Boston

I've been thinking a lot about this Boston Marathon stuff.  It's complete nonsense that our sporting events are not always safe.  The fact that there are people out there who try to kill as many people as they can is sickening.  But I'm not going to preach to the choir here; every single person who reads this would wholeheartedly agree with my assertion that terrorism of any kind for terrorism's sake is one of the worst things imaginable.  Victims of these terrible tragedies should always be near our hearts.

But, cynical though it may be, my thoughts extended beyond the event and its aftermath.  I was struck by the changes in government that this is going to create.  Security is going to be tightened at marathons and other outdoor sporting events.  Participation will go down as people worry about the next attack.  The government will put in place new search procedures or some other type of mechanization that will hopefully prevent another disaster.  This is the way it worked after the nonsense in Connecticut and Colorado.  There were tougher gun laws enacted.  This is the way it worked after 9/11.  There were more stringent security measures in airplanes.  The government has a history of seeing a problem/situation and trying to solve it with more legislation.  But who does this legislation affect?  Law-abiding citizens.  It will be more difficult to do the things that we once did because the government is attempting to cure the country of its ailments.  But more laws and expanded rules will not do much in the long run.  People who want to break laws will continue to break laws.  Creating additional layers to a law to supposedly prevent criminal activity will not stop the criminals.  Instead, the government is further hamstringing the obeying populace.  Our lives are being micromanaged and our individual freedoms are being ripped away.

I understand the government's need to save face.  In the wake of tragedy, the government will be branded unhelpful and uncaring if it fails to act in some way.  For some reason, people have this insatiable need for some sort of justice (the justice that is likely fed them on news shows and press clippings) and want the government to set up some sort of net to catch those dastardly criminals.  But they fail to realize that only the "regular" citizens are suffering.  It's disheartening.

I'm not trying to minimize the situation or in some way speak inappropriately about yesterday's events.  I'm merely trying to shed some perspective on the next steps.  It's a frightful prospect.  Pretty soon we are going to be completely reliant on the government to provide us with everything.  The laws will be so strict that we will at risk if we do anything.  It's a longshot to be sure, but I've seen enough dystopian thrillers to know that it could happen.  The government could get so big that there's no room for individuals anymore.

Wow that last paragraph sounded pretty psycho and conspiratorial.  I'm not really that out there.  But the governments reaction to Boston - that's what I'm really concerned about.  I've often thought that terrorist attacks happen for the attention and to put the United States into a state of panic.  9/11 severely crippled air travel and kept us on our toes for years.  Perhaps the instigator is just looking for another way to make the people of the United States fearful.

Anyway, it sucks that this happened.  So many people deserved much more.