For our first four years here in South Bend, we purchased candy to hand out to trick or treaters. In each of those years, not one child rang our doorbell. This is more than amazing since we have 7 school-aged children on our block.
This year we decided not to waste the money. We've purchased no candy and, as night falls, no child has appeared on our doorstep.
In the small communities of South Bend and Raymond, children trick or treat at downtown businesses, not at people's homes in neighborhoods. More than one person has told me that the reason for this is that we live in "scary" times and parents simply don't feel comfortable having their kids knock on strange doors.
The interesting thing about this sentiment is that violent crime is way down across the board. In North Pacific County, violent crime is almost nonexistent. There are almost no reported rapes, assaults or murders in any given year. (The most prevalent crimes are car theft and property crimes.)
Consequently, the nation, in general, and our area, in specific, are far safer now than they were a decade ago...but the fear factor is higher. Why is everybody so afraid?
The answer is disquieting, to say the least. Our government and the mouthpieces in the mainstream media work very diligently to keep us on edge. They constantly tell us we NEED to be afraid. People are out to get us, we're told over and over again, so we must be forever on guard.
By keeping us scared, they are trying to insure we feel isolated and that we don't reach out to others in our communities. Frightened masses are easier to control and control is the name of the game.
And that's why Halloween has turned more into a scarier specter for parents than it ever was for children!
This year we decided not to waste the money. We've purchased no candy and, as night falls, no child has appeared on our doorstep.
In the small communities of South Bend and Raymond, children trick or treat at downtown businesses, not at people's homes in neighborhoods. More than one person has told me that the reason for this is that we live in "scary" times and parents simply don't feel comfortable having their kids knock on strange doors.
The interesting thing about this sentiment is that violent crime is way down across the board. In North Pacific County, violent crime is almost nonexistent. There are almost no reported rapes, assaults or murders in any given year. (The most prevalent crimes are car theft and property crimes.)
Consequently, the nation, in general, and our area, in specific, are far safer now than they were a decade ago...but the fear factor is higher. Why is everybody so afraid?
The answer is disquieting, to say the least. Our government and the mouthpieces in the mainstream media work very diligently to keep us on edge. They constantly tell us we NEED to be afraid. People are out to get us, we're told over and over again, so we must be forever on guard.
By keeping us scared, they are trying to insure we feel isolated and that we don't reach out to others in our communities. Frightened masses are easier to control and control is the name of the game.
And that's why Halloween has turned more into a scarier specter for parents than it ever was for children!
Before the baroness says: ensure not insure.
ReplyDeleteFully agree there is a dedicated attempt to instill fear. All for control and making petiole feel they need that mafia protection called government.
Ha ha. That's what you get for being a grammar nit. People not petiole
ReplyDeleteI would probably recast the sentence to say...by keeping us scared, they succeed in isolating us....
ReplyDeleteI'm on the road, stuck in a hotel in LAX because of a missed connection due to mechanical failure...but the iPad still lets me do this!
This trip is sure to inspire a post about the Tao of Traveling.
Definitely a true phenomenon. I wrote an essay on fear and its effect on us for my creative writing class. I think I'll post it.
ReplyDeletehttp://kaiwenboke.blogspot.com/2011/11/fear.html