Christopher Preble on the Politicians Who Scare You
As predictably as falling leaves and longer nights, the end of October brings children disguised as pretend ghosts and goblins, and politicians whipping up fears of supposedly real ones. Democrats air spooky commercials alleging a war on women, on the poor, on teachers, on unions. Republicans speak of Islamic extremists poised to achieve world domination, or of terrorists wielding an Ebola weapon in the United States. Both sides share the same message: the world is uniquely dangerous, and we're here to keep you safe, but, writes Christopher Preble, we could all use a little perspective.