The Chicago Tribune editorial board thinks we, the general public, are a bunch of ungrateful sacks when it comes to foiled terrorist plots. From Monday’s editorial, “Another fuse, unlit”:
Lovely weekend, wasn’t it? Sunny, warm, just beachy. Oh, and federal authorities say they’ve foiled another nascent terror plot against the U.S. — this time for October or November suicide bombings of the transit tunnels that bind New Jersey to Manhattan. Ho-hum. Say, Taste of Chicago ended Sunday, right?
…When agencies that specialize in the dark arts do catch terror schemes early — before, that is, victims die — many Americans dismiss those achievements. As if to say: We’re just not into attacks that didn’t occur. Um, glad you did your jobs.
…It’s peculiar that so many Americans have grown nonchalant about this nation’s current enemies.
Feeling insulted yet?
These are some pretty broad generalities fueling the Trib’s finger-wagging. I’m not sure which Americans have given the impression that we no longer care if buildings do or do not explode around us. Perhaps the Tribune editorial board could give us a few pointers as to how we should express our gratitude. Clearly the first thing would be notifying the Tribune.
Yesterday, a day dominated by the horrific headlines from India’s train bombings, the subway train I usually take home derailed and caught fire in the tunnel. If I’d left work five minutes earlier, I would’ve been on it, and the worried phone call I received from my parents after the news broke would’ve gone a lot differently. As I walked unaware to another subway line, passing hoards of firefighters, EMTs and police officers, my imagination ran pretty wild. I know I wasn’t alone, and sadly enough, an overactive imagination is not unwarranted these days.
Nonchalant? Ho-hum? Be serious. Save the sanctimony for an axe that really needs grinding.