war fear tampa tom cuba

Opinion Thomas R. Cuba: The State Of Fear

By Thomas R. Cuba, Ph.D.

A few days ago, we all recalled where we were and what we were doing when the Jihad attacked New York and the Pentagon.  Shortly thereafter, on September 14th, our nation declared a “War on Terror.” 

With the bombing of the Boston Marathon in 2015, America knew that the September 11th attack was not an isolated incident.  The reality, however, is that the Jihad had been waging a war on the United States and all of Western Civilization for decades. 

There was the 1972 Olympics, the 1985 hijacking of the Achille Lauro, and the bombing of TWA flight 840 in 1986, to name only a few.  In fact, between 1970 and 2000, more than 600 attacks have been carried out every year.  None of which, however, were conducted in the United States and only a very few made headlines.  What was different in 2001 was our response.

Our war on terror was largely defensive at first.  While Operation Desert Storm was undertaken in 1991, well before the declaration of the War on Terror, it was done so in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait.  It was not until 2003 that the United States took the offensive overseas.

The defense was played out largely within our borders.  Almost immediately, security checkpoints popped up in airports, bus stations, cruise line terminals, and our schools.  Previously open access to City Hall was converted into a slow process of individual and painstakingly long inspection. 

Sports and music venues followed suit.  And the situation grew worse and worse as time went on.  In 2019, I was denied admission to a burger joint because I carried a pocket knife.  Last month, I volunteered to speak at the local high school and was told that I would need a background check in order to be admitted. 

The fact is that every time we see a checkpoint, we are reminded that we are supposed to be afraid.  We are constantly reminded that were are in constant danger.

The most recent evolution of fear has come during the past 18 months.  We have been quite literally smothered with the fear of; COVID, Variants of COVID, untested medicines, side effects, blood clots, secondary effects, Vaccine Passports, the ban on Vaccine Passports, masks, the ban on masks, mandates, the lack of mandates, lockdowns, super-spreader events, government corruption, China, Russia, Uncontrolled Immigration, Over-controlled immigration. 

Most recently, there is the danger that the vaccinated people pose to the non-vaccinated as well as the danger that the non-vaccinated people pose to the vaccinated.  And let us not forget to mention break-through cases and booster shots.  We had all but forgotten about ISIS-K, Al Quaieda, Al Shabob, The Taliban until the whole War on Terror fell apart on August 31st.

Through it all, the War on Terror has become a War of Terror.  The actual terror in America, if there is any, comes from Washington itself.  The government is telling us that in order to be safe we need to succumb to warrantless searches and invasions of our world. 

We are told that the government needs to do this because the next guy in line might possibly be a bad guy or a sick guy.  There is no question that those in government genuinely want to protect us.  The question is why we need to be afraid in order for them to do so.

I am personally largely unafraid of any of these things.  But I do have a fear.  I fear a perpetual State of Fear.  I fear an American future that my grandkids will have to live in because I didn’t do enough to protect it from itself.

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About The Author: Thomas R. Cuba, Ph.D.

Raised a simple Missouri farm boy, Tom managed to attend a British Prep School before commencing a college career that would culminate in a Doctorate Degree in Marine Ecology.  He also served as an Intelligence Officer in the U.S. Navy, and as a scoutmaster, SCUBA instructor, Wilderness Survival Instructor, and Firearms Instructor.

Tom has worked as an ecologist in both government and private practice, as well as a freelance nature photographer and computer programmer.

Now, a father and grandfather, Tom offers life lessons in the form of stories about the challenges people face and conquer as well as socio-political essays.  To that end, his first lesson is always his favorite quote.  “Failure is the whetstone of success.” ~ T. Leith Rettie, 1884.

You can read more from Tom on his site by clicking here

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