Tom Englehardt has a terrific post up at Tomgram called “Welcome to the Terrordome” that so beautifully spells out how our leaders amplify the meager threats of every half-assed terrorist group in order to sow unreasoned fear and promote domestic political agendas.

This political fear mongering is one of the few non-partisan efforts left in American politics:

“This president needs to rise to the occasion before we all get killed here at home” -Lindsey Graham (R)

Majority Leader John Boehner (R), who insisted that we should consider putting American boots on Iraqi and perhaps even Syrian ground soon, since “they intend to kill us”.

Senator Dianne Feinstein (D), who swore that “the threat ISIS poses cannot be overstated”.

Senator Bill Nelson (D), who commented that “it ought to be pretty clear when they… say they’re going to fly the black flag of ISIS over the White House that ISIS is a clear and present danger.”

Even local pretty-boy and peripatetic Senate wannabe Scott Brown has joined in the act, claiming in his constant TV ads that ISIS threatens to destroy our country.

Puh-leeze. This is an All-American drive, fueled by seemingly endless PAC money, to maximize military spending and win elections. This hysterical overreaction to every percieved threat, regardless of actual potential for danger, is working directly against the best interests of Americans. But it’s sure making the world safer for Lockheed’s shareholders!

Englehardt’s eloquent plea for a return to factual threat assessment and reality based policy was reposted by Bill Moyers on his site.

You should read the entire piece here.

Remember:

“Terrorism isn’t a crime against people or property. It’s a crime against our minds, using the death of innocents and destruction of property to make us fearful. Terrorists use the media to magnify their actions and further spread fear. And when we react out of fear, when we change our policy to make our country less open, the terrorists succeed — even if their attacks fail. But when we refuse to be terrorized, when we’re indomitable in the face of terror, the terrorists fail — even if their attacks succeed.” ― Bruce Schneier