Sometimes I get the feeling I should be scared. I’m supposed to believe terrorists are hiding somewhere in a cave, maniacally rubbing their hands together and scheming to get me, while brandishing evil, cartoonish grins.
Well, I’m not worried.
It’s not because terrorists don’t exist — I’m not about to pull that stunt. They’re out there, and many would be willing to do unspeakable things to smug Americans like me.
The tragedy of Sept. 11 showed we aren’t invincible, and we’ve learned valuable lessons since then.
What bothers me is how people are misled to believe they must alter their everyday lifestyles to combat terror. For instance, CNN has an entire section of it’s website dedicated to updating readers on how afraid they should be.
Dubbed “Living with Terror,” the site would have people believe that Jihad-sized crevices in America’s armor will have the country six feet under before the next 10 years play out.
For some reason, people in this country often forget the most important variable in the equation of terror — America is scary.
In other words, America is militaristically capable of doing things no other countries can do, and what other countries can do, America does it magnitudes better.
Look no further than our colossal military budget to understand the fiscal forces working behind our might. When the budget grows to the projected estimate of $1 trillion by 2012, we will be spending about 11 times more than our direct competitor, China.
With this budget in perspective, people can understand the feats our military is capable of performing. For example, one of the greatest indicators of a country’s deep-striking capabilities is the size of its naval fleet.
Even more important is the number of active aircraft carriers on the roster. The British Royal Navy has one named the HMS Illustrious, and the French Navy has a rather nice nuclear-powered carrier known as the Charles de Gaulle.
Early last month, China celebrated the launch of its first carrier, a furbished, diesel-guzzling, ex-Soviet aircraft carrier initially constructed in 1988.
What does the U.S. have in its corner of the ring? We have 11 active aircraft carriers, with two more under construction.
Enough said, America.
Ever since the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, the romantic mythos of countries racing toward destruction by designing doomsday weapons has ended.
However, our ability to outlast the USSR crowned us as the only nation capable of developing and deploying secret technologies in combat.
There may be no better recent example of this than the assassination of Osama bin Laden in May.
The undetected insertion and extraction of an elite SEAL strike team into the backyard of a well-guarded compound sounded impossible, and still does.
Not for America.
Determined not to let a single drop of SEAL team 6’s blood spilled in foreign soil, several MH-60 Black Hawk transport helicopters were modified with stealth technology unseen and unheard of before.
Even if someone could strip away all of the U.S.’s technological brawn or disband every specially trained branch of its armed forces, we are still left with America’s most terrifyingly potent resource — you.
I am not a violent man, nor have I ever considered a career in the military, but I would be willing to die for this country if a foreign invader attempted to tread on our beloved soil.
And I’m sure I’m not alone with these sentiments — there’s an inherent passion within everyone. It makes us violent, but it also makes us Americans, and if I were a terrorist, I’d be trembling.
This is not an indictment of American culture, but neither is it an acquittal. I simply hope that people take some serious time to reflect upon our militaristic nature.
 
Chris Freyder is a 21-year-old biological sciences senior from New Orleans. Follow him on Twitter @TDR_Cfreyder.
 
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Contact Chris Freyder at [email protected]