Tannishblog

Finally, after weeks of testimonies, accusations, hearings and subpoenas, attempts at oversight and retroactive accountability, conservative bloggers have something to crow about. Two cars were found yesterday in London that were crudely rigged for detonation. This is great news for the embattled right. Now, they can get busy bolstering flagging support for a fail mission, stoking the fires of fear and strutting their ideology again. They can echo their Commander in Chief’s word about this age being the battleground for the fate of civilization itself.

Notwithstanding the fact that the two car bombs were identified and defused, were, in fact, crude and bungled attempts, supporters of Neo-Con Artistry now have "proof" of how dangerous the world is and how necessary their pre-emptive aggression. Again can they drive forward a God-given agenda of pre-Armageddon policy so they can have a front seat at The Rapture. Ahh! Sweet vindication!

Using what Al Gore would call “the language and politics of fear” to try to “drive the public agenda without regard to the evidence, the facts or the public interest,” the British Government spins it this way:

British Home Secretary Jacqui Smith said, "We’re currently facing the most serious and sustained threat to our security from international terrorism."

Meanwhile, the feeling on the street was quite different.

Some Londoners seemed unfazed by the news of the botched attacks. “It’s something you get used to, living in London,” said Andrew Fowler, a 39-year-old lawyer sipping coffee at an outdoor cafe near Piccadilly. “And given the stance our government made on the war in Iraq and elsewhere, I think we are just getting used to being a target.”

[…]

“It’s only when I got to work that I realized what was happening,” said Renee Anderson, 32, a New Zealander from her country’s nearby diplomatic mission. “I feel surprisingly all right about it. We all kind of thought, ‘Well, you could be hit by a bus anyway.’ ”

Yeah, the world is a dangerous place. Even more so since the accelerated advancement of American Economic Imperialism so nakedly perpetrated by the Bush Administration. But it’s not more dangerous than ever. London had it worse in the 1940’s, American had it worse in the 1860’s. Life goes on…

It boils down to personal choice: One can cower in fear or get on with life. As long as people advocate a "God and Country" mentality to the exclusion of responsible social politics, the world will continue to be hazardous. How to deal with that is up to you.