THE CURMUDGEON CHRONICLE #208

THE CURMUDGEON CHRONICLE ©

AN IRREVERENT VIEW


Time Line: July 2, 2007
Date Line: Flemington New Jersey

It is true that even a paranoid may have real enemies; it does not follow that all his fears and perceptions are real. The difference between fear and paranoia is the difference between rational and irrational concern.

Overreaction resulting from irrational fear has been pervasive in our country since 9/11. While that attack was heinous and unforgivable it is not a reasonable basis for the suspension of basic civil rights; arrogation of power by the executive branch; and relinquishment of its functions by the legislature. Unless your name is Halliburton it is not a basis for condoning the waste of billions of dollars of public funds to fight a paranoid’s war.

Countries have dealt with the equivalent of 9/11 in a more rational manner than we have. The UK lived through the IRA’s terrorist activities but did not incarcerate Irish people for years without proof of wrongdoing. The UK never suspended freedom of speech, or established Gulags in other jurisdictions. It also never forgot for a moment the threat from the IRA, but kept it in perspective. What the UK did (and is doing now with the current threat) is deal with it as a problem to solve rationally.

On the other hand, we have been led by unreasoned fear, fostered by political opportunists, to accept fundamental changes to our rights and lives; buying into paranoia as the basis for our reactions. There are enemies out there, but they are not under every rock or behind every tree. By allowing paranoia to consume us we have paid no attention to the things that have been taken from us by those who sell unreasoned fear as the product of the moment.

As I look at the record it seems (forgive my paranoia) that the political party in power has intentionally kept us concerned and unsafe in order to continue to market fear as the basis for selection of our leaders.

Every month more grist is fed into the mill. Our ports are still insecure; our borders are porous; our armed forces are losing a nonsensical fight; there are terrorist attacks daily in Iraq, and on and on. The latest bomb attempts in London and Glasgow are gifts to the administration who will now claim success for their activities because “it didn’t happen here.”

Americans must be aware that 9/11 is symptomatic and not unique. Terrorism is not new and will always be with us in one form or another. We can guard against some of the potential risks and increase our defensive capabilities through technology and police work. If you want to be free of that fear, move to a desert island if you can find one.

What should concern us is the state of our constitutional guarantees and our rights as citizens. We should fear and protect against any threat to those crucial matters. We are citizens, not consumers or statistical ciphers for manipulation in marketing schemes; production rationalization; corporate share prices, or the election of those who only care about themselves and their backers.

We are responsible for our country’s economy, social health, and the education of our children. We can stop abdicating those responsibilities to people who do not carry our mandates but participate in the game of greed played from Washington to Anchorage and back again. That threat touches every part of our lives and I fear it. It is not limited to indiscriminate outsourcing of our jobs.

Your heating bill is up this year because of the activity of hedge funds that bought most of the natural gas contracts for delivery in 2006- 2007, driving prices up for no reason related to supply of natural gas. Those “funds” couldn’t care less about the effect on consumers. For them it is the gains from the gamble that count.

At the end of the cycle there will be a few more $20,000,000 mansions built in the Hamptons or Greenwich and a lot of personal misery for people who had to pay 50% more for fuel than they should.

The theme for these comments is an attempt to differentiate between fear and paranoia. If I thought we could never ameliorate the effects of the greed game I would be paranoid about every corporation that tries to sell me toothpicks or Viagra.

I doubt that I would ever be paranoid about terrorism. I fear the possibility of attack but I know that the likelihood of an attack is far less than the probability of the game of greed eroding my way of life.

Howard Stamer