You know, I was lying in bed last night thinking about the anniversary of 9/11 which is today. And as I was thinking, some very interesting thoughts came to me that I decided I wanted to share.

These days there's a statement echoing across the airwaves, TV, news papers, media etc... and it asks, "How safe are we?"

Of course it means since the events of 9/11, but the more I thought about it, the more it seemed like a meaningless question. I promise, I'll explain.

You see, back then, we weren't "safe" supposedly. But were we EVER really safe? I mean, what is safe? If safe means that we are safe from all harm, well it's a lie. No one is ever safe from all harm. I mean planes, cars, buses, boats, trains and most other forms of transportation, they can always be capable of crashing, sinking, or derailing. They can only be "so safe" and no safer.

People will always commit crimes like rape, assault and murder... are we safe from those? We can't ever be completely safe from people who are bent on doing us harm.

You aren't even necessarily safe if you just stay in your own home. It can be broken into, it can catch fire or blow up, you can trip and fall and get hurt. And walking on foot isn't safe either, you could get run over, trip and fall, etc.

So what is this concept of SAFE?

Well as I thought about it, I realized the word we need isn't the word safe. It's the word aware, or watchful, or ready.

Are we more aware of dangers that lurk since 9/11? I'd have to say yes. Are we more watchful, more alert? Ready for action more than we used to be? Again, I\ufffdd have to say yes. We can never truly be safe from all harm. That just isn't in the cards. But we can strive to be safer, yes, SAFER. And we do that by being alert, by noticing when something is out of place, by watching more carefully at night when out alone. We can do that by locking our cars and houses, installing alarms, not leaving our children unattended in cars, or our keys in the ignition.

We can make ourselves be safer by our actions. That is what 9/11 should have taught us all, that we are a large part of what keeps us safe. Yes, God watches over those who believe in him, and He also keeps us safe, but even God wants us to be careful and alert and watchful.

The terrorists want us to be one of two things. They either want us to be terrorized all the time and afraid to live our lives, or they want us to be lulled into a false sense of security and believe we are untouchable. Neither is the answer.

The answer to this is to live our lives, but live them while being more alert and aware of our surroundings. Feel safer, but never get the idea that nothing can touch you. Feel protected, set up measures of protection but always remember to not believe they are infallible.

The American people are safer since the attacks of 5 years ago. Safer than before, maybe, safer than way back, most certainly. But we're not just safer because the Homeland Security is watching out for us, or because of all the security measures that are now in place. We're safer because we are AWARE that this can happen again, and we are READY for it.

Years ago this concept would have terrified me, as I was someone who was terrorized for many months after 9/11. But now I recognize that the concept is simply the realization that we can make ourselves safer by our actions.

So remember. Mourn if you need to, cry if you want to, don't ever forget the victims of 9/11...

But always stay aware.

Brenda

Basically, if you're all scared and worried, then congratulations - that's exactly how Shrub, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Rove and the rest of the neocons want you to be. And don't forget to vote a straight Republican ticket this coming November; otherwise, the terrorists will have won. ;-)

I hope that wasn't the impression my post gave, that I'm all scared and worried. Not at all. In fact, I was shocked to discover that I wasn't even slightly jumpy today, as I expected to be. I even left my house and went about my life today, which is something I've avoided doing in the past on this date.

That's what my post was about, making the point that I am no safer really than I was on 9/11/01, other than being more aware about my safety. And that was neat to discover, because I didn't spend the day looking up into the sky, and worrying. In fact, I never once looked up for a plane. Coming from me, after my traumatic reactions in the past, I was impressed.

Oh and in regards to voting a straight ticket, even if I wanted to, I couldn't, because Missouri passed a law eliminating all straight ticket voting. ;)

Brenda

I didn't say we were safer because of anything the government did.

I tried to expain that we are safer now because we have had our eyes opened and know there is danger. Sure, there was always danger, from everywhere, not just from terrorists, we just weren't as aware of that and weren't taking the steps to keep ourselves safe. Like someone said, many relied on the government to keep us safe, or the local authorities.

They still play a role, but the reason I said we are safer is because we are more aware today, "i.e. Yes it can happen to us" and we take steps to watch out for ourselves and our fellow men.

Yes, Katrina was a catastrophe, and people weren't safe from it, but at least in some areas we all pulled together to help them. In St. Louis when we had the blackout, that wasn't safe for everyone either, but we all worked to see that one another was safe and unhurt and had what they needed.

Quite simply my point was we are safer now because we are more aware and watchful, not because there are less attacks, I know there are more.
We as individuals just have a higher tendency now to guard ourselves and our lives more effectively on a day to day level.

Edit: I just thought of a better way to say it. Every catastrophe that we experience, whether it be natural, manmade or planned and carried out, teaches us a little more about what to do to stay safer. Maybe that will help explain what I'm trying to get across.

Brenda

We have NEVER been safe, not completely, because it's not something we or anyone else have any control of.

But we can keep ourselves safer by taking better care of ourselves, and using the information we gain to help protect us and watch out for ourselves.

So I was trying to say, (sarcastically, without actually saying it), that the concept of "safe" is an illusion, and all I was saying is the only measure of control you have about safety is how safe you make things for yourself, not how safe you ARE in any given country, state or city. And that still isn't SAFE because it doesn't exist.

Other people in other groups got that I was trying to be sarcastic, or something like that, but I somehow failed to get it across here. Sorry about that.

One more example and then I'll surrender, I guess, since you still seem to think I'm talking only about being safe from terrorism, which wasn't my point. All the terrorism concept did was put the phrase in my head over the past few days, which was when I realized it was a meaningless phrase and why.

Here's my example: I fell down the basement stairs twice in the dark during the St. Louis Blackout. Luckily, I wasn't hurt too badly. However, I learned from that experience, and we found a flashlight that I can wear around my neck now when I have to carry things down the stairs in a blackout, that points at the stairs so I can see them.

That is what my point was trying to be. If something happens that teaches you you aren't prepared enough for it, or aren't as safe as you could be, you learn to adapt to be better prepared and better protected if you can.

In short, the concept of being safe is indeed an illusion that the government created, when in fact no one can ever be truly safe from all harm. It's something they have tried to sell us, but I'm not buying it. ;)

Brenda

I think part of the reason why you weren't understood is that you're mixing up several issues. There's the issue of relative risk. There's the issue of personal awareness of one's environment. There's the issue of our government's actions and inactions. Lumping them all in a discussion of whether one is "safe" invites misunderstanding.

I see that now. I was only using the 9/11 phrase we've heard for days, "How Safe Are We?" because it was what struck the lightbulb in my head that here our Government is promising us we can be safe, when no Government has that sort of power to keep every single person in the US from all harm. Granted, they were probably only talking about safe from terrorism, but I was struck by the word "safe" and found it to be one of those meaningless words that The Tyranny Of Words describes, and Ashton loves to explain. That's when it hit me that we can never truly be safe, only safer, and usually by our own design, not by relying on others. Sorry for the confusion.

I don't think that 9/11 or Katrina made most of us change our thinking about personal safety too much.

It made me change mine, in a sense. It made me realize how UNSAFE we were in some cases, and how just relying on the Government was not the answer, and I'm proud to state that I coped fairly well with the blackout in St. Louis because I was prepared up to a point. And the things I learned that I was unprepared about, I've since remedied when possible. :)

Something else that you might want to look into is some [link|http://electrical.hardwarestore.com/13-41-night-lights/moon-light-5-1-2--620668.aspx|Moon Lights] - they're battery operated, and you won't need to remember to have a flashlight with you.

I'll check it out, thanks!

Brenda