Word: panic
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...That said, Americans are not allowing their concerns to spiral into panic; poll numbers show a considerably calmer nation than even one month ago. Only one in five now say they have purchased or have considered purchasing bottled water or extra food in preparation for another attack, versus 33 percent in mid-October. Thirteen percent say they have bought or considered buying a gun or rifle, down from 20 percent in October, and six percent have thought about getting a gas mask, down from 12 percent in October...
...then there is the basic problem that the moment we are in contradicts itself. We are under attack yet are told not to panic; we sense that everything has changed but are told to do what we did before, as though ignoring the threat is a patriotic duty. The tension embedded in this task is reflected in the White House as it argues about what tone a deeply worried but naturally optimistic President ought to set. Even as the national security team works to confront the new threat, political operative Karl Rove serves as the West Wing's unofficial Secretary...
...close look at the sequence of events leading up to Curseen's and Morris's deaths reveals several points at which authorities could have recognized the risk to postal workers and taken action. But due to a tragic combination of overconfidence, stoicism, genuine confusion and fear of causing panic, those opportunities were missed. Immediately after Sept. 11, which was not as long ago as it seems, the Federal Government was roundly criticized for its failure to imagine the worst. That seems to be precisely what happened again this time...
...left to make up their own minds about how to react to government warnings. But with no solid information to divulge about the terrorists' possible methods, targets or timing, Washington risked either crying wolf one time too many or sending a nation from low-grade anxiety into full-blown panic. As a retired FBI counterterrorism official put it, "If you start warning about everything you hear, you become part of the terror, as opposed to part of the solution...
...however, highly unhelpful. They seem only to increase fear without offering any practical advice. Of course, the public knows that there is a strong possibility of future violence—now it needs effective methods to tackle that threat. Indeed, the repeated warnings are only serving to increase the panic felt across the country and to help the terrorists achieve their aim of disrupting the American way of life. When specific information that would help the public to minimize the effects of an attack becomes available, it should be passed on as appropriate. Until then, a simple warning should...