Duck And Cover, 21st Century Style

That's what the latest fearmongering feels like to me, like the old black and white film from the 50's that supposedly would have helped you survive a nuclear attack. People built fallout shelters in their homes, cities built them, and some people think we still have to have them.

Yes, there's danger from al Qaeda, and will be until we can wipe them out. We saw that on 9/11, we have seen that recently with the nightclub bombing in Bali, and the attempted shooting down of an Israeli airliner, and the recently revealed Bin Laden tapes, in which he now says he wants to be martyred at "the eagle's belly", which has been interpreted to mean the USA.

But to run out and buy duct tape and plastic? I still think it's fearmongering. I will not change my life, I will not let them rule me, I am still going to Arizona for spring training, and whatever happens is going to happen.

I would like to think that 9/11 shocked us into better preparation and intelligence, and the revelations of the possibilities of an attack perhaps would even mean that it won't happen. What if such warnings had been given in early September, 2001? Would the hijackers have called off their plan? Would we have been able to catch one or more of them?

Be vigilant. Be aware of your surroundings. But live your life. Don't have a bunker mentality.

Because then the terrorists really will have won. I know those words are said these days, mostly dripping with irony. But I'm dead serious here.