Working at a helicopter flight school, I often have run-ins with various federal officials – most commonly the Federal Aviation Association (FAA) and the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). Well today I finally got around to actually taking the TSA security test to make it possible for me to, you know, work at an airport.

What I found interesting was the oh so subtle messages that they implanted in this little online certification program were astounding. This certification was created in a post-9/11, pre-Obama Administration world wherein there was clearly a an xenophobic tint to it. There was a “we all know who the bad guys are – but we want to look like we don’t think that way” tint to it.

September 11th was directly referenced once, and there were several more allusions to the events leading up to it. Things like “flight schools have become the front line (you know after those terrorists went to classes to learn how to fly)” and “you are the eyes and ears (insert an SS reference at any point)” were laced throughout. What was really interesting, however, is how they follow all of this up with a statement along the lines of “the people out to get us could be any color and any gender, so don’t let your guard down” all while having a tone, again that says “you know what you are looking for, nudge, nudge, wink, wink.”

And this is the real point of this post. I am amazed of the subtle fear that government agencies are putting into our lives even to this day – seven and a half years after the events of 9/11. We are told constantly to be vigilant, protect the home front, keep an eye out for suspicious activity – if only because if you blink, if you flinch, if you have faith in your fellow man for even a moment, it would bring about the end of our republic.

You know what? I am tired of being told to be afraid. I am tired of having the same message shoved down my throat in a way that is so subtle and pervasive that it could almost be called subliminal. I am tired of the discussion being about reaction to disasters and not why these people hate us so much. I know that there are bad people out there who want to watch the world fall, but what I also know is that we are being raised in a culture of fear wherein we are still far more likely to die from preventable disease than from a terrorist attack.

If you would like to experience what I had to go through today, simply click here and follow the page. It did take about an hour to go through, though, so you really have to be dedicated to my blog!