Phillip Knightley: are we overstating the dangers of the world today?

It is a dilemma for the media that remains unsolved. It can hardly ignore terrorist acts, even though to do so would defeat one of the terrorists' main aims: publicity for their cause and an advertisement for new recruits. But the way terrorists' acts are presented – a drama with each episode crafted like a thriller and the lack of a proper assessment of the real risk – causes alarm, concern and faulty perceptions.
Out there in the rest of the world there has been a perception over the past, say 25 years, that in Britain we went around terrified of IRA bombs, race riots, car hi-jackers, train crashes, rapists and child murderers. In fact, most of us were getting on with the reality of our everyday lives. The fact is that more people die on our roads every year than were killed during the entire history of the Irish troubles. More people were killed in one recent car pile-up in the fog in Wisconsin than by the sniper, but we didn't see that on the news. As the Qantas pilot told his passengers as he approached Sydney airport: "Folks, the safest part of your journey is over. The most dangerous is about to begin. Drive carefully.''

Read the rest, as it makes other, similarly interesting and good points.

posted by James Russell | 4:56 PM