I have to be honest. If WE are attacked, I'll feel,...

[Just Me]

,...no more than I do during a thunderstorm with lighting strikes that blocks my passage to the road that leads to a grocery store.

How would you feel?

[uppityperson]

1. what?

[Selatius]

2. I would be more worried about the federal gov'ts reaction than anything

God help us all if they invoke martial law and fire up the concentration camps to deal with the "enemies."

[Bobbieo]

7. I worry about natural disasters like an earthquake -

that would prompt Bush to invoke martial law. It could happen,

[Swamp Rat]

13. If you were in New Orleans last year, you would have experienced both

at the same time.

[dorktv]

3. I'll feel...

like it is Bush's fault for sure this time.

[cry baby]

4. If you are talking about another attack in our country...

I would be beside myself with grief. I would be sad that you wouldn't be all that upset.

[pitohui]

5. i feel like i don't know what the heck you are saying

we were attacked, or don't you remember?

hello? 911, anthrax, american airlines 587 and still no one brought to justice...

you felt a great deal more than if it were a thunderstorm as did everyone else in the country

okay, so we couldn't be arsed to do anything about it, but you're not saying that it's admirable to let murder go unpunished, are you?

[silverojo]

9. I think the point of that post was,

when a country is attacked, it's only natural to want to fight back. That's why the ME is always in turmoil. The original post was making this point with sarcasm.

[pitohui]

11. ah okay

sarcasm can easily pass over my head

[Karenca]

6. If we are attacked, I wiil probably be one that dies.

I live in NYC---Anyone who wants to attack us is dreaming New York,

[Vinnie From Indy]

8. I worry about people that tell me they "have to be honest"

I always wonder if they have been lying to me in the past and that is always followed by wondering if they are lying about telling me they plan on being honest. It becomes a vicious circle.

[cynatnite]

10. I'd say 'bush is doing a hell of a job protecting us, ain't he?'...

to my mother. She's an avid bush supporter and as much as I love her, seeing the look on her face would be priceless.

[elocs]

12. Let me take a stab at this.

I have to say that living here in middle America my daily life has really not been changed at all by the events of 9/11. I mean my basic everyday, day to day life. Everyday terrible things happen here and around the world where people are killed or hurt which do not specifically impact my daily life. It does not mean that I do not feel bad by what happens or that I do not try and help how I may.

A few years ago here in the Midwest there was a kid who was driving across country and putting pipe bombs in people's mailboxes. A random act of terror which would be of more immediate concern to my personal safety than a 9/11 event in a large city. Which begs the question, why are there not more terrorists spread across this very large country committing random acts of terror? When you get your average American living in a small town or city concerned about random acts of terror because they read about them happening all the time right throughout the country where they live, then you have real terrorism and not acts of violence that happen somewhere else. Kind of like in Israel where people are never sure when they get on a bus whether it will be blown up. That is terrorism.

I may have explained this badly and I don't presume to know exactly what Just Me was trying to express, but I think I understand it a little. This is a big country and it is easy to be isolated or insulated from the results and real fear of terrorism. Where I live in Wisconsin has never had a tornado touch down. That does not mean it can never happen, but since it so far never has I don't have the same fear of a tornado as those who have experienced one and I have seen the results not far from where I live. I tend to be deeply empathetic and I feel other's pain and loss, but it is hard to personally feel the fear. I am more afraid of my government's reaction to another large act to terrorism here than I am of the actual event.

[NYC]

14. You explained yourself very well.

Welcome to DU.

[cynatnite]

15. My sister called one time to ask how much plastic and duct tape...

I was buying. I told her none. I had no reason to buy any because I was not about to live my life that way. Protecting oneself from threats is important, but they should be based on reason and logic. Not the fear that permeated every fiber of this country (thanks, mr. bush).

I explained to her that the chance of a terrorist getting to her small farm in the middle of nowhere out in Nebraska was highly unlikely. As I told her, 'you're better off making sure you have batteries for the flashlights and a working radio in the storm cellar when tornado season rolls around'.

My life is not much different than it was prior to 9/11. I fear a hell of a lot in this world, but I'm not going to allow it to control my life.

P.S. She took the plastic back to the store, but kept the duct tape. You can never have too much duct tape.