you are completely unprepared and without warning as to when the bomb may fall. Then, it was Russia we feared. Today, it is not even a group with which we can negotiate....we're shadow boxing.
While hysteria is being stirred up by the media outlets, one wonders whether our missile defense system is capable of protecting us, assuming someone figures out how to make the bomb from a manual off of YouTube or something similar. We Americans fear the threat as well as many other countries who could also be targeted. England fears that it will be most vulnerable via a small boat on the Thames as a means of carrying a bomb upstream. It is this fear that can make everyone unable to focus on the future and settle on a white knuckled present. For more detail, click here.
One has to imagine how crippling the fear can become and how it stifles people's ability to feel safe and normal.. Little energy remains for creativity and future orientation. Some people, like the Londoners after the train bombings, can put the fear out of their minds and go back on the trains and about their business, while others are numbed into inaction by their fears of that over which they have no control.
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