Operation Fear

I'm turning into my mother. It's not a bad thing. It's just a thing. I spent Sunday afternoon cleaning up my apartment while "catching up on Oprah" - that is, watching all the dvr'd episodes from the week that I usually don't have time to watch. I was down to Friday's episode when at about fifteen minutes in, the program was interrupted by Diane Sawyer and a special ABC News Report regarding the terrorist packages sent from Yemen. I groaned. This must be big: it was big enough for the President to read a special statement about the situation; it was big enough to interrupt Oprah when millions of people were watching. Lots of women were watching, housewives probably. No, I'll cast a wider net and just say lots of family types plus some were watching. You know, hard working every day tax-paying American citizens.

My first thought was to wonder what is really going on? Why all of a sudden did President Obama (or his team of advisors) find it necessary to interrupt Oprah when I'm positive terrorists threats from all over the world happen EVERY DAY and the government and the media keep us happily in the dark. Why this?

Why now? That question isn't even rhetorical. It's the same old bit they use for every occasion to get the American public on board with shenanigans, or distract them from shenanigans - instill a sense of fear.

My dad fusses with me always because I don't keep up like I should with current events, particularly politics. It is a fault. I do think it's important to be informed, but I used to think watching the news and reading the newspaper was something that only grown ups did. I don't think I've quite come to terms with being a grown up.

Back to my point: this country operates on fear. It's a horrible four letter word that the government and the media thrives on making us all pawns in the game. Prime example: Remember Y2K? When the world was going to come to an end because the computers weren't ready for the turn of the century? The media had people buying all the toilet paper in the grocery store, and for what? Absolutely nothing. So then I have to ask, what was really going on then? Why then at that moment was it necessary to start a national fear-filled frenzy?

I'm generally not a conspiracy theorist. I'm not informed enough to be one. I'd have to do my thorough research to put together a fully formed thought about it. But I do smell a rat when it's dead and stinking.

And interrupting my Oprah stinks.