Are You Terrorized?

I was reading an article today about evidence obtained by the US government suggesting possible terrorist attacks at American schools and it caused me to recall how many other articles and news reports in recent months have warned us of imminent danger.

Who can forget the ruckus surrounding the discovery of detailed plans for an attack on several East Coast financial districts.

I certainly understand and advocate caution in these potentially perilous times, but consider these recent headlines from FoxNews Online:

•FBI, DHS Offer Way to Protect U.S. Schools

•FBI: Al Qaeda May Target VA Hospitals

•Truck Bombs Favored in Terrorists' Arsenal

•Feds: Copters, Limos May Be Terror Weapons

•Sources: More Targets Cited by Al Qaeda

•FBI, DHS Warn of Transport Threats

•FBI: Al Qaeda May Recruit non-Arabs for U.S. Attacks

•Coast Guard: Speedboat Attacks Possible

•Feds: Al Qaeda Plans to 'Hit the U.S. Hard'

It seems to me if the goal of the terrorist is to terrorize, then how many of us are now terrified of speedboats, trucks, copters and limosines? How many of us are afraid to visit a VA Hospital or to send our children to school? Granted this is not a new argument but it does no harm to revisit it. The question is; at what point does the media saturation of every conceivable potential threat begin to serve no purpose save to increase our level of stress and fear?

And who, besides the terrorists, benefits from that?