MANVILLE: Modern media inspires Americans’ irrational fear

To the editor:
There’s a plague going around the nation that is I feel is the cause and root of most of the societal issues that we, as a country, are facing today. Americans seem to have this irrational fear of the future and that everyone is out to get us, which is not found elsewhere. While this may act as consequence to society, there may also be benefits to this ethos.
   This issue is no where more prevalent than in cultural media today. One of the most popular book series for people of all generations in recent years has been “The Hunger Games” by Suzanne Collins, which depicts a ruined America battling tyrannical leadership and military strife.
   Also seen in recent movies such as “White House Down” and “Olympus Had Fallen,” we take note that Americans depict a destroyed America by outside forces. Video games such as “The Call of Duty” and “Battlefield” series also present the player with a depiction of a foreign-invaded, and nearly obliterated, United States.
   My only question is, why do Americans have such an irrational fear of America being invaded by outsiders and razed to the ground? Why so suddenly do we fear the complete crumbling of society like we haven’t seen since the nuclear scares throughout the early Cold War?
   Perhaps this thought comes from the decade-long struggle with terror overseas. Has the fateful day of 9/11 left that much of a mark on society where our media depicts the United States in a fallen, beaten state? If so, then I’m afraid to say the terrorists who completed their mission that day were successful. If we now live in a society where we have constant fear of foreign invasion and an aberrant idea that at any moment the fabric of the United States will be torn down, then we are obviously not taking the all-around stand against the forces that put us in this state of mind. This media mentality is not showing the strength of America. Rather it’s just reducing the confidence that our younger generations have in our national unity with their exposure to such mediums.
   This issue reaches far beyond what the mentality means for America. I believe this anxiety is the root of some of the gun violence we see in America. When citizens of the United States feel insecure, they turn to their Second Amendment right, of which I am not opposing by any means here.
   Simply put, the character of people living in this country, exposed to such negative looks at America, lose their vote of confidence in not only our government, but our entire system as well, which pushes them to rely on personal weaponry.
   This may also be the bane of some immigration reform disputes in the modern age. There in undoubtedly a disdain of sorts towards immigration in this country, legal or not. I would not go so far as to say this is a hatred of foreigners, but if we continue to expose people to such fearful outlooks of the United States, wavering our confidence in the country, issues such as the ones listed could only get worse.
Samuel Pfister
Hillsborough 