I remember the day after the bombing of Oklahoma City, I was at the Y. Two guys near me discussed loudly how likely it was that the government (read, “Democrats”) had blown up the building as a pretext to a coming fascist movement. I could only listen to so much of this madness before I said they were nuts. One of the two virtually exploded on the spot, pounding the adjacent stairmaster. “Do you want to take this outside?!,” he bellowed in rage. No thanks.
After he calmed down a bit, he sought me out to help me see the coming threat. “You see those little cameras above the traffic lights?” I felt sorry for him at that point, a little less afraid of him.
This guy was no liberal wacko. I doubt he voted for Kerry 9 years later. But he probably hates the Patriot Act even more than I do. Common ground in uncommon places.
Oklahoma City showed us the correct response — what we didn’t get right after 9/11. After OK City, we got the perpetrators (some of them). We did NOT turn the country into a frightened fortress. I still think the greatest threat is within. mjh