A friend of mine asked in response to this entry:

What is the media trying to make everybody afraid of?

Originally I was going to respond as a comment, but as I kept typing, I realised that it might just make a halfway decent blog entry.

So here goes – my take on a mostly volatile topic:

Fear is a very powerful emotion. Which means that if you can get someone to feel fear, you have their attention. This is the same concept exploited in horror movies.

So by causing a feeling of fear, perceived or real, the media has our attention. And that’s their job. To get your attention. And mine. This is what brings them money. They’re in the business of attracting attention.

I don’t know what agenda or motive they might have (beyond $$’s), but I don’t think it matters. What does matter to me, is that I am tired of the continual attempts to evoke this emotion from us, regardless of the reason behind it.

Sure, there’s legitimate times when fear is warranted – real news stories, etc. But the concept of an actual “war on terror” is a joke, if you ask me. Most actions end up being knee-jerk reactions designed to placate the public, or to show that “we are in control” somehow.

Shrug. I’ll stop now and get off my soapbox. 🙂