The Fear and Insecurity Industry

Speaking of breaking our addictions, how about our society's addiction to scaring itself silly with over-hyped movie-plot threats and bioterrorism risk maps? According to the map, I live in a medium risk zone ... should I be moving to Montana soon? How do these risk levels compare to the level of risk my family faces from reckless and/or drunk drivers on I-25? Or to the risk that an otherwise solidly patriotic food company sends botulism-tainted green beans or E. coli-infected ground beef to the pantry of my kid's daycare? Or to the risk that a uranium mine in my neighborhood turns into another Love Canal? Or to the risk that my low-income neighbors face because they can't afford health care and preventative diagnosis and treatment? If the risk of bioterrorism is actually greater than, or even equal to, the risk of these more mundane, everyday, and reducible threats, I'll eat my hat.