Bears! 0
Pamela Druckerman remembers vacationing in the Smokies and her fear of bears, even though no bear ever threatened her. That leads her to wonder why so many Americans seem scared of everything all the time. Here’s a bit (emphasis added); follow the link for the rest.
Americans didn’t invent this narrative, but we’ve embraced it with a special fervor. Never mind that owning a gun makes you less safe; we like the story that says we’re protecting our families. Never mind the enormous drops in homicide, robbery and other violence. We cling to the story that the world has become more dangerous.
The hero story also seeps into American politics. Why are many Republican presidential candidates obsessed with undocumented immigrants? They’re inventing a monster that threatens America, then promising to rescue us. Donald J. Trump has Mexicans; I have bears.
