Fear and Loathing in the United States
Really? People thought that would keep them from being irradiated by the bomb? It’s what the experts told them to do, so they did it. Naively and as it turns out, totally unnecessarily. Still, the fear was directed at an inanimate object that left a haze of uncertainty, but not one that any person had control of.
Everything else in the 1950s was relatively rosy. White people didn’t mix with black people and vice versa. Most people had a job that they expected to keep for as long as their working lives lasted, and that job would take care of them with a pension, so that they could enjoy sitting in their Lazy Boy with Archie Bunker kingliness. The average white person in much of America wasn’t threatened by anything that was different. People knew their neighbors and felt secure in their homes. Doors remained unlocked. All people had to worry about was ducking and covering when the flash came. Most likely that flash would come from a botched rocket launch, though there was the possibility that the Soviet Union could unleash atomic war on the world. (America was the first nation to use the bomb; oftentimes people accuse others of what they themselves are guilty.)
Brezhnev and Reagan took that fear up a notch, the Cold War directed American fear and hatred at the Commies in the Soviet Union because that was the country that enough missiles, enough manpower and enough macho bravado to use them. Besides, “Red Dawn” is a much cooler movie name than “Yellow Dawn” or however, the U.S. characterized the Chinese at the time. To the outside world, the Soviet Union looked affluent enough to match the United States in defense spending. The U.S.S.R. was a worthy opponent and a real political and ideological threat.
This outside fear happened at a time when America was integrating more. Gone were the schools of only one color – at least, theoretically. White people were afraid of their property values declining as black people moved into more affluent neighborhoods, and for the first time in forever, everyone was left with a real neutron bomb in the form of Jack Welch.
The much lauded CEO came into GE and, during the holiday season, cut the fat from one of the most profitable companies in the world. With GE in the lead, other companies found themselves firing, or “laying off,” people even if the company was experiencing good times. Not only did this force Americans to work longer hours out of fear of losing their jobs, it also forced them to worry about losing their jobs and their pensions.
With job security dead, every day became the question of where the next meal was going to come from. Even if the family had a good income, one misstep could land them in the poorhouse, (which in America is a euphemism; there aren’t any real poorhouses any more just shelters). Divorces rates sky-rocketed, and there was no longer any family security. Reagan was able to contain this fear and direct it at the Commie threat abroad but that threat crumbled under Reagan’s massive defense spending. That left Americans with only one enemy – each other.
With no country to point to as a real enemy – after all, by this time China owned a large part of the U.S. debt – leaders were left to point at groups of people that were different from mainstream America, and to be clear, mainstream meant anyone not white or male. Feminism took a hit, but in the end, it was the Muslims with their “strange dress” and 5 times a day praying that made the easiest target. Women covering themselves and men bowing their heads to the ground are just far enough away from the American way to be reviled as different, unknown and threatening. While a white person was responsible for the Oklahoma City bombing, it was the attack on the World Trade Center, symbol of capitalism, that sparked the fire of fear in Americans.
Americans came together to face the tragedy. For one, brief shining moment, America was united. Then, with George W. Bush at the helm, America was torn asunder. He pointed his fingers at the Muslims and said that America had to fear Saddam Hussein with his weapons of mass destruction hidden in the desert. With that lie, not only did the authorities lose all credibility, but also Americans could no longer know when or where they were safe. Terrorists were lurking behind every rock, around every corner and most certainly in every mosque waiting to blow you, your family, and themselves up for the greater glory of Allah.
While many Americans believe that Muslims are dark-skinned, the problem with using Muslims as the target of fear is that anyone can be a Muslim. Anyone can worship Allah. Anyone can convert to Islam. This makes everyone a suspect. When people can accuse the president of the United States of being a “secret” Muslim, there is no place that is safe enough to hide from the threat. There is only fear. As this fear grows, it becomes paranoia until people, police officers included, start to perceive normally mundane situations as life threatening. That’s when the shooting starts, and it won’t stop until we can find a way to release our unfounded fears.
Everything else in the 1950s was relatively rosy. White people didn’t mix with black people and vice versa. Most people had a job that they expected to keep for as long as their working lives lasted, and that job would take care of them with a pension, so that they could enjoy sitting in their Lazy Boy with Archie Bunker kingliness. The average white person in much of America wasn’t threatened by anything that was different. People knew their neighbors and felt secure in their homes. Doors remained unlocked. All people had to worry about was ducking and covering when the flash came. Most likely that flash would come from a botched rocket launch, though there was the possibility that the Soviet Union could unleash atomic war on the world. (America was the first nation to use the bomb; oftentimes people accuse others of what they themselves are guilty.)
Brezhnev and Reagan took that fear up a notch, the Cold War directed American fear and hatred at the Commies in the Soviet Union because that was the country that enough missiles, enough manpower and enough macho bravado to use them. Besides, “Red Dawn” is a much cooler movie name than “Yellow Dawn” or however, the U.S. characterized the Chinese at the time. To the outside world, the Soviet Union looked affluent enough to match the United States in defense spending. The U.S.S.R. was a worthy opponent and a real political and ideological threat.
This outside fear happened at a time when America was integrating more. Gone were the schools of only one color – at least, theoretically. White people were afraid of their property values declining as black people moved into more affluent neighborhoods, and for the first time in forever, everyone was left with a real neutron bomb in the form of Jack Welch.
The much lauded CEO came into GE and, during the holiday season, cut the fat from one of the most profitable companies in the world. With GE in the lead, other companies found themselves firing, or “laying off,” people even if the company was experiencing good times. Not only did this force Americans to work longer hours out of fear of losing their jobs, it also forced them to worry about losing their jobs and their pensions.
With job security dead, every day became the question of where the next meal was going to come from. Even if the family had a good income, one misstep could land them in the poorhouse, (which in America is a euphemism; there aren’t any real poorhouses any more just shelters). Divorces rates sky-rocketed, and there was no longer any family security. Reagan was able to contain this fear and direct it at the Commie threat abroad but that threat crumbled under Reagan’s massive defense spending. That left Americans with only one enemy – each other.
With no country to point to as a real enemy – after all, by this time China owned a large part of the U.S. debt – leaders were left to point at groups of people that were different from mainstream America, and to be clear, mainstream meant anyone not white or male. Feminism took a hit, but in the end, it was the Muslims with their “strange dress” and 5 times a day praying that made the easiest target. Women covering themselves and men bowing their heads to the ground are just far enough away from the American way to be reviled as different, unknown and threatening. While a white person was responsible for the Oklahoma City bombing, it was the attack on the World Trade Center, symbol of capitalism, that sparked the fire of fear in Americans.
Americans came together to face the tragedy. For one, brief shining moment, America was united. Then, with George W. Bush at the helm, America was torn asunder. He pointed his fingers at the Muslims and said that America had to fear Saddam Hussein with his weapons of mass destruction hidden in the desert. With that lie, not only did the authorities lose all credibility, but also Americans could no longer know when or where they were safe. Terrorists were lurking behind every rock, around every corner and most certainly in every mosque waiting to blow you, your family, and themselves up for the greater glory of Allah.
While many Americans believe that Muslims are dark-skinned, the problem with using Muslims as the target of fear is that anyone can be a Muslim. Anyone can worship Allah. Anyone can convert to Islam. This makes everyone a suspect. When people can accuse the president of the United States of being a “secret” Muslim, there is no place that is safe enough to hide from the threat. There is only fear. As this fear grows, it becomes paranoia until people, police officers included, start to perceive normally mundane situations as life threatening. That’s when the shooting starts, and it won’t stop until we can find a way to release our unfounded fears.