Small Terror

Small Terror

In the course of a larger essay on the world’s political woes, David Brooks points out that all of the major acts of terrorism have had the effect of creating a cultural climate of anxiety, suspicion, and insecurity that he calls “small terror.”

David Brooks, The Age of Small Terror – The New York Times:

There is something important about the accumulation of these random killing sprees — the way it affects the social psychology and the culture we all inhabit. We are living in the age of small terror. . . .

These diverse acts of small terror have combined to create a general state of anxiety.

Fear is an emotion directed at a specific threat, but anxiety is an unfocused corrosive uneasiness. In the age of small terror this anxiety induces a sense that the basic systems of authority are not working, that those in charge are not keeping people safe.

People are more likely to have a background sense that life is nastier and more precarious — red in tooth and claw. They pull in the tribal walls and distrust the outsider. This anxiety makes everybody a little less humane. . . .

The anxiety caused by small terror can produce nasty mental habits. Mental resilience becomes as important as physical resilience.

 

"I'm not certain "unfathomable life" is the turning. Even life at 20,000 fathoms, trusts there ..."

Treating Feelings as the Source of ..."
"I don't get it. You appear to associate "what I feel" with "group think." Of ..."

Treating Feelings as the Source of ..."
"I'm on this blog (I think, sometimes I wonder) for cultural and religious issues. It ..."

Treating Feelings as the Source of ..."
"The two "fundamentally different approaches" do not appear to be mutually exclusive. It seems that ..."

Treating Feelings as the Source of ..."

Browse Our Archives

Follow Us!