Editorial
Our nation must not succumb to fear

Only the most reckless would fail to be a little more careful, a little more cautious these days.

But Americans — in Hawai'i and elsewhere — cannot abandon all the norms of daily life because someone wishes to frighten us. To do so is to give terrorists and their shameless copycat followers the victory they seek.

For instance, there has been a flurry of scares involving the discovery of unknown powders.

It makes sense to approach these unexpected substances with caution. But it is equally important to recognize that these alarms almost always turn out to be false. The threatening mail usually turns out to be nothing more than a cruel hoax that capitalizes on the national mood of nervousness.

There is no minimizing the seriousness of the anthrax incidents so far reported, particularly the death of the photo editor in Florida. But it must also be noted that the other cases, even the confirmed cases of exposure, have not been life-threatening. And those cases represent an almost infinitesimal fraction of the mail that goes out each day.

While it is important to be careful, it is also important to conduct a personal risk assessment. Flu is a far greater threat to the average person's health or life than any possible exposure to anthrax. Crossing the street is far more dangerous than opening the mail.

The big ongoing threat to the nation today is not terrorism or anthrax; it is copycat crimes and our own panic.

The greatest assault on our way of life today is our own fear. We must not succumb.