We See Things Differently
This blog is not about terrorism, but something was on the news today that made me fear for our country’s ability to defend itself.
As the details of the recent (alleged) terrorist arrests in NY and CO came out we also heard the warning “if you see backpacks left behind, alert the police immediately.”
This shows that we have not understood the essential lesson of 9/11: The terrorists did not care about their lives on this planet. They rode the planes in. What makes you think that this (next) round of terrorists would (will) act differently?
The best way to get a sense of this is the short story from Bruce Sterling called “We See Things Differently“. Take 10 minutes and read it. Then apply it.
Now the scary part: the fact that this warning was broadcast tells me that we have not absorbed this at the highest levels of counter-terrorism work. Either that, or the announcement is Security Theater. Both options scare me.
It’s time for you to observe and assess. Just as we see crazy things going on in Washington and we judge that they (inside the Beltway) do NOT have our interests at heart, we should be assessing our surroundings continually. Not at the “peek out from behind the curtains” level, but at the “hey–that person is acting strangely” level.
Only that attitude will help us contain the damage of the next attacks.
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