Are we safe?
Do I feel safe?
Yes and no.
There is a perception of security that is designed to give us the “Yes, I feel safe” aura. But is that feeling real? There are fears used to make us feel that, “No, I don?’t feel safe.” But is that feeling real?
In my life, which has been fairly long, I have seen citizens of the developed world increasingly give up the rational management of risk to others. We give up our own skills of understanding the realities of life to governments, corporations, friends or families and pay huge costs for that perception of security. Are we safer today?
In my working life, I watched the increasing need for rules that require the signing of pieces of paper to ensure we are safe. Did any of these prevent risk?
We pour billions of tax dollars into solving risks. Did the Department of Homeland Security save us from random acts of violence?
For a number of years, I have visited a local public school, and each time I was required to buzz in and explain who I was and why I was there. Could a terrible act of violence have happened at this school?
Each day, we readily give up our resources to feel safe, or to protect ourselves from fear. Is it worth it?
Powerful groups lobby for more government spending to give us the perception of security. How much money can we afford to spend?
Has the War on Drugs been worth it?
Has the Department of Homeland Security been worth it?
Has trillions of dollars and the destruction of other countries been worth it?
The problem is us. We the people need to think and act in a responsible manner. Government and corporations in general do not tend be responsible, but self-serving. Can we learn to control them?
Risk management is a real skill and needs to be taught. Price performance is a real skill and needs to be taught. Social responsibility is a real skill and needs to be taught.
John Andrews
Jefferson